The Perfect Long Weekend Trip to Estes Park, CO
Looking for Something New To Do? Take the Perfect Long Weekend Trip to Estes Park, CO!
Living in the middle of Nebraska, we aren’t necessarily close to anything super exciting to do or a lot of outdoor activities. But we forget that we are literally only 5 hours from many things to do in Colorado. One of my most favorite places in the world is Estes Park. We take a weekend trip to Estes Park at least once a year. Being in nature and seeing wildlife totally inspires me and I come home relaxed and refreshed! Have you been?
Now, when I say Estes Park, I’m not necessarily referring to the town. Although it is a cute little mountain tourist town. But I’m referring to the general area. You’ve probably heard the hype and asked yourself, “Is Estes Park really worth visiting?” I can tell you with absolute certainty, it’s worth the hype! Rocky Mountain National Park sits on the edge of the town and is the main attraction to the area, along with the elk. The natural beauty is astounding. The wildlife. Things to do. It has it all!
When is the best time to visit Estes Park?
In the Spring and Fall, the elk are down from the mountains and take over the town. That’s what makes it such a destination. I don’t think there’s a bad time because mountain towns in the winter are beautiful and less crowded but they can be difficult to navigate with all the snow. If I had to pick just one best time to visit Estes Park, it would be early October. The pictures above were from a trip in early October - the weather was beautiful, the elk were everywhere and it was perfect!
Just a warning - because the elk are very used to people, they will get close and act as if no one is there. People don’t always use common sense when they see them, forgetting that they are, in fact, wild animals. Every year there are injuries from people getting too close, which may result in the animal having to be put down. So, use your zoom lens and give them some space.
How Many Days Do You Need to Visit Estes Park?
I would recommend a minimum of 2 full days there, not including travel time. But if you only have a 3 day weekend and can get there with 1 full day and 2 partial days, you’ll still have a blast. You need 1 day to visit Rocky Mountain National Park. You can spend an evening in town wandering around and going out to eat and the morning before you leave doing the same.
What’s the Best Way to Get to Estes Park?
Driving from Kearney, NE, we take I-80 to I-76 to Hwy 34, which goes through Big Thompson Canyon. The total drive time is 7 hours, but you gain an hour so it’s 6 hours and the scenery is beyond gorgeous. The river flows next to most of the road and you are surrounded by giant rock formations. You can pull off and take pictures or fish or just enjoy the scenery.
If you fly, you can fly into Denver and then drive, the fastest route is 1.5 hours taking I-25 to Hwy 36 through Boulder. Or you can go a little out of your way and go all the way north to Loveland and through Big Thompson Canyon. It’s a 2-hour drive, taking I-25 to Loveland and then Hwy 34 into Estes Park.
Where is the Best Place to Stay in Estes Park?
In my opinion (and anyone I refer that has stayed there agrees), Aspen Winds is the best place to stay in Estes Park! Aspen Winds sits just outside Rocky Mountain National Park and is run by some family friends who have lived in Estes since before it was such a destination. Dot, Phil and their son Ryan are the nicest people you will meet. The same guests tend to stay there year after year and are remembered by name. They become like family.
And the resort sits right on the Fall River, this is the view above. When you sit outside on the swings and enjoy a glass of wine or beer, the sound of the river is magical. If you book there, tell them Erica sent you when you check in! These are all pictures I personally took there, it’s the most peaceful place. You won’t regret it. If you stay, please tag me in your photos or send me a note to let me know what you thought!
We always book a ground floor room with a hot tub inside the room. We love to go in and out and sit by the river. And you can crack the windows at night and listen to the river rush by. There’s also a hot tub outside for all guests to use. The rooms have kitchenettes so you can cook onsite to save a little money, which is nice.
If you’re there when the elk are down, you’ll see them all over town. They’re often also sitting outside the resort at Aspen Winds. We were there in the Fall of 2019 and had a giant bull elk outside our door (in pic above) and another elk right by the office where you check in (again, pictured above). We were on the trails in town by the golf course and suddenly, one bull elk started chasing another and they were running right towards us. In this case, we weren’t originally too close, but we had to jump the fence to get out of the way. Our hearts were definitely pumping!
