Things to Do in Estes Park, Colorado

This is why most people come, and Estes Park is home to the park’s headquarters. The park draws three to four million visits a year, and most visitors use the town as their base. Bear Lake, Moraine Park, Sprague Lake and Wild Basin are all on the east side, close to town.

★ Good to know From late May to mid-October, you need a timed entry reservation from Recreation.gov to enter between 9 a.m. and 2 p.m., and a separate Bear Lake Road reservation from 5 a.m. to 6 p.m. You can drive in before 9 a.m. or after 2 p.m. without one.

Trail Ridge Road (U.S. 34) crosses the park for 48 miles between Estes Park and Grand Lake. Eleven miles run above treeline, and it tops out at 12,183 feet, the highest continuous highway in the country. Watch for pikas, marmots and bighorn sheep, and take the half-hour Tundra World Nature Trail at Rock Cut.

★ Good to know The road closes to through travel from mid-October to late May. Up top it’s usually windy and 20 to 30 degrees colder than town, so bring a jacket; the park’s road status line is (970) 586-1222.

F.O. Stanley, inventor of the Stanley Steamer, built this 140-room Georgian Revival hotel above town between 1907 and 1910. Stephen King stayed in Room 217 and came away with the idea for The Shining. The hotel runs 60-minute history tours, ghost tours after dark, a Shining tour and a whiskey tour of its vault.

★ Good to know Tours are ticketed and sell by time slot, so book ahead for a summer or October evening.

The tram has carried riders to the top of Prospect Mountain since 1955, a five-minute ride up 2,630 feet to 8,708 feet. From the summit you look out at Longs Peak, the Continental Divide and the whole Estes Valley. No park pass is needed, and there’s a small cafe at the top.

★ Good to know The tram is seasonal and closes for winter, so check its calendar; parking at the base is paid.

The town’s history museum at 200 Fourth St. covers Arapaho summers in the valley, homesteaders, Isabella Bird, Enos Mills and F.O. Stanley. It grew out of a 1962 effort to save artifacts from Stead’s Ranch, and it has run as a town museum since 1992. Admission is free.

★ Good to know It’s open year-round but not every day of the week, so check the town’s museum page before you go.

Olympus Dam went in on the Big Thompson River in 1949 and formed Lake Estes, still the town’s main water supply. The marina at 1770 Big Thompson Ave. rents pontoons, fishing boats, kayaks, canoes, paddleboards, pedal carts and bikes. There’s an ADA fishing pier, picnic shelters and a playground on the grounds.

★ Good to know The paved Lake Estes Trail runs along the shore past the marina, which makes it an easy flat walk or ride after a day at altitude.

These family-run stables sit at 4600 Fall River Road, right beside the park’s Fall River Entrance. Every trail ride heads into Rocky Mountain National Park, from two-hour loops along the Fall River to all-day climbs toward Ypsilon Lake. Kids 2 to 6 can take short hand-led pony rides.

★ Good to know Rides run in summer. Riders must be at least 6 for the two-hour ride, and weight limits drop as rides get longer.

This stocked rainbow trout pond on Moraine Avenue has been an Estes Park tradition since 1933. You don’t need a license, gear or experience, bait is included, and staff will clean your fish. It’s catch-and-keep, and you pay by the inch.

★ Good to know It’s cashless, so bring a card, and it runs on weekends only from mid-October to May 1.