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Dine and Dish

Food blog with family recipes

June 28, 2014

Summer Travel Series – Estes Park, CO {Giveaway}

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Estes, Colorado Vacation Travel Recap dineanddish.net

Colorado… oh beautiful, Colorado. As a Kansan, I will say that Colorado is one of the most beautiful states to go to within driving distance for us. It is the perfect vacation spot, especially during the heat of the summer, when you are looking for a place a little cooler for respite from the heat. From the scenic mountains, to the gorgeous lakes and rivers, the amazing food, and the opportunity to get up close and personal with wildlife, Colorado is one of my all time favorite vacation spots around.

I hope you all enjoyed my most recent summer travel series post on Holland, Michigan! Today, I’m continuing the series and am going to share with you details about our favorite place to visit in Colorado…Estes Park. For hiking, biking, viewing nature, enjoying beautiful scenery, and having a great, family friendly time, Estes Park, CO is where it’s at.

Estes Park Family photo in front of the signWhen you first enter into Estes Park, you MUST stop at the Estes Park sign for a family portrait. From that vantage point, you’ll get your first glimpse of how beautiful the town you are entering actually is. Don’t do this inside the state park, but at the Estes Park sign, make sure to bring some peanuts, bread or popcorn to feed the chipmunks. We came to Estes Park often when I was growing up, and my favorite memories stem from feeding these little guys, just like my kids had the opportunity to do!

Feeding the chipmunks at Estes Park entrance sign Kristen feeding chipmunks at Estes Park, CO Leah Feeding Chipmunk at Estes Park, Colorado Sign

Where to stay in Estes Park, Colorado

The last time we went to Estes Park, we stayed at the YMCA of the Rockies. Nestled in a valley of the Rocky Mountains, the YMCA of the Rockies is such a fun place to stay. We stayed in a dorm type setting with two sets of bunk beds and a queen size bed and bathroom. It wasn’t fancy by any means, but it was perfect if you are just looking for an affordable place to lay your head down at night and to clean up after a fun day. The YMCA of the Rockies property itself is luxurious and so much fun! If you want, you could be busy with family activities there from sun up to sun down. Organized activities like archery lessons, craft days, flag football games, family kickball games and more are just some of the things you’ll find there. They also have restaurants and snack areas on property that serve great food. Also, if you are looking for something a little more upscale than a dorm room type place to sleep, they have a hotel and individual cabins for rent as well.

There are options all over Estes Park for lodging. Growing up, we always camped at the various campgrounds around, but there are hotels and cabins all around Estes Park for whatever kind of experience you are looking for.

Photo of dorms at YMCA of the Rockies Flag Football at YMCA of the Rockies

What to do in Estes Park, Colorado

If you are looking for a vacation where your family is out and one with nature, Estes Park is a great choice. Like I said before, I grew up visiting Estes Park, CO but two summers ago was the first time my family vacationed there. My kids still talk about our walks around Emerald and Bear Lake, the knuckle clenching drive up Trail Ridge Road, the hike up to Alberta Falls, riding horses near the Moraine Park Campground and playing in the water at the Alluvial Fan. Make sure to click through the links to find out all about these activities, but check out our pictures below to see for yourself the fun we had. We had the best time and can’t wait to go back again soon.

Oh – and when you arrive at Estes and enter Rocky Mountain National Park, make sure to stop at the first rangers office you see and get your kids the booklets to become Junior Rangers and get their Junior Ranger badge. The rangers will give them a booklet of things to do while visiting Rocky Mountain National Park and if they complete it, they can take it back into the rangers office and get sworn in as a junior ranger (and they get a real life ranger badge too!).

