Estes Park & Rocky Mountain National Park
This website has good information on shuttles
https://www.visitestespark.com/plan/getting-around/free-shuttle-buses/
Rocky Mountain National Park
Rocky Mountain National Park has started using timed entry during peak season. I believe if you’re there before 9 you don’t need the timed entry permit for parts of the park. Different areas seem to have a different timed entry reservation as well. But either way you do need a park permit. For more up to date info I found this website.
https://www.nps.gov/romo/planyourvisit/timed-entry-permit-system.htm
Wild Basin Trailhead to Calypso Cascades along the North St. Vrain River near Allenspark, CO (2022)
We were there before 9:00 am and it was packed. We had to park a mile away and then walk to the trailhead. So the short hike we chose wound up being 2 miles longer than we planned.
It was a beautiful hike though! There were waterfalls, cascades and the beautiful river for a lot of it. Copeland Falls (lower & upper) were amazing. We did a little boulder climbing to see a lot of the falls as there were multiple levels of them. It was so pretty. There were multiple sets of cascades on the way to Calypso Cascades. The Calypso Cascades were simply beautiful. My photos do not do it justice.
Crossing over the continental divide on Trail Ridge Road
-Some people do get altitude sickness from being up so high.
-Parts of the road are nerve wrecking. I remember some steep drop offs and lots of twists and turns. My husband has always driven this when we’ve needed to go over; I don’t know that I would be brave enough.
-Fill up with gas before going. -It always takes longer than I think it will.
-Take a jacket. -This road is not open all year. It also looks like a timed entry permit might be needed now.
-There is another way to the Granby area by going south and kind of making a half circle to get there via Black Hawk or Boulder and then going north by Winter Park.
There are some beautiful views driving on Trail Ridge Road. There is also an Alpine store at the top. While there, there is a trail to the top of the mountain as well. There are lots of pretty alpine lakes on the drive.
Alluvial Fan (June 2013 & 2017)
This was a short hike to see the Alluvial Fan and its waterfall. We went once in June of 2013 & it was so beautiful. When we went again in 2017 it was totally different. There was a terrible flood in that area the fall of 2013, so I’m guessing that is why the change. I’m not sure what it looks like now. When I did a little looking online, the pictures look pretty from recently. It looks like there is even a nice path.
Bierstadt Lake Hike (RMNP) (Sept 2016)
It looked like a nice easy 3 mile round trip with just a few switch backs on the map. It felt much longer. The whole thing was switchbacks straight up a very steep mountain. So both kids (2 & 4) were having trouble. Both of them wound up needing to be carried over half of the way up. Then when we finally got to the top it was still a hike to the lake. Then it said there was a circle path around the lake. We just picked left thinking we'd see it and turn around. We didn't see it until we were almost all the way around. The path was so wide from the lake we couldn't see it at all. Finally when we got to the part with the path to the lake we were almost back to the start of the circle. The lake was pretty, but wasn't worth the hike with young children, in my opinion. If we weren’t carrying children it might have felt more worth it. Our kids liked hiking and had trouble; so maybe just a bit hard for younger kids. The views on the hike up and down were very pretty with the trees changing colors.
Sprague Lake (RMNP) (2016)
There is a trail around this lake that we didn’t take. But the parking lot is very close to the lake. So this is a nice easy lake to see.
Nymph Lake, Dream Lake & Emerald Lake hike (RMNP) (2016)
This is one of my favorite hikes we’ve done in Colorado; that didn’t have a waterfall. (I love waterfalls) We hiked to 3 different lakes. It was about a 3.5 mile round trip. It took us to Nymph Lake first. It was very pretty and was covered in lily pads! Then we went on to Dream Lake which was also very beautiful. Then on to Emerald Lake. It was totally worth the hike! It was gorgeous! It was very clear but green at the same time. It had quite a few people, but less and less as we passed each lake. A lot of people seemed to turn around after Nymph Lake. It was a while ago; but I remember both kids (2 & 4) being able to do this hike on their own.
Alberta Falls from Bear Lake (RMNP) (2016)
We took about a 2 mile hike to Alberta Falls & back to Bear Lake after finishing the Nymph Lake, Dream Lake & Emerald Lake hike. Alberta Falls was beautiful; but the path was kind of steep & the trail was SO crowded. We could hardly get a look at the waterfall because there were so many people.
Bear Lake (RMNP) (2016)
Bear Lake was easy to get to and pretty. We didn’t walk the trail around it; but there is one.
Glen Haven General Store (Glen Haven, CO)
We used to vacation near here a lot when I was a child. We’d walk to this General Store to get a treat like rock candy. But the best thing they had were huge cinnamon rolls. It looks like they still have them! They may not be open all the time in the off season, but they do have a website to check. You can pre-order the cinnamon rolls too. I haven’t been in years; but going is something I do every time I’m in the area.
Fun City
https://www.funcityofestes.com/
I haven’t been here in quite a while. The website looks like they have added some things. I remember having a lot of fun here as a child. I know we’ve taken our children once at some point too.
Walking around the touristy streets in Estes
Getting taffy from The Taffy Shop, shopping for souvenirs and going to the Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory are always fun. There are lots of shops to stop at and many places to get a sweet treat or a meal.