We visited Rocky Mountain National Park with friends over Memorial Day Weekend, so we knew we’d need advanced reservations and plenty of space. Since there was construction going on at the national park campgrounds and none were available, we found Mary’s Lake to be a great alternative to take our chances at camping in the park.

Camping in Estes Park gave us the best of both worlds -- we had access to great restaurants and amenities, but were just a quick drive from the national park.

Even though we had reservations, we were able to select our campsites upon arrival. There were two sites located up and away from the rest that were perfect for our group of eight. We felt like we were separated from the other cramped sites, enough to drink and play games around the campfire and not feel like we were bothering other campers.

During our time in Rocky Mountain, even though we visited in snowy May, we were able to hike in the Bear Lake area, drive the Trail Ridge Road, and hike in the Wild Basin area to the south.

You can read much more about our five days in the park on our blog: Switchback Kids (Rocky Mountain)