A person sitting on a rock by a lake.
A person sitting on a rock by a lake.

14 Things to Pack for Rocky Mountain National Park

Wondering what to pack for your upcoming trip to Rocky Mountain National Park? You’ve come to the right place. I was born and raised in Colorado and I know first-hand how tricky planning for a trip to the mountains can be. It’s not uncommon to experience below-freezing temperatures, hot and sunny afternoons, torrential rain and hail all in the same day. After many, many adventures, I’ve dialed in my gear list to 13 items I’ll never go on an overnight to the park without.

As part of the Outside family, we’re lucky to have a rockstar inhouse gear team that spends their time testing thousands of products each year so readers (and myself!) don’t have to. They are my trusted resource for all my own gear purchases, so I’ve included their best picks in each category (and links to their in-depth guides) to help you find your new favorite adventure items. This is what you should pack on your next trip to Colorado.

Continue reading to learn more about what to pack for a trip to Rocky Mountain National Park, written by Mikaela Ruland.

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Editor in Chief
Mikaela Ruland

Mikaela is the editor in chief of National Park Trips. She lives in her beautiful home state of Colorado with her husband and loves writing about the outdoors, travel and the environment. Her passion is to introduce people to the outdoors so that they fall in love and help protect the wild places she loves to play in.

She spends most of her free time outside hiking, skiing, mountain biking, doing yoga – you name it. When she’s not outside, you can find her researching cheap flights, exploring hipster coffee shops or on the hunt for Denver’s best mac n’ cheese. You can follow her adventures on Instagram @themillennialoutside.

Rocky Mountain National Park is Mikaela’s home park and she spends summer and winter mornings alike exploring its trails. She even hiked to Dream Lake to get her engagement photos taken in a dress. Don’t worry, she was wearing hiking boots.

미디어 언급

It all starts with Sawyer Squeeze + Cnoc VectoX 2L, the best and most reliable filter-bladder combo and the core of my backpacking water storage and filtration system.

예거 쇼
Owner & Managing Editor

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Our top water filter for thru hiking, the Sawyer Squeeze, is 15% off.

나오미 후데츠
Chief Operating Officer & Online Editor

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People with alpha-gal syndrome show allergic symptoms such as rash, nausea and vomiting after eating such meat.

Stephanie Soucheray
Reporter