The rather rough Moffat Road (FR 149) follows the historic route of the Denver and Salt Lake Railway from Winter Park all the way east to Moffat Pass at 11,660 feet, a 4×4 vehicle is highly recommended. This section of the railroad was abandoned in 1928 when the Moffat Tunnel opened. The road rises through lodgepole pine forest into some patches of mature spruce-fir forest before emerging on the open tundra, home of White-tailed Ptarmigan, American Pipit, and Yellow-bellied Marmot. The view from the end of the road is breathtaking; look for rosy-finches and brewer’s sparrow on the snowfields below you. If you’re looking for the high-mountain experience away from the crowds on Trail Ridge Road, this is the spot for you.
Grand Lake
Headwaters of the Colorado
Here at the start of the river that carved the Grand Canyon lies an easy-to-reach taste of Colorado’s West Slope. Starting as a trickle of snowmelt high in Rocky Mountain National Park, the Colorado runs across mountain meadows, underneath tangles of willows and over the feet of trout fishermen and moose. It fills up the many lakes and reservoirs around the towns of Grand Lake and Granby, where Osprey spend the summer and Barrow’s Goldeneye pass the winter. It wanders across the open steppe of Middle Park, home to pronghorn and Greater Sage-Grouse. Then it slides down into a series of canyons to begin its career as a whitewater rafting destination, passing juniper woodlands, Pinyon Jays, and Black-throated Gray Warblers. This area in Grand County is the closest place to Denver to sample all these western ecosystems together, providing something for every kind of nature lover.
Admission: Day use and camping fees
Ownership: US Forest Service
Trail Ridge Road (Grand County section)
Admission: National Parks fee
Ownership: National Park Service
Windy Gap Watchable Wildlife Area
Admission: A valid Hunting or Fishing license, or a State Wildlife Area Pass is required for everyone 16 or older accessing any State Wildlife Area or State Trust Land.
Ownership: Colorado Parks and Wildlife
Hot Sulphur Springs State Wildlife Area
Admission: A valid hunting or fishing license, or State Wildlife Area pass is required for everyone 16 or older accessing any state wildlife area or state trust lands.
Ownership: Colorado Parks and Wildlife
Devil’s Thumb Ranch Resort and Spa
This ranch resort and spa features over 20 miles of hiking and cross-country skiing trails through creekside meadows, large aspen stands and ponderosa pine forests covering 6,000 acres. In addition to the outdoor activities there are 80 guest rooms, three restaurants, a cross-country ski rental shop, a retail store and many historic homesteads on site. The ranch is developing a winter bird feeding station with indoor viewing. In the summer you can expect to find Wilson’s Snipe, Violet-green Swallows, and White-throated Swifts flying over the meadows, Warbling Vireos singing from the Aspens and Western Tanagers calling from the top of a tall Ponderosa Pine. Contact the Activity Center at 970-726-8231 prior to visiting.
FR 139 (Crooked Creek / Keyser Creek Rds)
Those with a penchant for exploration should enjoy this area, off the beaten path in the high country west of Fraser. Once the road enters the national forest, it traverses some beautiful aspen stands where one might find western Warbling Vireos, Red-naped Sapsuckers, and Violet-green Swallows. Farther up, the forest transitions into high-elevation lodgepole pine and spruce-fir, with a few mountain meadows and burn areas mixed in. The ascending spirals of Swainson’s Thrush songs can be heard at most of the willow-lined stream crossings, and the accelerating drums of American Three-toed Woodpeckers echo off the spruce trunks early in the summer. Elk can be seen in some of the high meadows, along with yellow-bellied marmots and golden-mantled ground-squirrels. The network of roads includes some interesting dead ends and some connections with the roads in the upper Williams Fork area, but a good map is needed to navigate them all. Visit the USFS office in Granby for the latest information on access, routes, and road conditions.
Fraser River Ranch
This private working ranch has diverse birding opportunities including riparian, sagebrush and grassland habitats. It is accessible year-round and features unique fen wetlands. This site can be birded from several locations along County Road 57.
Willow Creek Reservoir
This lake has more to offer the fisherman than the birder, but it does have some nice scenery, a Forest Service campground, and breeding Osprey. There is a fee for vehicle access.
Grand Lake Area
The town of Grand Lake is the western gateway to Rocky Mountain National Park. Its namesake is the largest natural lake in Colorado, but that’s not saying much – it’s dwarfed by the adjacent Shadow Mountain Reservoir and Lake Granby. All three of these lakes are good places to see Osprey in summer and Barrow’s Goldeneye in fall before the water freezes. Once the lakes freeze, the Barrow’s usually move into the canal between Grand Lake and Shadow Mountain Reservoir, often in the company of other ducks, American Dipper, and rarely a Trumpeter or Tundra Swan.
In summer the wildlife viewing opportunities near Grand Lake are tremendous. This area is one of the best in Colorado for seeing moose, not to mention mule deer and elk. The hummingbird feeders in town are abuzz with Broad-taileds in May and June, with Rufous and Calliope Hummingbirds joining the fray in July and August. The North Inlet and East Inlet trails provide some of the best hiking in the area.
