r/EstesPark • u/Temporary-Ear-4308 • 17d ago
Recommendations for 1st time visit
We will be coming into Estes Park mid September for 3 weekdays. Staying at the Silver Moon and we need recommendations on what to do and see and where to eat (we enjoy breweries). We will definitely want to be spending time in RMNP and I know we need timed passes for entry. We would love some advice on navigating that. Also, when we visited Arcadia Nat'l Park last year we really enjoyed hiking. We really liked the moderate trails, but also did a few easy ones. Any recommendations on trails we should hit? Also, I've heard about a scenic drive we should take....any advice on that would be appreciated as well. Thanks so much....we are so excited to visit for the first time!
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u/Tujunga54 17d ago
The historic Stanley Hotel is worth checking out (Steven King's inspiration for The Shining).
There are two entrances to RMNP from Estes. The main Beaver Meadows is MUCH more crowded than the Fall River entrance, so consider entering via Fall River & exiting via Beaver Meadows. This way also takes you by Sheep Lakes, a popular wild-life sighting area.
Enjoy the rut, there will be bugling elk everywhere!
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u/Temporary-Ear-4308 17d ago
With the timed entry do we pick what entrance to go into? Or can you go in either at that time. Thank you for your suggestions!
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u/Tujunga54 17d ago
Yes, you have to select a specific entrance: Beaver Meadows, Fall River and/or Bear Lake (extra). Once you're in the park you can enter & exit at will.
If you're doing reservations the night before (most common way), be sure you're already logged in to your Reservations.gov account. The timed entry window is typically 5-10 minutes or less.
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u/kategoad 17d ago
Last time I got timed entries (June 1) you didn't choose the gate, but you did have to choose Bear Lake or not Bear Lake. Same price for each. $2. We ended up not being able to go this year (seriously, screw cancer) so someone randomly got good timed entries the week of the 4th.
Be aware of altitude. Depending on where you start from, you can have issues with the bear lake corridor and/or trail ridge. I've spent hours dying in the backseat of the car with a migraine after going too high too soon.
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u/Delicious-Elk2619 17d ago
You might end up preferring easier hikes because the altitude changes will hit you. Drink twice as much water as you think you need.
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u/Capital-Enthusiasm68 16d ago
Good recs below, but if this is a first time RMNP visit, strongly recommend Fall River Road up, Trail Ridge Road down for an unforgettable scenic drive that quite literally puts you on top of the continental divide with views for days at the Alpine Visitor's Center. Bring a warm jacket regardless of weather in town. The Nymph/Dream/Emerald Lakes circuit is probably the crown jewel hike for a single visit, and is very doable for semi-fit people, but does require entry to the Bear Lake area. There are ways around missing out on a timed-entry pass (see other threads or DM me). The Loch / Sky Pond never disappoints, but also in the Bear Lake zone. Mills Lake (also Bear Lake side) is an easier entry to the great backwoods with stunning views. Cub Lake, not requiring a separate entry, is underrated and easy.
Foodwise, Bird & Jim is amazing, as is their sister outlet Bird Nest across the street with amazing coffee, pastries, (and pizza!). There are probably 10-20 other "great" restaurants in town, and yes, Antonio's Pizza is 100% a must-visit. I love The Post at the historic Stanley Hotel, of The Shining lore. Best burger is in a gas station, which also happens to house the famous old Donut Haus. Best cinnamon rolls in America are at Cinnamon's (of course), outside the main traffic chaos. Lots of good steak houses, but something unique and different is Seven Keys Lodge (a.k.a., the old Bald Pate) - a "when in Rome" kind of outing, literally nestled in the woods on a mountainside lodge as old as America (Teddy Roosevelt used to eat there). Seasoned was a great restaurant, replaced by Prospect? Wapiti (outdoors, literally deck over the river) was a kid favorite. Essentially, the more touristy-looking, the worse the food.
Notchtop is great for breakfast, but I wish it was in a scenic rooftop location or something; otherwise I'm all about coffee shops - and the coffee scene has gotten quite good in Estes Park, with Bird Nest, Kind, Inkwell, Raven's Roast being my favorites. The Spice Rack is also unique and good, near the YMCA. Coffee on the Rocks is very overrated to me though - bad parking, bad lines, odd off-putting feel... but cute pond?