Alberta Falls Rocky Mountain National Park Kids playing at Alluvial Fan Estes Park Colorado Kids at Alluvial Fan in RMNP Sitting at Bear Lake RMNP Girls-Inside-Rock horse-riding-1 Jacob-Aluvial-Fan Jacob-Emerald Kids-Alberta-Falls Kids-Hiking Nick-Jacob-Sign Rainbow Riding-2 River Rock-Climbing Trail-Ridge-Road-View Trees

Where to Eat in Estes Park, Colorado

OK so where we ate as a family and where Nick and I would actually eat if it were just the two of us are probably in completely different categories. Colorado is rich with cuisine opportunities all over..from fancy to family friendly, Estes Park has so many options. Professional Chef Jennifer Jasinski is a lover and expert on Colorado cuisine. For a glimpse some of the great places to eat in Colorado, make sure to check out her #COmeToLife video where she talks about the good eats in Colorado! In Estes Park, we love Cheesy Lee’s for the BEST pizza around, The Rock Inn Mountain Tavern for great steaks and salads (and amazing water… we downed their water like crazy…I know – strange, right?), Summit View Coffee for the friendliest drive-through coffee experience and most creative latte flavors, and The Donut Haus is a MUST for doughnuts, no matter how long the line is! It’s worth it!

Pizza Rock-Inn

Summitview-Coffee

Where to spot wildlife in Estes Park, Colorado

If you want wildlife, Estes Park has it! Elk, deer, moose, bears, and mountain rams are all around the Rocky Mountains… you just have to know where to look! Spend an evening watching the sunset in Moraine Park and you are sure to get an eye full of wildlife. Drive up to Mary’s Lake and you’ll most likely be stopped by wildlife casually crossing the road. Heck, even outside of your own cabin or tent, you will probably have some encounter with wildlife. Please be safe and smart and make sure to take lots of pictures of the wonderful creatures you encounter. They are pretty magnificent!

Buck Elk Wildlife

 

This is not a sponsored post at ALL, however my friends at the #COmeToLife campaign have provided a great giveaway for Dine & Dish readers full of great Colorado gear. To plan your very own Colorado vacation, visit the Colorado.com site. Head over to the Dine & Dish Instagram account to leave a comment to enter to win this great backpack full of Colorado goodies! You can find my Instagram account by clicking here.

Colorado Goodies Giveaway

Thanks for reading and happy travels!

 

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Filed Under: Previous, Travel Tagged With: Alberta Falls, Alluvial Fan, Bear Lake, Colorado, COmeToLife, estes park, Moraine Park, Rocky Mountain National Park

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Barbara | Creative Culinary says

    June 28, 2014 at 8:57 am

    You’ve done a wonderful job of showing how beautiful our state is. I haven’t stayed at Estes Park since my kids were in their teens and now I’m wondering why! I love the photo of the entire family standing in front of a field of animals; it’s like the Serengeti of Colorado.

    Next time you are here and you don’t visit with me there is gonna be trouble. 🙂

    Reply
  2. Joan says

    June 28, 2014 at 10:02 am

    What a beatific area! Being from Chicago, we don’t have anything as scenic. It looks like everyone had a great time. Thanks for letting us know what others experience.

    Reply
    • Kristen says

      June 30, 2014 at 11:44 am

      It is such a gorgeous place, although I’d argue that being in Chicago you are so close to Northern Michigan… it’s a pretty gorgeous place too!

      Reply
  3. Joanie @ ZagLeft says

    June 28, 2014 at 10:32 am

    What beautiful pictures! We visited Estes Park last summer and you told me to make sure I visited several of the places you mentioned – and we were so happy we did! Estes Park remains one of my family’s favorite vacation destinations. Next time we’ll look into staying at the YMCA of the Rockies, on an earlier trip, we stayed at their other location in Snow Mountain Ranch and loved it.

    Reply
    • Kristen says

      June 30, 2014 at 11:11 am

      Where did you end up staying when you went last time? I’m so glad you had a great time. It’s such a beautiful place for a relaxing, yet fun, family vacation!

      Reply
      • Joanie @ ZagLeft says

        June 30, 2014 at 12:57 pm

        We stayed at Solitude Cabins and loved our stay but next time we visit, I think we’d like to stay closer to the National Park.

        Reply
  4. Angela says

    June 28, 2014 at 11:10 am

    We live a fairly short drive away from Estes and go up several times a year–next time you go, check out Nepal’s restaurant, tucked away in the back downtown! Great post and so many lovely photos.

    Reply
    • Kristen says

      June 30, 2014 at 11:11 am

      Oh so good to know! Thank you for the restaurant recommendation. We’ll definitely check it out!

