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Day 22 / 31

Day 21 Day 23

Thursday, June 4, 2026

Rocky Mountain National Park from the Lyons basecamp

Leave the Airstream in Lyons and run the Rivian up into Rocky Mountain National Park. We landed both timed entries this time, the Bear Lake Road corridor and Trail Ridge Road. Hike the Bear Lake loop in the morning, then climb Trail Ridge to the Alpine Visitor Center at 11,796 ft and turn around, an out-and-back through the high tundra before dropping back to the river camp at night.

  • 113.9 miles
  • ~5 (truck only, no towing) drive hours
  • Estes Park charging first charge
  • LaVern M. Johnson Park (Lyons, CO) tonight

Weather: Alpine June, cool and thin at 12,000 ft on Trail Ridge, afternoon mountain thunder possible, snowbanks still on the tundra.

The white Rivian R1T parked in profile on Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain National Park, the snow-streaked summit of Longs Peak and the Front Range behind it under towering clouds
Day 22 The Rivian at the top of the world. Longs Peak over the shoulder, the whole Front Range stacked up behind.

The day, by the numbers

  1. Miles driven113.9mi
  2. Towing efficiency2.78mi / kWh113.9 mi · 41 kWh
  3. Energy41kWh used · 50 kWh charged across 1 session
  4. Peak charge rate8kW
  5. Wind9mph WMostly tailwind
  6. Temperature80°F64 – 80°F range
  7. Peak elevation12,209ft↑ 7,000 ft↓ 7,000 ft
  8. Avg speed24mph · 4.7 hr moving
Photographs

Day 22 in pictures
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Stops, in order

The day

  1. start

    LaVern / Lyons, morning depart

    Leave the Airstream set up at camp and take the Rivian light up the St. Vrain canyon toward Estes Park and the park entrance.

    Map 40.2206, -105.2742

  2. navigation

    Estes Park

    Headwind on this leg 9 mph from the W Climbs this leg +2,050 ft

    Gateway town at the foot of the park. Coffee and supplies, elk on the golf course, then up to the Beaver Meadows entrance.

    Map 40.3772, -105.5217

  3. must do

    RMNP, Beaver Meadows Entrance, 11 AM timed entry

    Our timed-entry window is 11 AM, and we made it. We landed both permits this time: the standard Park Access reservation (Trail Ridge Road and the high country) and a separate Bear Lake Road timed entry, so the day covers the Bear Lake corridor AND the alpine loop. Show the reservation plus the park pass at the gate.

    Map Official site 40.3556, -105.5856

  4. must do

    Bear Lake hike

    The iconic stop at the end of Bear Lake Road, 9,450 ft, with Hallett Peak and the Continental Divide standing over the water. We laced up here and hiked, the flat loop around the lake and up the start of the Nymph, Dream, and Emerald lakes trail, daypacks on with the spruce still dripping from the overnight snow. The separate Bear Lake Road timed-entry permit is what gets the rig in.

    Map 40.3128, -105.6456

  5. photo

    Many Parks Curve overlook

    First big Trail Ridge Road overlook at ~9,600 ft, the view back over Estes Park, Moraine Park, and the glacial "parks" the road is named for.

    Map 40.3925, -105.6353

  6. photo

    Forest Canyon Overlook, Trail Ridge

    11,716 ft, above the treeline and into the tundra. Marmots and pika in the rocks, snowbanks into June, and the Gorge Lakes dropping away into Forest Canyon below.

    Map 40.3722, -105.6892

  7. must do

    Alpine Visitor Center

    11,796 ft, the highest visitor center in the National Park System and our turnaround for the day. Thin air, the short steep Alpine Ridge Trail (Huffer's Hill) to 12,005 ft if the legs are willing, and the cafe for a snack, then back down Trail Ridge the way we came, out the Beaver Meadows gate and home through Estes on US-36.

    Map 40.4439, -105.7531

  8. sleep

    LaVern M. Johnson Park, Lyons

    Tailwind on this leg 9 mph from the W Descends this leg −6,400 ft

    Back down the canyon to the Airstream for a second river night in Lyons.

    Map 40.2206, -105.2742

Windshield view from the white Rivian R1T on Trail Ridge Road at the Rock Cut, a jagged granite outcrop beside the two-lane road under big afternoon clouds in Rocky Mountain National Park
Day 22 Up top on Trail Ridge Road at the Rock Cut. The highest paved through-road in the country, and the Rivian took the thin air without a complaint.
San Diego Home DAY 22
Charging plan

Where the electrons come from

  • L2 / DC fast

    Estes Park charging

    Buffer top-up in the gateway town. The Rivian leaves LaVern on a full charge (electric hookup overnight), so the ~110 mi park day untethered is comfortable without it, this is insurance for the Trail Ridge climb.

  • Campground 50A L2 (free)

    LaVern M. Johnson Park (Lyons, CO)

    Free overnight shore-power charge on the campground 50A hookup at the river camp. The whole park loop ran untethered on the pack, no road charging all day; topped back up to full overnight at no cost, so the rig leaves full in the morning.

Detailed charging data

4 receipts, app screens, pedestal displays, and Rivian dashboard readouts. Click through with the arrows; tap the tile to view full size.

End of the day back at camp, Trip A 4,630.8 mi trip-to-date, charging free overnight.
Into the park at 8,719 ft, the climb just getting started.
Bear Lake corridor, 9,696 ft, holding 24 mph on the switchbacks.
The high point of the whole trip, 12,209 ft on Trail Ridge Road.
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Next on the trip

Day 23, Down from the foothills: Lyons to Golden, then Meow Wolf

Pack up the Lyons basecamp and tow south to a new base in Golden, then unhitch and run the truck into Denver with friends for Meow Wolf Convergence Station and a rooftop burlesque show, the night before the June 6 ITCHY-O show.

83.9 mi · ~1.5 towing, plus an evening run into Denver · return-leg