Junction Trail Ridge Road—Horseshoe Falls—Fall River Pass—Junction Trail Ridge Road; 11.9 miles, Fall River Road. Improved dirt road; only up-traffic permitted west of Chasm Falls; upper section blocked by snow most of the year; recommended only for experienced drivers. Campground, shelters, and picnic grounds.

The Fall River Road, an attractive drive, follows Fall River through its steep and narrow canyon; grades are steep. In the dense forests that blanket the hills are hidden lakes, waterfalls, streams, and picnic grounds. Along the route, reached by short trails branching from the main highway, are places of exceptional beauty.

The Fall River Road branches northwest from the TRAIL RIDGE ROAD, 0 miles (see Park Tour 1), 6 miles west of Estes Park Village (see Tour 3 and 4).

At 1.1 miles is the junction with a trail.

Right on this trail 0.5 miles to a point where a break in the forest reveals Horseshoe Park (see Park Tour 1). At 1.7 miles the trail branches; L. here to YPSILON LAKE (10,600 alt.), 5 miles, walled in by high and precipitous rocks at the foot of Ypsilon Mountain; from the high stony rim a thin waterfall tumbles into the blue lake.

The smooth trail continues by easy grades along the bank of Roaring River through a dense stand of lodgepole pine. On the left are a number of cascades and strange rock formations. Beavers have dammed the stream at frequent intervals. As timberline is approached, the trees are dwarfed and twisted.

A SHELTER CABIN of the Park Service (overnight accommodations) stands on the shore of LAWN LAKE, 6.5 miles (10,950 alt.), a cobalt-blue pool in a glacial cirque, with only a few trees to relieve its stark surroundings.

Here is the starting point for a number of hard climbs to near-by points of interest, but there are no marked trails. One leads to CRYSTAL LAKE, lying at the foot of Fairchild Peak to the south, the source of Roaring River, which flows into Lawn Lake.

On the north face of Hague Peak is ROWE GLACIER, formerly Hallets Glacier, an ice mass three-quarters of a mile wide, a third of a mile long, and of uncharted depth. The hike is difficult and should be attempted only by experienced climbers accompanied by guides.

The road crosses ROARING RIVER, 0.8 miles, a tributary of Fall River, which cascades in splendor from the heights (R). Built of logs some four feet in diameter, the rustic bridge over the stream is at the junction with several foot trails.

Right on a marked trail to HORSESHOE FALLS, 0.6 miles, where Roaring River cascades 200 feet into Fall River Canyon through a cloud of rainbow-tinted mist; the spray from the falls has created a spot of unusual greenery much favored by picnic parties.

West of Roaring River the highway enters a thick aspen grove fringed on all sides by stands of ponderosa, or western yellow pine; these trees are often seven feet in circumference and attain an average height of 60 feet.

At 2 miles is the junction with a side road.

Left on this road to ENDOVALLEY CAMPGROUND, 0.2 miles (free; fin-places, sanitary facilities).

The road begins a steep and steady ascent (second or low gear), and as greater altitudes are reached, a change in vegetation occurs. Engelmann spruce, with heavy dark-green needles and rough ruddy bark, and slender lodgepole pine grow in dense stands along the route. At intervals, through a break in the trees, are glimpses of high mountains overshadowing the canyon.

As the highway crosses CHIQUITA CREEK, 2.9 miles, there is a good view (L) of HANGING VALLEY. Geologists believe that ages ago this canyon and Fall River Canyon were on one level; but the Fall River Glacier, pushing down the main gorge, gouged it out so deep that the side canyon was left high up on the wall. Across the creek are pot holes, pits in granite rock, ground out by the swirling waters of the glacier.

The knoll in the center of the valley, 3 miles, is a roche moutonee, or sheeps-back, a hard rock ledge that defied the glacier to do more than polish its surface. Thick-standing lodgepole pines wall in the road; the almost solid mass of foliage completely shades the highway, and the air is chill even when the sun is overhead.

CHASM FALLS PARKING SPACE, 3.6 miles, overlooking Chasm Falls, is reached by a series of steep switchbacks affording constantly changing views of Horseshoe Park and the forested lower canyon.

Left from the parking space to CHASM FALLS, 50 yds., where the sparkling waters of Fall River cascade 50 feet across tumbled rocks through a cloud of silvery mist. On all sides are giant pines and Englemann spruce.

A matted growth of wild raspberries, huckleberries, and willow shrubs renders the mountain slopes here almost impassable except by established trails. The forest has been slashed by numerous snow slides which carried away trees, underbrush, and everything in their way as they came crashing down draws and gulches to pile up in Fall River canyon, sometimes blocking stream and road. The highway ascends through a region of fantastic rock formations.

The highway reaches an altitude of two miles above sea level, 8.3 miles, passing timberline (11,300 alt.), 9.5 miles. Here at first hand is the mute story of one of nature's enduring conflicts. In their struggle to survive at this altitude trees are bent into grotesque shapes; frequently all limbs point in one direction; trunks are occasionally twisted in a complete circle. Beyond these last outposts of the forest is nothing but rock and grassland. In summer this grassland is the pasture of deer, elk, and bighorn sheep frequently seen at a distance, but in winter it is buried under heavy snows; drifts often pile up to a depth of 30 feet, forcing animals to pasture in the valleys.

At 11.9 miles is the junction with Trail Ridge Road (see Park Tour 1).