      Reply
  5. Lori @ RecipeGirl says

    June 28, 2014 at 6:52 pm

    Gorgeous photos and sounds like your family had a wonderful trip!

    Reply
    • Kristen says

      June 30, 2014 at 11:10 am

      We did – can’t wait to go back!

      Reply
  6. El says

    June 29, 2014 at 6:48 pm

    Stunning scenery. Glad you had fun!

    Reply
    • Kristen says

      June 30, 2014 at 11:10 am

      Thank you so much!

      Reply
  7. Aimee Giese | Greeblehaus says

    June 29, 2014 at 8:05 pm

    Estes is one of our favorite spots too! Bummed I didn’t get to see you while you were here! <3

    Reply
    • Kristen says

      June 30, 2014 at 11:08 am

      If I remember right you were off at some dude ranch having a fab time when we were in Estes. Maybe? We’ll be back and have to get together then!

      Reply
  8. Erin @ Dinners, Dishes, and Desserts says

    June 30, 2014 at 9:50 am

    Great pictures!! This is why I love living in Colorado. You should see the Alluvial fan and a few other things in the area after the flooding last year. Such a great experience and trip for your family!

    Reply
    • Kristen says

      June 30, 2014 at 11:08 am

      So my aunt sent a picture but I couldn’t quite figure it out… it looked totally dry? What’s happening there? Do you have any current pictures or links? I loved that place!

      Reply
      • Erin @ Dinners, Dishes and Desserts says

        June 30, 2014 at 11:20 am

        I do not have any of my own pictures. I have seen some on local media. You know how all the rocks were up high, and created the “waterfall”? Well the flood basically pushed everything down. Both of the parking lots were filled with rocks, and basically gone. We were up there this weekend, but didn’t go to that area. We will probably head up there again over the 4th for a day, if we go there, I will take pics and send them to you.

        Reply
        • Kristen says

          June 30, 2014 at 11:56 am

          Ugh that’s so sad…
          What you are saying totally makes sense because the picture my aunt sent was a picture with the sign for the parking lot but it was covered in rocks. 🙁 Darn.

          Reply
  9. Cate O'Malley says

    June 30, 2014 at 12:25 pm

    One of my favorite things to do is to take my kids to visit places that I enjoyed as a kid. Such an awesome experience to share with your kids.

    Reply
  10. Alina says

    July 1, 2014 at 2:22 pm

    The scenery is GORGEOUS!

    Reply
  11. Sean C says

    July 1, 2014 at 2:23 pm

    My cousin just moved there and we can’t wait to visit!

    Reply
  12. Lindsay says

    July 1, 2014 at 7:53 pm

    awesome giveaway! if i could live in CO i would – my brother and a lot of my family are there, but i’ve got a few more years on the east coast! love to visit though.

    Reply
  13. Les in NE says

    July 10, 2014 at 8:25 am

    Colorado is so close, but we so rarely visit! I’ve been to Colorado Springs and up to Red Feather Lakes (both to visit friends), as well as skiing in Breckenridge (many years ago!), but we’ve never been to Estes! Might be a good place for a family reunion, especially since some of my extended family is in Longmont. I’m clipping your post to my travel folder on Evernote! Thanks for all the tips, Kristen.

    Reply
  14. Nicole says

    July 14, 2014 at 10:11 am

    I love the photos of you and your family enjoying Estes Park! Isn’t it a beautiful place? I am fortunate to live 20 minutes away and we visit often. It’s beauty never ceases to amaze me!

    Reply
    • Kristen says

      July 14, 2014 at 5:36 pm

      Oh you are so blessed to be so close!

      Reply

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H is for...high!
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It was so strange being on a plane again. I’m so thankful I have the antibodies because the flights were full, which seemed wrong, but everyone around me did seem to keep their masks on, so that was good.
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I can’t wait until travel becomes a regular part of life again. I’ve missed it so much!
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I flew to South Texas yesterday to visit my parents whom I haven’t seen in 2 years. They live around 17 hours away from us. We typical get to see each other a few times a year but with the pandemic and other health issues it just wasn’t able to happen and I’ve missed them soooo much.