Aspen Winds isn’t pet friendly and we did stop through unexpectedly one time while we were on a Colorado road trip with our dogs, so we booked a night at Murphy’s Resort, which is pet friendly. It was late April so we didn’t take advantage of the resort features much but they have a pool and hot tub. The room was nice and had a kitchenette. They had movies we could borrow and a DVD player in the room.
The really nice feature was that our room had a patio door with a little back fenced in courtyard. Our husky mix, Zeus, could jump the little wall if he wanted to but our smaller lab mix, Bo, couldn’t. We still had to keep an eye on them but it was a really nice feature.
The night we stayed there, Zeus wanted out on the patio and I went to let him out and luckily looked up. There were elk literally on our back lawn just outside the patio! That would not have ended well, lol! So poor Zeus had to watch them from the other side of the patio door. Here’s a pic, that fence is out our back patio door. We enjoyed our stay and would definitely stay there again when we bring the dogs.
What’s the Best Place to Eat in Estes Park?
There are lots of great food options in town. For coffee in the morning, we’ve had Kind Coffee many times, it’s really good and has a casual, funky atmosphere. Big Horn Restaurant is great, good ole American food. We’ve only had breakfast there but I’m sure all of their food is good based on our breakfasts. Ed’s Cantina is a good option. Hunter’s Chop House has delicious wild game dinners and traditional options. We ate at the Dunraven Inn one night for Italian and it was so good! The Estes Park Brewery has good food and a fun atmosphere too. We’ve never had a bad experience anywhere we’ve eaten in Estes.
What is There to Do in Estes Park?
I’ll be honest - our trips to Estes center around nature and Rocky Mountain National Park. We haven’t done a lot of activities. We have taken the Estes Park Aerial Tram and it was fun! We always go to RMNP, hike, go out to eat in Estes and walk around and see the shops. It’s a very touristy town, lots of shops and restaurants. We love checking out the local breweries, walking along the Fall River in town and walking around Lake Estes. There are tons of activities - horseback riding, fly fishing, white water rafter, etc. You can check out this link to find them all.
How Do You Enter Rocky Mountain National Park?
Did you know that service-disabled military veterans can get an Access Lifetime Pass for $10 that lets them into all National Parks for free? It’s a pretty awesome thank you. If not, there are also times throughout the year that the parks hold free entry days. At the time of this blog post, it’s $25 for a day pass per automobile or $35 for a 7-day pass. Or, you could even purchase an annual pass for $70.
I’ve updated this post because they are now requiring a Timed Entry Permit for entry into Rocky Mountain National Park between May 28 and October 11 and you need to buy that in advance. They are holding a small percentage of permits for day before purchase. They will become available at 5pm Mountain Time the day prior and you can log onto recreation.gov. Be sure to set up your account in advance and be ready at 5pm Mountain Time on the dot. They go fast! If you enter before 5am or after 6pm for the Bear Lake area or before 9am or after 3pm for the rest of the park, you don’t need a permit. For more info, click here.
Trail Ridge Road is called the highway to the sky because it goes up over the Continental Divide. The highest point is 12,183 feet. As you drive up, up, up the forest gives way to alpine tundra. It’s not unusual to see big horn sheep up at the top, usually hanging off the side of the mountain. Watch for stopped cars, that’s a good indication of wildlife to see.
The park is home to elk, moose, big horn sheep, coyotes, mule deer, antelope and black bears. I’ve seen all of these except black bears - but one morning, we came out to our truck at Aspen Winds and a bear had tried to get into our truck. There were paw prints in the dust all over the door, but luckily, no damage. Don’t leave any food in your vehicle or you may not be so lucky, haha!
The Perfect Long Weekend Getaway to Estes Park!
We’ve been to Estes at the end of April, in June, in August, September and October. It’s our favorite long weekend getaway. You only need 3 days from Central Nebraska. Four is even better. Our favorite trip was in October, but you really can’t go wrong. We hope to make it during the winter some time and see the beauty of the mountains covered in snow. Looking for other trip ideas? Check out my second favorite long weekend getaway, a Blackhills trip!
Here’s a map with all of the locations mentioned here marked to make finding them easier. And if you want to see more elk, read about visiting the National Elk Refuge in Jackson, WY here!
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