Exploring Estes Park, CO
Updated March 22, 2024
Time needed in this town/city: 2-3 nights
Best known for its “role” in The Shining, Estes Park is sought-after vacation destination during all times of year.
The below information is a complete guide of the best places to stay, the top rated places to dine and drink, and all there is to see and do. We’ve also included a summary of the history of this quaint town!
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Where to Stay
The Stanley Hotel - The famous hotel in The Shining. Rumor has it, every room has a happy ghost story. If you stay in 217, the maid will put your clothes away.
Where to Dine & Drink
Aidan Sinclair’s Underground (SpeakeasY)
A speakeasy in the basement of The Stanley Hotel that’s also a magic show where some of the greatest magicians in the world perform!
Bird & Jim
Modern mountain dining from an ingredient-driven kitchen.
Boss Burgers and Gyros
Easygoing locale dishing up burgers, gyros & hotdog subs, plus a variety of sides.
Coffee on the Rocks
Chill neighborhood coffee shop serving java & bites in comfy digs with outside tables & a duck pond.
Himalayan Curry & Kabob
Relaxed restaurant featuring a menu of Nepalese & Indian dishes, plus patio seating.
Notchtop Bakery & Cafe
Comfy standby offering large breakfast & lunch menus with a focus on local & organic ingredients.
The View
With unforgettable views, they mainly serve meat and fish dishes,.
Twin Owls Steakhouse
Premier fine-dining in the Taharaa Mountain Lodge.
Things to See & Do
Elkhorn Avenue and Moraine Avenue
More than 200 small businesses line these streets, including eight candy shops, 15 galleries, and 10 restaurants! It’s a great way to spend a day.
Historic Park Theater and Cafe
The Historic Park Theatre is the oldest theatre west of the Mississippi River that was built as a motion picture theatre, that is still operating Film Productions.
It was constructed by J.L. Jackson in 1913 and was completed nearly two years later and sold to Fred Jackson, who operated the theatre until 1922 when he sold it to Ralph Gwynn. It was then that the landmark tower was opened. It was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984 by the new owners, the Stangers.
The Stangers, along with the citizens of Estes Park, also saved the neon lights on the tower by getting a variance passed that allowed the lights to burn in the town of Estes. After the Lawn Lake flood of 1982, Estes Park added a new sign code that banned all neon signs in Estes Park. The citizens of Estes Park decided that the tower should be able to keep the lights burning with a town vote that said the lights on the tower are not a sign.
Rocky Mountain National Park
Rocky Mountain National Park in northern Colorado spans the Continental Divide and encompasses protected mountains, forests, and alpine tundra. It's known for the Trail Ridge Road and the Old Fall River Road, drives that pass aspen trees and rivers. The Keyhole Route, a climb crossing vertical rock faces, leads up Longs Peak, the park’s tallest mountain. A trail surrounding Bear Lake offers views of the peaks.
Seven Keys Lodge
The hotel was founded in 1917 by Anglo-American brothers Charles Mace and Gordon Mace, along with their families. The Inn is known especially for two reasons: 1. The hotel was named for the popular mystery novel, play and films, Seven Keys to Baldpat,e by Earl Derr Biggers; and 2. Was eventually accepted to be the "true" Baldpate by the author. While the hotel originally gave away keys as curios, today, it is known for its collection of more than 20,000 keys, usual, unusua,l and figurative, that have been offered to the inn by visitors, hotel guests, and dignitaries from all over the world.
Keys are catalogued in a database, supported by a grant from American History Saver,s and maintained by rotating curators who offer insight into the collections through a lecture series and blog.
The Stanley Hotel
In 1903, the steam-powered car inventor, Freelan Oscar Stanley, was stricken with a life-threatening resurgence of tuberculosis. The most highly recommended treatment of the day was fresh, dry air with much sunlight and a hearty diet. Therefore, like many "lungers" of his day, Stanley resolved to take the curative air of the Rocky Mountains. He and his wife Flora arrived in Denver, Colorado, in March and in June, on the recommendation of Dr. Sherman Grant Bonney, moved to Estes Park, Colorado, for the rest of the summer. Over the season, Stanley's health improved dramatically, which prompted him to return every year until his death in 1940.
In 1907, Stanley was determined to turn Estes Park into a resort town. Construction began that same year on the Hotel Stanley - a 48-room grand hotel that catered to the class of moderately wealthy urbanites, who composed the Stanleys' social circle back east, as well as to consumptives seeking the healthful climate.
The main hotel and concert hall were completed in 1909 and the Manor in 1910. To bring guests from the nearest train depot in the foothills town of Lyons, Colorado, Stanley's car company produced a fleet of specially-designed steam-powered vehicles called “Mountain Wagons” that seated multiple passengers. Stanley operated the hotel almost as a pastime, remarking once that he spent more money than he made each summer.
In 1926, Stanley sold his hotel to a private company, incorporated for the sole purpose of running it. The venture failed and in 1929, Stanley purchased his property out of foreclosure selling it again in 1930, to fellow automobile and hotel magnate, Roe Emery of Denver.
Until 1983, the resort was only open during the summer, shutting down for the winter every year. The presence of the hotel and Stanley's own involvement greatly contributed to the growth of Estes Park (incorporated in 1917) and the creation of the Rocky Mountain National Park (established in 1915).
The hotel was a member of Historic Hotels of America - a program of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, but in 2022, lost its membership. It’s still on the National Historic Registery.
A History Summary
1850s - The Arapaho had spent summers camped around Mary's Lake where their rock fireplaces, tipi sites, and dance rings were located. They also used the area to hunt.
1859 - The town is named after Missouri native Joel Estes, who founded the community.
1863 - Estes moved his family there.
1867 - Griff Evans and his family came to Estes Park to act as caretakers for the former Estes ranch. Recognizing the potential for tourism, he began building cabins to accommodate travelers.
1872 - The 4th Earl of Dunraven and Mount-Earl, a young Anglo-Irish peer, arrived in late December 1872 and decided to take over the valley for his own private hunting preserve. Lord Dunraven's 'land grab' didn't work, but he controlled 6,000 acres before he changed tactics and opened the area's first resort, the Estes Park Hotel, which was destroyed by fire in 1911.
1874 - Alex and Clara MacGregor arrived soon after and built MacGregor Ranch (which has been preserved as a historic site). Alex incorporated a company to build a new toll road from Lyons, Colorado, to Estes Park. Today, it is known as U.S. Highway 36.
1884 - Enos Mills left Kansas and came to Estes Park, where his relative, Elkanah Lamb, lived. That move proved significant for Estes Park because Mills became a naturalist and conservationist who devoted his life, after 1909, to preserving nearly a thousand square miles of Colorado as Rocky Mountain National Park. He succeeded and the park was dedicated in 1915.
1903 - Anew road was opened from Loveland, through the Big Thompson River canyon to Estes Park, increasing access to the valley.
1907 - Three Loveland men established the first auto stage line, from Loveland to Estes Park, with three five-passenger touring Stanley Steamers.
1908 - Mr. Stanley built nine-passenger steam busses and opened a bus line between Lyons and Estes Park.
1912 - Estes Park had its own seasonal newspaper, the Estes Park Trail, which provided advertising for the local hotels and other businesses. It was year-round, weekly, by 1921.
1916 - The Estes Valley Library was founded by the Estes Park Women's Club. It originally formed part of the old schoolhouse and contained only 262 printed works.
1949 - Olympus Dam was finished, creating Lake Estes, giving the town its main source of drinking water.