Rocky Mountain National Park: The Highest Paved Road in America

A road that crests above 12,000 feet. A peak with rock a billion years older than the mountains it sits in. A lake that only exists because a dam failed in 1982. This is Rocky Mountain National Park: how one man's decade-long campaign got it protected, what makes its geology genuinely strange, the icons worth building a trip around, and the wildlife comeback stories — elk, bighorn, and a moose population that didn't exist here before 1980 — hiding in the valleys. Chapters 00:00 Intro 00:04 Cold Open 00:24 Orientation 01:12 Origin Story 02:49 What Makes This Place Unique 04:16 The Icons 05:55 Wildlife Spotlight 08:39 Planning Your Visit 10:32 Hidden Gem 11:43 Conservation Note 12:43 Close Watch live Alpine Visitor Center: https://www.nps.gov/media/webcam/view... Longs Peak: https://www.nps.gov/media/webcam/view... Continental Divide: https://www.nps.gov/media/webcam/view... Plan your visit Official park page: https://www.nps.gov/romo/index.htm Campground reservations: https://www.recreation.gov/search?q=R... Current forecast: https://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick... Timed-entry reservations: https://www.nps.gov/romo/planyourvisi... Footage: NPS Multimedia Gallery (developer.nps.gov), public domain. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Subscribe so you don't miss the next one.