Nine months into the job, concedes he has much to learn about the best places to visit across the rugged landscape under his command. Not long after he arrived last August, while he was still getting settled in the superintendent’s chair, the park began transitioning from summer to winter operations. Before long, snow blanketed the park and hiking season ended.
He has seen some of the obvious visitor attractions, though, and found them enchanting. “I’m looking forward to getting into the interiors of the park,” Ingram said. “I’ve had people tell me these little places are beautiful, but you have to get a mile in, or three, where it will blow your mind.
” Here’s how he describes three of the places that moved him, plus one he has no intention of visiting. Ingram’s introduction to popular Bear Lake came when fall colors made the experience even more intense than usual. There are four switchbacks on the final mile of the drive to the trailhead with lots of aspen to see.
“Who doesn’t love Bear Lake?” Ingram said. “You’re driving up those switchbacks, I spilled coffee all over the car. The colors were so brilliant, I didn’t care about the coffee.
I didn’t want to lose focus on this insane beauty.” One of the first hikes Ingram took with his wife, Athena, was around Sprague Lake, a family-friendly 0.8-mile loop with wonderful views of the Continental Divide.
“It was gorgeous,” Ingram said. “There were elk around. And that’s an easy lake to g.