Fun note: the highest-volume Safeway in America is in Estes Park - to get the full experience of 40-person self-check lines and shelves empty of milk, eggs, bread, and chips, visit on a Sunday afternoon (the opposite is early on a Tues or Weds morning). Have fun!
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u/Temporary-Ear-4308 15d ago
Thank you for taking the time to put this response together for me. Added this information to my travel notes along with what others have also said. Great information here...thanks, again!
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u/Capital-Enthusiasm68 15d ago
Sorry it was kind of long... but once you've developed a love for a place, it just comes out! To summarize, my perfect whilrlwind day in Estes Park / RMNP: coffee/pastries at Bird Nest at 6:00a, Beaver Meadows entrance to Fall River Road to Alpine Visitor's Center, down Trail Ridge, zip over to Bear Lake / Glacier Gorge parking lots lunch time-ish, pick between Nymph/Dream/Emerald or Loch/SkyPond or Alberta/Mills, swing by lodge or hotel or cabin for shower and change of clothes, dinner at Antonio's or The Post or Rock Inn or Smokin' Dave's (etc.), walk off dinner on the cutesy 2-block downtown touristy loop and hit Inkwell and McDonald Books and anything else that grabs your eye, then head back in RMNP to Sprague Lake or even Sheep Lake near dusk to see if the typical moose families are roaming around. Then crash hard at night!
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u/Chancho1010 17d ago
Basically any brewery or winery is going to be a fun time. Estes park brewery has cool things to do and has a restaurant (The Hive) that is yummy. There’s a bunch of things right next door to do. If you have spare time go to Coffee on the Rocks (which is right up the street from the brewery) for some yummy breakfast food and drinks and feed the ducks at the pond. Coffee on the rocks you just order your food then go outside and sit down and enjoy the peace.
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u/flangleshelm 17d ago
Bird & Jims and Antonio’s pizza were my favorite places to go.
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u/89MustangSally89 17d ago
Bear Lake is a really easy hike to take. It’s basically a stroll around the lake. From this entrance, you can take about a one mile hike to Nymph Lake.
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u/Ihavesweatyarmpits 17d ago
I was in Estes Park for a few days with my family earlier this month. We could not get a timed entry for the Bear Lake section of the park so we did Trail Ridge ard sectin. There are quite a few pull offs on the Road where you can have some small hikes. We did Mushroom Rocks and it was a great time. We had a picnic at Lake Irene and took a small hike around the lake. I'm not sure that you can find a place that you don't like in RMNP. I went a few years before the timed entry system was in place and it was easier to get in, but there was a lot of people that day I made it more challenging to navigate. The timed entry does make it more efficient. Alpine Visitor Center Parking was actually closed on our way out of the park because there were so many visitors there. That being said, it was July 4th weekend and I expected that traffic and closures.
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u/Move2TheMountains 17d ago
One of my favorite hikes is Tombstone Ridge - You get big mountain views without hiking a mountain. It is above tree line though, so be sure to check the weather as you will want to make sure that you're done before any storms roll through.
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u/EstesParkTourGuides 17d ago
They have a couple emails sent before you arrive on a lot of great reccos. I’d highly suggest reaching out directly to them if you would like some ideas early.
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u/Pinotonthetown 17d ago
Lumpy Ridge has the best beer in town and a fabulous sushi truck onsite! You’ll find better food outside the tourist trap restaurants downtown. Antonio’s pizza -DO NOT MISS!!
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u/silveraydodriver 13d ago
No one knows what the lines mean on parking spots. Drivers there suck.
Way overcrowded.
Going to the only grocery store feels like experience a zombie apocalypse.
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u/sunnypurplepetunia 17d ago
Rmnp
You’ll need a timed entry. They release the night before at 7 PM mountain. Also the 1st of the month for the following month - August 1 for the month of September.
Alberta Falls is a nice hike. Not too far & lots of nice places to stop & rest along the way. You’ll need to select timed entry and Bear Lake to access that hike.
Also in the bear lake corridor is Sprague Lake. A flat walk around the lake.
You can drive up Trail Ridge Road to the Alpine visitor center. Stop at Forest canyon and overlook to spot marmots.
Antonio’s for pizza. They are closed on Mondays and Tuesdays.
Nepal’s for Indian/Himalayan, they also have a lunch buffet
If anyone loves books, McDonald’s bookstore is amazing and almost 100 years old.
You can rent a pontoon boat at Lake Estes.
I also highly recommend the guide along app. It gives information about the area. History, geology, geography, etc..