Estes Park
Estes Park is a statutory town nestled in the Larimer County mountains of northern Colorado, situated at an elevation of 7,522 feet above sea level along the Big Thompson River.[1] Located in southwestern Larimer County, the town recorded a population of 5,904 at the 2020 United States census and forms part of the Fort Collins, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Front Range Urban Corridor. Known as the base camp for Rocky Mountain National Park, the mountain village offers modern amenities alongside mountain hospitality. Archaeological records show that humans have lived in the Estes Valley for at least 12,000 years. Today the town attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors annually, owing to its proximity to one of the most visited national parks in the United States and to iconic landmarks such as The Stanley Hotel.
Indigenous and Pre-Settlement History
Indigenous people have lived and traveled in this region for thousands of years. The land that is now Rocky Mountain National Park was primarily inhabited by the Ute and Arapaho and traversed by other tribes including the Eastern Shoshone, Apache, Comanche, and Cheyenne. Before Europeans came to the Estes Valley, the Arapaho Native Americans lived there in the summertime and called the valley "the Circle." The Arapaho originated in present-day Canada, migrated to the Great Plains due to conflict with neighboring tribes, and eventually migrated into the Front Range of present-day Colorado around 1790, following game into the area that is now the eastern part of Rocky Mountain National Park.
Trails heavily used by both the Ute and the Arapaho are still actively used in the park today, including the Ute Trail, Tonahutu Trail, Flattop Mountain Trail, and Trail Ridge Road. Remnants of the tribes' pre-colonization activities have been found throughout the park, including tools and fragments of pottery, many of which are preserved in Rocky Mountain National Park's museum archives. By the 1880s, the Ute had been pushed to the far southwest corner of Colorado and into Utah, solidifying the removal of the major Indigenous presences in what would become Rocky Mountain National Park in 1915.
Early European-American Settlement
The village, situated at an elevation of 7,522 feet above sea level, takes its name from Kentucky-born adventurer Joel Estes, who reportedly moved to the Estes Valley from California in 1859. Joel Estes first came to the area on a hunting trip in October of 1859 and decided to establish a cattle ranch in the area, beginning the settlement of Estes Park. Estes thought the valley held promise as a cattle ranch, so in 1863 he moved his family near what is now Estes Park.
In 1864, William Byers, the owner and editor of the Rocky Mountain News, visited the area and named it Estes Park in honor of his host. Byers came from Denver in August 1864 with several companions, including John Wesley Powell, to climb Longs Peak. Powell and Byers were most likely the first white men to reach the summit of that high peak. However, Estes found the high altitude and short growing season made farming impractical, so he sold his homestead to Griff Evans, who began building guest cabins, establishing the area's first dude ranch, and welcoming notable guests.
One famous guest of Evans was the Englishwoman Isabella Bird, who traveled to Colorado solo in 1873 and was determined to make it to Estes Park. She chronicled her adventure in A Lady's Life in the Rocky Mountains, which included her friendship with Mountain Jim and their dangerous summit of Longs Peak.
In 1874, Alexander MacGregor incorporated a company to build a new toll road from Lyons to Estes Park. The road became what is today U.S. Highway 36. Before that time, the "road" was only a trail fit for pack horses, and the improved road brought more visitors into Estes Park; some of them became full-time residents and built new hotels to accommodate the growing number of travelers. Cattle ranches were established in the 1870s by, among others, Alexander and Clara MacGregor, who brought in prized herds of Aberdeen Angus cattle. The MacGregor Ranch and Museum is still a working ranch.
The Estes Park, Colorado Territory, post office opened on June 2, 1876. Estes Park was platted in 1905, and the community united to help create a national park. By 1915 Rocky Mountain National Park was established, and official incorporation of the town followed two years later in 1917.
Rocky Mountain National Park and Enos Mills
No figure looms larger in the story of Estes Park's conservation legacy than Enos Mills. Enos Abijah Mills (April 22, 1870 – September 21, 1922) was an American naturalist, author, and homesteader, and the main figure behind the creation of Rocky Mountain National Park. Mills moved to Colorado in 1884 at the age of 14, inspired by his parents' stories about Colorado and having heard that the state's climate could have a therapeutic effect on his health.
In 1909, Mills first proposed that the area become the nation's tenth national park to preserve the wild lands from inappropriate use. He spent several years lecturing across the nation, writing thousands of letters and articles, and lobbying Congress to create a new park that would stretch from the Wyoming border south to Pikes Peak, covering more than 1,000 square miles. Mills may not be as renowned as other conservationists like John Muir, but in Colorado he is known as the "Father of Rocky Mountain National Park."
On January 26, 1915, President Woodrow Wilson signed the bill creating Rocky Mountain National Park on 230,000 acres between the towns of Estes Park and Grand Lake. The park was much smaller than Mills envisioned, but it expanded to its current size of 265,761 acres with the addition of the Never Summer Mountains in 1929. Though many deserved credit for the park's formation, newspapers saluted Enos Mills as the park's "father." At the park's dedication on September 4, 1915, Mills said, "In years to come when I am asleep forever beneath the pines, thousands of families will find rest and hope in this park."
