Estes Park

There are several towns that are gateways into the mountains. Estes Park on the eastern edge of Rocky Mountain National Park is particularly popular because you can go from comfy hotel to mind-blowing mountains in 10 minutes.

It's a charming place with river walks, galleries, shops and a movie theater. There’s also no shortage of places to stay. Its popularity has spawned a building boom resulting in a wide range of accommodations from charming cottages along Lake Estes and the Fall and Big Thompson rivers, to roadside motels, condos, and the famous historic Stanley Hotel which sits atop Estes Park, white and stately like a red-roofed confection on top of a cake.

The Stanley Hotel
The hotel was built by F O Stanley. He and his twin brother made their money creating and patenting a film process they sold to Kodak. As a sideline, the created the famous Stanley Steamer, the first and only steam-powered automobile.

In 1907 Stanley and his wife Flora were summering in Estes Park. But one thing was missing, a real hotel. So Stanley set out to build one. But like any project, it grew and grew and grew. There were no real roads or infrastructure, so he expanded trails into roads, and built a hydroelectric power plant (which is now a museum) that provided electricity to both the hotel and the tiny town at its base. Stanley built the hotel not to make money, but to lure his friends to join him, so he made it a grand hotel. It was also a hotel of firsts. Finished in 1909 it was the first electric hotel in the world. It was also the first hotel with a phone in every room, and the first hotel you had to arrive in by car. Even if you took the train.

But Stanley wasn’t quite finished tinkering either with the hotel or with Estes Park. In 1915 Rocky Mountain National Park opened. Years of intense hunting and fishing had destroyed the wildlife, so Stanley brought herds of elk back to the park from Montana and restocked the streams with fish.

Today the hotel has been restored and is a beautiful place to stay with an elegant lobby, excellent food, and a sophisticated yet friendly bar. A swimming pool and lovely grounds finish the package. The hotel offers tours, both a history and a ghost story tour. Both are fascinating.

Offroading in Roosevelt National Forest

As lovely as the town was, as elegant as the hotel, it’s the majestic mountains stretching to the sky that was the real draw for me. One of my favorite experiences was offroading with American Wilderness Tours. That’s pretty much Odd --“My mother named me that because she couldn’t spell peculiar” -- Lyngholm. There’s day and evening tours with the added bonus of a steak or chicken dinner around the campfire. All this takes place in the Roosevelt National Forest, named by Herbert Hoover in 1932 to honor Theodore Roosevelt’s efforts in creating the National Forest System. Offroading isn’t permitted in Rocky Mountain National Park.

Lyngholm is a transplanted Norwegian who came to the US in the 1950s. We piled into the Hummer (a real one, not the yuppie version) and Lyngholm pointed to the very top of a mountain. “That’s where we’re going to go,” he said. I wasn’t sure I believed him, but we rode up over 9000 feet of bad to nonexistent road – including misnamed Pole Hill Road, which was no road like I’ve ever been on. Originally a stage coach trail between Loveland and Estes Park, to say it’s rutted is like calling the Rockies a bit of a hill.

As soon as we left the paved highway, Lyngholm let the air out of the tires (real Hummers can inflate and deflate at the flip of a switch) to soften the ride. Oh, yeah. As we jolted along with heads hitting the ceiling we had instant sympathy for stage coach riders of yesteryear. It took them 13 hours to go 26 miles.

Lyngholm told jokes on the way up and generally charmed all of us. So, when after bouncing along for several miles, Odd announced it was now our turn to drive, we’re not sure he was serious. But he was. Suddenly each of us was about to become vroom, vroom powerful.

In preparation, Odd stopped the Hummer and pointed out a large boulder in the road. “Most vehicles would need to maneuver around this,” he said, “but we don’t do that.” He paused for effect inviting us to think that the boulder would defeat any forward movement. “No,” he continued, “we drive right over it.” And that’s exactly what we did. Word of caution: you do have to go slow or your spine will shoot its way out the top of your head.

Hummers can climb their way over an obstacle up to 18" (1.5 feet) high. Totally enamored by this ability and the power it conferred on us, we followed Odd’s example, eschewing the easier part of the road in favor of testing the Hummer’s limits.

And then we learned of another really cool Hummer trick. Going up or down an incline up to a 45 degree angle, when we removed our feet from the brake or the gas, the Hummer stopped cold. No sliding downhill. We were very impressed.

We stopped to admire an aspen grove, and ended our upward journey at Panorama Peak, 9400 feet up where the valleys are far below and the mountains surround you and open their arms.

Rocky Mountain National Park

The Rockies are majestic. They rise into the mists of the sky, and play with the clouds. You can think you’re seeing their snow-capped peaks only to have the wind blow away the fog and realize the mountains climb even further into the blue sky than you imagined. Standing in a corner of the Rocky Mountains, created from upthrusts and upheavals when nothing remotely human walked the earth, and surrounded by peaks up over 14,000 feet, thousands of acres of grassland, tundra, with forests filled with elk, bear and more is to truly understand human insignificance.

Yet, this national treasure can be experienced by everyone, in a dozen or more different ways. You can fish, try horse back riding along the special trails. Enjoy backcountry skiing. Hike into the woods and experience solitude. Photograph the natural wonders. Tour. Even take a seminar. Park rangers provide a variety of hikes, strolls, plant and wildlife observation programs and tours. There’s even a kid’s nature adventure, and special programs including one on the park through the eyes of artists, and another on map skills. In addition, associations in Estes Park provide programs within the Rocky Mountain National park, including horseback riding and educational seminars. Or simply drive around the park on the excellent paved roads experiencing its staggering beauty.

