Hiking The Rocky Mountains

The Rocky Mountains are one of North Americas most beautiful mountain ranges, and probably her best known. The Rocky Mountains span six US States and 2 Canadian provinces. These would include Colorado, New Mexico, Montana, Utah, Wyoming, Idaho, British Columbia, and Alberta. Although thought of as one mountain Range, the Rocky Mountains are actually just a collection of smaller mountain ranges that we've deemed "The Rockies". The bottom line is that hiking opport6unities abound within these mountains.

The easiest way to find hiking trails and clearly defined area's to hike is by visiting a National Park or Forrest area. The main National Park areas within the Rocky Mountains in the United States are: Pikes Peak, Royal Gorge, Rocky Mountain National Park, Yellowstone National Park, Grand Teton Nation al Park, Glacier National Park, and Arapaho National Forrest. Within Canada, the National Parks would include: Banff National Park, Jasper National Park, Kootenay National Park, Waterton Lakes National; Park, and Yoho National Park. A search on any of these parks will give you all the hiking information a person could want about that particular park.

Hiking in the Rocky Mountains does provide the hiker with a ton of enjoyment. The mountains offer incredible views and are full of wildlife. Some of the wildlife that can be seen within the Rocky Mountains is: deer, elk, moose, mountain goats, bighorn sheep, black bear, grizzly bear, mountain lions, and rodents of all shapes and sizes. For those of you who like to watch birds while you hike, the Rocky Mountains won't disappoint on this from either.

Hiking in the Rocky Mountains is an enjoyable experience for the experienced hiker as well as beginners. All of the National Parks listed above have nice camping area's available, so the entire family can be taken camping in the Rocky Mountains. And for more experienced hikers, trips spanning several weeks are definitely doable within the Rocky Mountains.

The Rocky Mountains boast some of the most beautiful and remote rivers and lakes in all of North America. There are more than 15 main rivers that exit from the Rocky Mountains, carrying run off and snow melt into 3 of the world's oceans: The Pacific, Atlantic, and Arctic. And there are obviously thousands of small streams that feed these main rivers to make the process work. Many of these streams, carrying life itself down these mountains, offer amazing sites to the hikers of the Rocky Mountains.