Trail Ridge Road (Grand County section)
Some three million people drive this road each summer – the highest continuous paved road in the nation – due to its unparalleled scenery and wildlife viewing. The lower parts of the road, just inside the western boundary of Rocky Mountain National Park, provide excellent chances for up-close views of moose, mule deer, elk, chipmunks, and various birds from Red Crossbill to Three-toed Woodpecker. Higher up, at the scenic overlooks below treeline, it’s hard to miss the Steller’s Jays, Gray Jays, and Clark’s Nutcrackers as they vie with the golden-mantled ground squirrels for handouts from humans (which are against the rules in the national park). At Milner Pass, still far below treeline, the road crosses the Continental Divide. This is the starting point for the hard half-mile hike to the Crater, an excellent place to observe bighorn sheep. The Crater Trail is closed for the first half of every summer to protect the breeding sheep. Check at the park entrance for the latest information on sheep closures. Farther up the road is one of the most famous birding spots in Colorado, Medicine Bow Curve, which sits above treeline just below the Alpine Visitor Center. This is probably the best site in the nation to see the elusive White-tailed Ptarmigan. The birds have a well-deserved reputation for being extremely difficult to find, because they are very quiet and cryptically plumaged, and one must nearly step on them to discover their presence. But prior to dawn in June and early July, the male ptarmigans become audible and visible from a mile away, during their spectacular screaming courtship flights over the tundra. The alpine tundra is a harsh and fragile environment; it can threaten humans with severe weather, and humans can threaten it in return with the erosion caused by too many feet. Please be cautious during your visit and stay on trails above timberline.
Mount Ida
If you want to attempt a difficult day hike during your stay in Rocky Mountain National Park that maximizes your opportunities for wildlife viewing, Mount Ida is the place to go. It is four miles from the Milner Pass trailhead to the peak of Ida; the first mile is unrelentingly steep, and the last three are above treeline and thus quite exposed to the weather. Hiking this mountain requires an early start and serious preparation – at a minimum, bring food, water, sturdy boots, sunscreen, and raingear.If you’re up to the hike, you have good chances at seeing bighorn sheep, ptarmigan, and Brown-capped Rosy-Finches along the way. The sheep and the ptarmigan are often right along the trail; the rosy-finches are usually on the other side of the ridge, among the snow and cliffs.
Windy Gap Watchable Wildlife Area
There are almost always birds on this reservoir, including several species of ducks, Canada Geese, and often some gulls or terns in migration. The water is easy to scan from the parking lot of the watchable wildlife area along US 40, which is a good place for a picnic. Viewing scopes are available to help you scan the water. Wyoming ground squirrels can be seen near the parking lot, and the reintroduced population of river otter may be rarely glimpsed along the river upstream or downstream from the reservoir.
Cabin Creek Road and CO 125
CO 125 follows Willow Creek north from Windy Gap over Willow Creek Pass and into North Park. Along the way, it passes through scenic mountain forests and a few meadows with a variety of birds, from Dusky Flycatcher to Western Tanager. Sometimes elk graze in the meadows. American Dippers can be seen along Willow Creek year-round, though they are often easier to find in winter when there is less open water to search. This road can be busy; make sure to stop only at pullouts. The Cabin Creek area is a great little side trip off of CO 125. The lower part of the creek passes beautiful riparian willows and spruces where the likes of MacGillivray’s Warblers may be found. This part of the creek is popular with campers in summer. The farther up the road you travel, the fewer people you will encounter. Eventually you will arrive at areas of lodgepole pine devastated by the mountain pine beetle, but still providing habitat for interesting birds such as Townsend’s Solitaire, Pine Grosbeak, Clark’s Nutcracker, and a variety of woodpeckers.
Hot Sulphur Springs
This is the county seat of Grand County, named for the springs that are now the focus of a resort in town, but it is much smaller than Granby or Kremmling. The biggest attraction for wildlife watchers is Pioneer Park, a mile-long stretch of mature cottonwood forest along the Colorado River in town. Although it can be busy with people, this is a wonderful place to look for birds from spring through fall, including colorful Bullock’s Orioles, Lazuli Buntings, and Yellow Warblers. River Otters are in the area, but they are rarely seen. The park offers free primitive campsites from Memorial Day through late fall, including pit toilets. There is public drinking water at the east end of the bridge.
Hot Sulphur Springs State Wildlife Area
This State Wildlife Area actually has seven different units scattered across a wide area, but the best one for birding is the Joe Gerrans Unit at the junction of Beaver Creek and the Colorado River. The area contains a good example of mid-elevation riparian habitat, where willows and spruces meet, providing nesting habitat for Swainson’s Thrush, Wilson’s Warbler, and Red-naped Sapsucker, among others. Restrooms and primitive campsites are the only amenities.
Williams Fork Reservoir
This reservoir is not very attractive to waterfowl, but the wildlife watching around it can be very good. Ospreys breed on nest platforms near the road on the south side of the reservoir. The wet meadows a little farther east can produce singing Savannah Sparrows and Brewer’s Blackbirds along with winnowing Wilson’s Snipe. Southeast of the lake, where CR 3 parallels the Williams Fork River, the streamside willows host breeding Veery, Swainson’s Thrush, and Fox Sparrow. Pronghorn and mule deer are numerous in the area; elk and muskrat may occasionally be seen.
Williams Fork Valley / Ute Pass
South of the Williams Fork Reservoir lies a beautiful valley with many side roads worth exploring. The main road through this area (Grand County Road 3) begins by running through mountain meadows with Vesper Sparrows, Brewer’s Blackbirds, and pronghorn. Gradually it rises into coniferous forest along the Williams Fork River, where Hermit Thrush, Olive-sided Flycatcher, and Dusky Flycatcher may be found. In the upper reaches of the Williams Fork are many fine primitive picnic and camp sites. Moose are numerous. Dippers nest along the river. Cassin’s Finches and Audubon’s Warblers sing from the treetops. Mountain pine beetles killed many of the lodgepole pines in this valley in 2002-2006, but the forest is regenerating quite nicely. The road to Ute Pass, which connects the Williams Fork Valley with CO 9 north of Silverthorne, passes through some nice stands of spruce-fir forest with high-elevation birds like Ruby-crowned Kinglet and Lincoln’s Sparrow.