Estes Park in Larimer County, Colorado — The American Mountains (Southwest)

Trail of Aspens

Photographed by Sean C Bath, September 1, 2023

1. Trail of Aspens Marker

Inscription. The light-colored trees growing on the forest slope before you are aspens that mark an old logging "skid trail." In 1907 - eight years before Rocky Mountain National Park was established - lumbermen hauled timbers from a sawmill at Bierstadt Lake, down Bierstadt Moraine, and on to Estes Park to build the Stanley Hotel.

When the logging operation ended, the skid trail's soil lay exposed. Flowering plants quickly invaded the scarred logging path, setting the stage for the aspen trees visible today. Eventually a "climax" forest of Douglas-fir will reclaim the trail. It often takes a century or more for plant succession to repair human disturbances.

Caption (lower left): Logging crew near Bierstad Lake, 1907

Caption (upper right): The strip of aspens on Bierstadt Morine is especially striking in September when aspen leaves turn golden yellow.

Erected by Rocky Mountain National Park, National Park Service, U.S. Department of the Interior.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Environment • Industry & Commerce • Parks & Recreational Areas. A significant historical year for this entry is 1907.

Location. 40° 20.486′ N,

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105° 36.333′ W. Marker is in Estes Park, Colorado, in Larimer County. It is on Hollowell Park Trail. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: Hollowell Park Trail, Estes Park CO 80517, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Colorado’s Front Range.

It is also in the American Mountain West.

Globally, it is in North America,

the Rocky Mountains,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once the Louisiana Purchase.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 5 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: Rocky Mountain National Park Administration Building (approx. 2.9 miles away); Stephen Tyng Mather (approx. 2.9 miles away); Beaver Meadows Visitor Center (approx. 2.9 miles away); Measuring Liquid Gold (approx. 3 miles away); The Woodpecker Army (approx. 3.3 miles away); Rocky Mountain’s “Parks” (approx. 3.4 miles away); Animals in Flux (approx. 4.4 miles away); Ancient Paths, Ancient Peoples (approx. 4½ miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in

Photographed by Sean C Bath, September 1, 2023

2. Trail of Aspens Marker

Trail of Aspens marker at the Hollowell Park Trail

Estes Park.

Credits. This page was last revised on December 8, 2025. It was originally submitted on December 2, 2025, by Sean C Bath of Silver Spring, Maryland. This page has been viewed 49 times since then and 23 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on December 2, 2025, by Sean C Bath of Silver Spring, Maryland. • Andrew Ruppenstein was the editor who published this page.