Rocky Mountain National Park, home to 300 miles of hiking trails within 415 square miles of protected mountain wilds, borders Estes Park at its eastern entrance. In 1976, UNESCO designated the park as one of the first World Biosphere Reserves. In 2023, 4.1 million recreational visitors entered the park.
The Stanley Hotel
Among the most celebrated landmarks in Estes Park — and one of the most famous hotels in the American West — is The Stanley Hotel. In 1903, the steam-powered car inventor Freelan Oscar Stanley (1849–1940) 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. Like many "lungers" of his day, Stanley resolved to take the curative air of the Rocky Mountains, and he and his wife Flora arrived in Denver in March, then moved to Estes Park for the rest of the summer.
Famous for co-inventing the steam-powered Stanley Steamer auto in 1897, Stanley employed water yet again in 1909 to build a hydroelectric powerplant on the Fall River in Estes Park. The property opened on July 4, 1909, as a resort for upper-class Easterners and a health retreat for sufferers of pulmonary tuberculosis. The hotel and its surrounding structures are listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
In 1907, three five-seat Stanley Steamers began operating between Loveland and Estes Park, allowing for easier access to the area. In 1909, a 140-room Edwardian-style hotel opened on the outskirts of Estes Park, called the Stanley Hotel. 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 Rocky Mountain National Park, established in 1915.
The hotel gained worldwide cultural fame when horror writer Stephen King visited in 1974. The Stanley Hotel served as the inspiration for the Overlook Hotel in Stephen King's 1977 novel The Shining and its 1980 film adaptation. It was also a filming location for the related 1997 TV miniseries. King and his wife stayed in room 217 at the Stanley Hotel for one night, and it only took that one evening for his creative mind, and a very vivid dream, to visualize the story that would eventually become The Shining book, the subsequent Stanley Kubrick movie, and a television series.[2]
Geography, Climate, and Economy
Situated about 90 miles northwest of Denver, at 7,522 feet above sea level, Estes Park sits in the heart of the Rocky Mountains. Estes Park rests on the banks of the Big Thompson River, a 123-kilometer-long river that starts in Forest Canyon, Colorado, and ends in Lake Estes. The Olympus Dam is located on the Big Thompson River and feeds the Lake Estes Reservoir, which is the town's principal water source. Lake Estes was created by the completion of Olympus Dam in 1949.
With a distinctly snowy winter and comfortable summers, Estes Park experiences a humid continental climate. In the summer and fall, camping, hiking, cycling, rock climbing, and water sports such as stand-up paddleboarding and whitewater rafting are available in Estes Park and nearby areas. Winter brings snow-covered slopes and cold-weather activities such as sledding, ice climbing, snowshoeing, and backcountry skiing.
The top economic sectors in Estes Park are retail trade at 17.2%, healthcare and social assistance at 15.2%, and food and accommodation service at 12.0%. The highest paying sectors are finance and insurance, averaging $105,952, and real estate and rental properties at $79,219. Tourism is the dominant economic driver, anchored by the millions of visitors who pass through the town en route to Rocky Mountain National Park. Estes Park is also the engineering headquarters for the Colorado–Big Thompson Project, which diverts water for irrigation and power generation.[3]
Natural Attractions and Recreation
Surrounded by the protected lands of Rocky Mountain National Park and Roosevelt National Forest, there is no limit to the types or levels of outdoor adventures available near Estes Park. Established as the nation's 10th national park in 1915, Rocky Mountain National Park covers over 265,000 acres and features Longs Peak, a 14,259-foot mountain that is a popular destination for mountain climbers. More than three million people visit the park each year, many traversing the famous Trail Ridge Road, the 45-mile route that is the highest continuous paved road in the U.S., reaching a peak of over 12,000 feet.[4]
Wildlife is so plentiful in the area that elk often wander downtown streets. More than 250 bird species have been known to inhabit the park, and bighorn sheep — the symbol of Rocky Mountain National Park — number around 400 at any given time. In autumn, aspens glow golden, fall festivals commence, and the whole town celebrates the elk rut, where bull elk bugle and spar as they compete for mating rights.
Two scenic drives showcase the area's abundant peaks and forests. On the Peak to Peak Scenic Byway, visitors pass Lily Mountain and Twin Sisters as well as old gold mines and ghost towns. Inside the national park, Old Fall River Road, built in 1920, was the park's first road open to cars — a slow, uphill-only route through the high country, offering views of the Rocky Mountain environment unavailable elsewhere.[5]
In 1982, a man-made earthen dam burst in Rocky Mountain National Park, sending the river out of its banks and into downtown Estes Park, resulting in major destruction along the main street. The community used the disaster as a catalyst for major renewal of the downtown core and earned the nickname "The Gutsiest Little Town in Colorado." Today, visitors are greeted by a main street lined with Victorian lights, trees, mountain flowers, and sidewalk benches, along with walkways alongside the riverfront and lakefront and a landscaped riverside sculpture garden.[6]
Each September, Estes Park hosts the Longs Peak Scottish-Irish Highland Festival, a four-day celebration featuring Celtic bands, Irish and Highland dancers, bagpipes, jousting, and a parade through downtown. The town's calendar also includes the annual Elk Fest each fall, drawing visitors eager to witness and hear the dramatic bugling of bull elk on the valley floor.