Summer is short in the Never Summer Mountains, an imposing chain of 12,000-foot peaks on the western edge of Rocky Mountain National Park. The few months between the snow melt-off and the first storm of autumn see a frenzy of life, when the high basins are lush and teeming with life, in a corner of the park most visitors never experience.

Running through this natural splendor is the Grand Ditch, a 19th Century canal that diverts water from the Colorado River Basin to cities and farmers in northern Colorado. Environmentalists and others still debate the impact removing this water has on the park’s landscape and the health of the river, but the ditch – and the access road that parallels it – allows hikers to make a perfect loop through some of the most lovely and unvisited terrain the national park has to offer.

It can be hiked in a long day, or better yet, split into two days with an overnight stay at one of the back-country campsites in the basins above.

To get there: Enter the park at either the Estes Park or Grand Lake portals – either way will take you about 3.5 hours from Colorado Springs – and park at the Colorado River Trailhead off Trail Ridge Road.

Hike: Head north on the Colorado River Trail, where you will have plenty of company on the gentle 3.5-mile stroll to the old mining town of Lulu City. From here the crowds thin considerably, as the trail begins a steep climb up the wooded slopes of the Never Summer Mountains. If you have time, the trail to La Poudre Pass on your right makes a great side trip to a place called Little Yellowstone.

Reach a well-signed junction and turn right to the Grand Ditch, at the 5-mile point of the hike. This road is used only for park business and ditch maintenance, so expect no traffic as you walk along the ditch, which rises imperceptibly along the way.

You will pass a trail to Skeleton Gulch, a 1.2-mile side trip to a beautiful basin with a secluded campsite.After a couple more miles another trail on the right runs to Lake of the Clouds, also a worthy side trip with two campsites. After 3.2 miles, you will reach the signed junction with the Red Mountain Trail on the left. This 3.9-mile home stretch runs gently but almost constantly downhill, back into the valley of the tiny Colorado River, where you can marvel at the fact this tiny stream will eventually becomes the river that quenches the thirst of much of the West.

Details: Entrance fee to the park is $20 per vehicle. Permits are required for overnight camping. Visit www.nps.gov/romo and click on “plan your visit” for instructions on getting a permit. Fires are not allowed at most back-country campsites.

Dogs and bicycles are not allowed on trails in the park.

Trip Log:

– Two boots- 12 miles- 1,200 feet of elevation gain