Amazed at how much it was possible to see by a combination of driving and walking about a mile or so, I turned to our guide Kyle Patterson, of the National Park Service. A big smile lit up her face, “Oh, yes,” she exclaimed, “that's what we want people to understand. How easy it is to enjoy the park.”

While I’m not sure those who see the park as pristine wildness and wish to keep it that way would be as enthusiastic, with 266,000 acres there’s still plenty of room to get lost in the solitary beauty.

Trail Ridge Road, at 12,183 feet, is the highest continuously paved road in the US. It was built to take people over the Continental Divide, the romantic and majestically beautiful place where the waters divide, rivers flowing either west to the Pacific Ocean or southeast to the Gulf of Mexico. And sadly closed when we arrived due to poor weather conditions. It was June but tiny snow flakes were falling mixed with drizzle which created icy road conditions.

If you prefer to leave the driving to others, there’s a free shuttle bus system that operates through the summer along the upper parts of Bear Lake Road visiting some of the major trail heads, helping to unclog the roads as well as make is easy for everyone to enjoy the ride. Park in the special shuttle lot and busses come along every 10 to 12 minutes (depending on season) and made two different loops through the park. You can get on and off, hike somewhere and then take the shuttle back. No driver misses the scenery because she or he is behind the wheel, and no problem finding a parking place at the trailhead (which can indeed be an issue in the height of the season). Check on the time of the last shuttle to avoid being stranded.

We did most of our touring by car, with frequent breaks for elk sightings, and stops to explore some of the more popular trailheads. Bear Lake is a beautiful easy walk and one of the few sub alpine lakes that is directly accessible by car. Nestled in a glacial valley at 9,500 feet, it lived up to its glacial nature by snowing on us. Nonetheless, bundled up, and lightly dusted with snow, we inhaled the beauty of the moment. Which we also shared with many other people. This is one of the most popular hikes.

But it was Sprague Lake that offered the view of the famous Continental Divide. Although clouds obscured the peaks, the walk around the lake was gorgeous. Sprague Lake also has a short trail leading to a backcountry camping site designed to be accessible for those with physical limitations. Ironically, after seeking a good view of elk throughout the park, it was on that trail that I got my best view. A impressively large male with full set of antlers standing frozen about 10 feet away. It lasted a fraction of a second, before he simply disappeared into the forest.

Alluvial Fan was another excellent stop. In 1982, a dam burst and Lawn Lake flooded through the mountains with a wall of water so intense that it wiped out part of the mountain, and sent boulders and churning water through the town of Estes Park. The town has been rebuilt, but the effects on the mountain are clear in the waterfall and in the boulders strewn along the path. Although only about an hour later, the snow had given way to warm sunshine as we clambered up the slope alongside the water falls.

Accessibility
Despite the exoticism and image of wilderness and wildness, there are three trails which have been made accessible to those with difficulty walking. These aren’t paved, but they are level. Sprague Lake Trail, Lily Lake, and Coyote Valley. Sprague Lake Camp is also considered to be an accessible camp site.

In one afternoon we managed to both see quite a bit, and long for time to see more. The Rocky Mountains allow you to create your own nature experience, and I wished for days more time to create one uniquely mine.

Some Tips: The ease with which people can come and enjoy the park means this is one of the most popular and visited parks in the system. Start your day early to avoid the crush of that peaks between 10 and 2. The park is open 24/7 and never closes. Well, except for one day in March of 2003 when 8 feet of snow fell in 24 hours. The park is home to elk, moose, mule deer, black bear, coyotes, mountain lion, falcons, big horn sheep and various raptors. But they generally shy away from visitors, and visitors are urged to remember these are real wild animals and not Disneyfied. The mountains make their own weather is an adage to remember. Regardless of what it’s like in town, the weather in the park can change in minutes. And as if to bring that point home during our visit it went from snow to sun, from freezing to warm. Dress in layers. Bring drinking water. Pets are not allowed on the trails. And frankly, why would anyone want to bring their animal friends when there are wild animals around that eat littler critters. If you’re planning on doing hiking, you may need a few days to acclimate to the altitude. If you’re planning to stay overnight, you have to be in a designated campground site or a backcountry campsite reserved by a valid permit. So, plan ahead.

If You Go -- Estes Park Restaurants The town also has a good selection of restaurants from the rustic to the more sleek and contemporary, and low-key places perfect for an informal meal. Twin Owls Steakhouse was a lodge with a very rustic yet comfortable feel and lots of wood, both inside and out. Like dining in the middle of the mountains. Which is exactly what we were doing. Molly B’s for breakfast is perfect for an informal hearty meal. Very popular with the locals so be prepared to wait. It’s worth it. For lunch, we enjoyed the contemporary design at The Gallery Restaurant. Located in a tiny atrium with a waterfall and fish pond, it’s a lovely setting with excellent food. Dinner at Mary’s Lake Lodge was outdoors on their heated porch with a gorgeous view of the lake, and fine food in a rustic setting. For More Information on Estes Park visit Estes Park.

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© 2005