Grateful to have had COVID last month. Although it was not at all fun, it gave me the antibodies to make this trip possible. My dad is having surgery tomorrow so I’m helping with my mom so my dad can recover without having to worry about her.

Kansas is enjoying frigid temperatures and snow. I picked a great week to head south.
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F is for...food photography.
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This time of year especially, food photography (and I guess all photography actually) is a tug of war with time and light. I had planned on making and photographing a delicious pasta recipe, but my grocery delivery ran a couple of hours late because of snowstorm. So, at the eleventh hour I decided to make a cake...that took over an hour to bake and I had about 90 minutes of natural light left...leaving me with about 30 minutes of ok light to work with.
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Anyway, this wouldn't work for a client shoot because the cake, although delicious, didn't turn out looking so great. But it will work great for today's F photo for the @kimklassen_innercircle A-Z photo project:) Lemon Citrus Yogurt Cake from this weeks @cabotcheese newsletter. So good!
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There’s a lot of excitement in Kansas City as our beloved @chiefs head back to the Super Bowl this weekend! #runitback 🏈
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It’s so strange because winning the super bowl last year was the last “normal” thing that happened before the pandemic hit. We went from a city full of excitement to shutting down and sheltering in place. Maybe when we win and bring the trophy home this year, it’ll be the start of something great. Let’s hope!
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February has always been my least favorite month. I have a special name for this month that may start with another not so nice F word...🤭.
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In Kansas, the sun usually doesn't shine that often, it's cold, and just kind of gray and blah.
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My indoor jungle makes me happy though...especially this space in my office. Houseplants almost makes me forget we’re in the “F” month 😂.
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Also, my dog (my favorite d word) would not sit still for a picture when I had my tripod set up, but I finally caught her sitting on her bed and had to catch a picture with my phone. Swipe and you’ll see she is much overdue for a haircut.
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C is for Coaching, Coffee and Crystals! Lots of C words today. My @rockyourhappy coaching practice has been the best thing. I am so lucky to be working with really great clients who are doing the hard work and making big changes in their lives. It’s been the perfect fit for me and I know it’s what I am meant to be doing. Coffee, of course, is my favorite C word and Crystals…my daughters got me into the energy powers of crystals and it’s been really fun to learn all about them.
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My beautiful, custom, Rock Your Happy bullet journal is from @maisielaneco . Coffee/espresso is from @mistoboxcoffee Fabulous photography backdrop is from @poppybeesurfaces . Crystals are from a wonderful local shop here in town.
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There’s still time to join in the @kimklassen_innercircle photography group, where this months theme is A-Z. Join us!
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It wasn’t until I was an adult, and my kids began to sleep through the night, that I started reading for fun. Now, I read all the time and it’s one of my favorite pastimes. I love talking books with people and sharing recommendations. I really don’t watch TV, so books, especially right now, is my main form of entertainment.
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This is why for the @kimklassen_innercircle A-Z photography challenge, I knew that Books would be my B. It’s my favorite B word (beating out Bullet Journaling, Bread, Blankets, Be Happy, etc).
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A is for Alone. I think one of the hardest things for me to get used to this past year is rarely being alone. My husband used to travel all the time. My school aged kids were in school all day while I worked. I’d even get several days a month in a hotel room by myself for my work travels. I like my alone time and it’s definitely something I miss.
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I’m easily distracted so you will usually find me working in complete silence…maybe just the hum of my essential oil diffuser and the sound of my fingers on my keyboard. I need the quiet and treasure silence.
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With that said, I’ve loved the extra time with my family - and we’ve all learned over the past several months how to give each other space and recognize when we need that space. As of today, my kids all are back to school full time in person 😢. Nick is still working from home and will be for the time being, but now the aloneness feels strange. I’m sure we’ll get used to this “new normal” yet again!
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This month in @kimklassen photography Inner Circle, we’re tackling the alphabet, with an A-Z photography challenge (interpreting that however we see fit). If you want to join us, check out this wonderful community of photographers at @kimklassen_innercircle 📷.
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