Trip Advisors 25 Top Destinations in the United States

Congratulations to the town of Estes Park, CO! Due to you, our guests, we have been chosen number 14 for the Top 25 Destinations in the United States by Trip Advisor reviews. This is quite exciting after reviewing the peers in this list.

Estes Park is open year round and is home to approximately 6,000 people, during our peak time the number of people significantly increases. There are thousands if not millions of people who come through Estes Park to get to the Rocky Mountain National Park.

Though the Rocky Mountain National Park is the biggest draw to the region, it is not the only. The town of Estes Park is rich in history, has an abundance of wildlife to view, fine art galleries, shopping for most anyone’s taste and lodging to fit your travel needs.

The first settlers came to the Estes Valley during the mid 1800s. Many of these men and women had an impact on what Estes Park is today. Joel Estes was known as the “founder” of Estes Park. Earl of Dunraven loved the valley so much he tried to buy all the land to make his own hunting reserve-needless to say it didn’t go over well with other settlers. Isabella Bird was the original naturalist for the Rocky Mountain National Park. Alexander Q. MacGregor was a large cattle rancher that his historical working ranch is open to visit an era back in time.

F.O. and F.E. Stanley jumpstarted tourism with the opening of the luxurious Stanley Hotel. The world renowned Stanly Hotel ws opened in 1909 and ran their Stanley Steamer mountain bus shuttles through the Big Thompson Canyon. These twin brothers were truly entrepreneurs and inventors.

Get your binoculars, your tracking guide and hiking boots-the wildlife throughout the valley is still plentiful, if not troublesome at time. These animals will get into your garbage, flower beds and even bird feeders. As you are out and about you may spot different species of birds, bobcat, bear, fox, marmot, mule deer (yes, they have ears like a mule), elk, big horn sheep and if you are lucky maybe a mountain lion. Keep in mind these beautiful creatures are wild-do not approach!

Through the years, Estes Park has refined their art community. There are many galleries downtown showcasing photography, paintings, glasswork, woodcarvings, pottery, sculptures and jewelry. There is even an Art Center to help organize our Estes Park artists.

Do you want that momentous item, key chain, t-shirt or even decorations for your home? Estes Park downtown shopping has just about anything you’d want. I have purchased decorations, gifts and Montana Silversmith items from the Colorado Homestead. They have a wide selection of quality products that you’ll be happy to take home with you. You can even shop online if you decided you made the mistake of leaving that western dinnerware on their shelves instead of packing it in your car.

When you came to visit the Rocky Mountain National Park, it doesn’t mean you have to rough it. Black Canyon Inn on MacGregor Ave is a beautiful vacation rental property featuring condos. We have a great setting to return to after that long hike up to Gem Lake. During the summer we have our outdoor heated pool available or winter you can run water into your private jetted tub and relax. The spacious one, two and three-bedroom condos are great to fix a bite and sit in front of the stone faced gas fireplace with a movie on the television set.

Take the time today to plan your trip to the 14th Top Destinations in the United States-Estes Park Colorado!