We visited Rocky Mountain National Park in January on our way to our travel nursing assignment in Seattle, WA. Experiencing this beautiful national park during the winter was nothing short of amazing! It was just the two of us walking along the quiet path of Dream Lake Trail, through what felt like a winter wonderland, and hardly any other people were in sight! Once we began to see other people, we realized we were walking on top of Dream Lake! That was scary because of the “what if” thoughts going through our heads but was a super awesome experience and core memory! I think this was the trip we began to realize we really enjoy visiting popular places around the U.S. during the off seasons, even if that means hiking in winter conditions. Off seasons typically come with little to no crowds and a slower-paced environment, which we prefer! We had this same experience during the off season in Jackson Hole, WY in April and now highly recommend others visit then! (blog post on Jackson Hole coming soon :))

Place to Stay

We stayed at Discovery Lodge while visiting. It was budget friendly, clean, and conveniently located to downtown Estes Park and Rocky Mountain National Park. The entrance to Rocky Mountain National Park is only about a 20 minute drive from Discovery Lodge, and Main Street in Estes Park is only about 0.5 mile from the lodge.

Downtown Estes Park

Estes Park is a small community of about 5,500 people and the perfect town to stay in while visiting Rocky Mountain National Park. The town overall was quaint and sort of felt like we were in a Hallmark movie. Main Street had everything you’d need for a great vacation- plenty of local restaurants, coffee shops, and retail shops. There is also a peaceful river walk off Main Street, where we stumbled upon a public musical instrument garden. Drew played the xylophone while it was snowing just a little and sipping his hot chocolate- it really did kind of feel like we were in a fairytale haha! The coolest, most exciting part of our time in Estes Park was seeing the wildlife in town, so close to civilization! How often do you get to experience this? Us? Hardly ever.

Stanley Hotel

The Stanley Hotel is where the famous author, Stephen King, was inspired to write his book, The Shining. As the story goes, Stephen, his wife, and children were staying in this hotel as the hotel was shutting down for winter. They were the only guests staying in the hotel, which then sparked his creative mind to begin writing this world famous novel from inside room 217. You can take an hour long guided tour of the hotel and hear more about the story, or you can do what we did, which was get drinks at The Cascades (the bar and restaurant inside the hotel), then roam the hotel on our own. No matter what you decide to do, this beautifully historic hotel is worth visiting!

Coffee & Sweets:

Kind Coffee
Inkwell & Brew- a coffee bar that also sells stationary and other handcrafted items
Coffee on the Rocks- enjoy coffee while sitting on the banks of Big Thompson River!
Bird’s Nest- modern bakery, cafe, and pizzeria! I would totally go here for lunch followed with a cup of afternoon coffee!
Estes Park Pie Shop & Diner- an old school diner serving good old fashioned pie and Southern food

Breakfast:

River Walk Cafe
The Egg of Estes
Claire’s Restaurant and Bar

Restaurants:

River Walk Cafe
Poppy’s Pizza & Grill
Bob & Tonys Pizza
Bird & Jim
Penelope’s Old Time Burgers
The Grubsteak
Ed’s Cantina & Grill
Casa Grande Mexican
Mama Rose’s- Italian Restaurant
The Wild Rose- American food
Smokin’ Dave’s BBQ
Rivers Edge BBQ

Breweries & Wineries:

The Barrel- beer garden
Estes Park Brewery
Rock Cut Brewing Company
Lumpy Ridge Brewing Company
Lonigans Irish Pub & Grill
Bogey’s Sports Bar
Elevations Eatery and Bar
Snowy Peaks Winery
Estes Park Distilling Co.
The Whiskey Bar at The Cascades Restaurant (inside the famous Stanley Hotel)

Estes Park, Colorado