Panoramic VR Views Of Summit Lake In Colorado

At the beginning of June, I took a weekend trip to Denver, Colorado for a friend’s bachelor party. On the last day, a buddy of mine from the group and I decided to take a short road trip to Mt. Evans because there was still snow on the peaks. Yes snow in June, crazy huh, especially for a Florida native like myself. We rented a car from one of the rental car places in Denver and drove up to Mt. Evans. The drive was amazing with scenic views at every corner. I was able to capture some 360 VR video footage while driving through the mountains and took some 360 panoramic images every chance we got to pull over. 

Unfortunately for us, we were not able to drive all the way to Mt. Evans due to a storm the day before. The highest place we were allowed to drive was up to Summit Lake Park, which just happens to be the highest park in North America. The park is at a staggering 12,803 feet above sea level with amazing panoramic views of the surrounding mountain ranges. Check out the footage below to see just how beautiful the mountain area is even if under a few feet of snow. 

360 VR little planet time-lapse video of our drive from the park ranger fee station up to Summit Lake. 

Here are eleven of the many 360 degree VR images I captured while at Summit Park. In one of the panoramas, I posed as if I were cold, however, the temperature was actually tolerable for this Florida boy. It was fun to climb up above the lake and I was going to climb up to one of the higher points near the lake but it was steep and I did not know how well the snow would hold out. While hiking up, I was able to shove my tripod legs into the snow to help me climb, at some points the legs would be almost 2ft into the snow. 

About Summit Lake Park

Situated below Mount Evans Massif, Summit Lake Park is the highest city park in North America and is the highest park in the Denver Mountain Parks system.  This area is popular for its impressive scenery, alpine botanical features, and wildlife viewing opportunities.  In 1965, it was designated the first National Natural Landmark in Colorado, as the area is one of the best examples of Arctic tundra in the contiguous United States. 

The Summit Lake area provides habitat for a variety of rare alpine-arctic plants, some of which occur only here and above the Arctic Circle.  Because of the fragile tundra and rarity of these plants, visitors are asked to stay on the trails when visiting the area and not to walk on the tundra.  Forest Service staff and volunteers provide interpretative programs and are available to answer questions.  In addition, Colorado Parks and Wildlife volunteers oversee a wildlife viewing station most weekends.