Estes Park

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Beautiful Estes Park, Colorado

A November 2001 trip to Estes Park by KenAngie98

Our cabinMore Photos

Our long-awaited vacation trip to Estes Park, Colorado, where we saw beautiful wildlife and met friendly people and got to RELAX!

  • 7 reviews
  • 4 photos

Beautiful Estes Park, ColoradoBest of IgoUgo

Overview

Visit Rocky Mountain National Park, you won't run out of amazing sights and snow-capped mountains. Be sure to do the hiking trails because they end up at some fantastic little hideaways, like Alberta Falls and scenic lakes surrounded by forests of trees. For a fun afternoon trip, less than an hour away is Ft. Collins, you can see the Clydesdales at the Busch brewery.

Quick Tips:

Go in the off-season, October-March! The park is quiet and peaceful and the summer tourists are long gone, so you have NO crowds, plenty of time to see the park and it's BEAUTIFUL.

Best Way To Get Around:

Rent a car because you need it in the park - the visitor shuttles don't run in the winter because there aren't enough tourists (yes!). Get an SUV so you can drive over the mountains with no worries.

McGregor Mountain LodgeBest of IgoUgo

Hotel

Our cabin
Simple accommodations, you can stay in individual cabins or in "suites" that are like duplexes. Fireplaces and kitchens or kitchenettes, which makes it great on your budget. We bought breakfast and snack items so we could eat in and splurge on dinners. They bring you a stack of wood and fresh towels each day. The cost is very good compared to other inns/lodges in that area, and the best thing of all is the elk and deer that roam all over the property amongst the cabins every day! Pull the shade up each morning and you never know what you''ll see - big elk buck and his does, snowshoe rabbits or chipmunks. And the birds - wow! Bird feeders everywhere make sure plenty of Stellar''s Jays are always around. The owners are friendly and can give you recommendations on things to do and places to eat, etc.
  • Member Rating 4 out of 5 by KenAngie98 on November 21, 2001

McGregor Mountain Lodge
2815 Fall River Road Estes Park, Colorado 80517
(970) 586-3457

Sweet Basilico CaféBest of IgoUgo

Restaurant

Lucky us to have found genuine, superb Italian food in the heart of the Rocky Mountains - the lodge where we stayed recommended this place to us when we wanted take-out one night and we ended up eating there twice! The staff is so friendly - the place is very small though, so even in the slow winter season, we would recommend reservations.
  • Member Rating 4 out of 5 by KenAngie98 on November 21, 2001

Sweet Basilico Café
401 E. Elkhorn Ave. Estes Park, Colorado 80517
970/586-3899

Dunraven InnBest of IgoUgo

Restaurant | "Dunraven Downtown"

Another great place for Italian food in a quaint and lovely atmosphere. Very friendly wait staff and the murals/stencils on the walls are gorgeous! Their marinara sauce is outstanding. Again, it's very small inside so even in the slow winter months, reservations would be best unless you get there early *before 5 pm. They have a larger main restaurant called the Dunraven Inn which we heard was wonderful, but we didn't make it to that location.
  • Member Rating 4 out of 5 by KenAngie98 on November 21, 2001

Dunraven Inn
101 West Elkhorn Avenue Estes Park, Colorado 80517
(970) 586-3818

Poppy's Pizza & GrillBest of IgoUgo

Restaurant | "Poppy's Pizza & Grill"

If you are a pizza lover, this is the place for you. Individual size pizza is perfect size and they have various sauces to choose from. My husband tried the Garlic & Olive Oil sauce and it was great! I stuck with the Traditional Red which was perfect for me. All kinds of toppings both the ones you expect plus interesting ones like Artichokes, Vegetarian Pepporini, Banana Peppers, etc. They also have soups, salads, vegetarian items and burgers on the menu but we would recommend the pizza first, it's their speciality and with good reason. Atmosphere is also great and the people are so nice.
  • Member Rating 4 out of 5 by KenAngie98 on November 21, 2001

Poppy's Pizza & Grill
342 East Elkhorn Avenue Estes Park, Colorado
(970) 586-8282

Rocky Mountain National ParkBest of IgoUgo

Attraction

Elk Herd
We can't say enough about the beauty of the mountains and the streams and the herds of elk, deer and bighorn sheep that roam the park. It had snowed twice this season so there was snow all over the mountains, and depending on what side you were on, some of the hiking trails were coated in snow and ice. Bring your winter hiking shoes! And bring plenty of film for your cameras. There are some places where you can just sit on some rocks overlooking a valley, and the quiet is only broken by the sound of the wind blowing through the trees and an occasional elk calling. Heavan on earth.
  • Member Rating 4 out of 5 by KenAngie98 on November 21, 2001

Rocky Mountain National Park
1000 Highway 36 Estes Park, Colorado 80517
(970) 586-1206

Sombrero Ranch StablesBest of IgoUgo

Attraction | "Sombrero Stables"

Great place to go horseback riding. Some of the stables close in the winter but Sombrero stays open year round. Friendly and knowledgeable guide takes you on rides whose lengths have a duration from 1 hour to all day. (For all day, get there EARLY). They match you to a horse that fits your riding ability - be honest about that and you will have a lot more fun! We rode Applesauce and Mary and took the two-hour ride. We rambled all over the mountain sides and really enjoyed ourselves. Great value too. We are going to try a longer ride next time!
  • Member Rating 4 out of 5 by KenAngie98 on November 21, 2001

Sombrero Ranch Stables
1895 Big Thompson Rd Estes Park, Colorado 80517
(970) 586-4577

About the Writer

KenAngie98
KenAngie98
Homestead, Florida

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