Peak-to-Peak Scenic Byway - The Most Scenic Drives in America: 120 Spectacular Road Trips - page 414

the so-called butterfly burn, on the Twin Sisters' west face. This is a stand of trees that
sprouted on a previously burned slope and resembles a giant butterfly.
7. Lily Lake
The lilies are long gone from Lily Lake—early homesteaders periodically drained its wa-
ters,causingtheflowerstodie—buttheyliveoninitsname.Fullonceagain,thelakelures
a steady stream of ring-necked ducks, mallards, and migrating Canada geese.
8. Estes Park
Winter comes early to the Rockies, with snow dusting the hills, then deepens as the days
grow shorter. In early fall, elk wander down from the high country for their annual mating
ritual, which you can see—and hear—from the highway. The road coils around Prospect
Mountain before plunging to the town of Estes Park, the eastern gateway to Rocky Moun-
tain National Park and a popular year-round recreational center. (The town's name reflects
the western custom of referring to any open, grassy valley as a park.)
In the national park, west of Estes, trails shoelace up the snow-draped mountains that
hover above this storybook town. (In summer an aerial tram whisks visitors to the sum-
mit of Prospect Mountain for panoramic views.) The historic Stanley Hotel, a sugar-white
grand dame with a red roof, is a popular warming spot for visitors.
By late April, winter loosens its grip on the valleys and hillsides as distant thunder sig-
nals the return of spring. Rivers swell with snow-melt in May and early June while lumin-
escentwildflowers—alpinebuttercups,shootingstars,andforget-me-nots—bloomthrough
early May, transforming the low country into a land of Oz.