Estes Park – a Great Colorado ‘Stay-cation’

We all know how hard it is to pick a vacation destination, save up for it, actually get to the destination or even just find the time to actually go. Not to mention, if you have dogs you have to find either a hotel that will take them or someone to puppy sit for you. Save yourself all of that headache and book yourself a "stay-cation" in lovely Estes Park. Mountains, wildlife and fun! What more could you ask for?

Places to Stay

Estes Park is a short drive from Greeley, Loveland, Fort Collins, pretty much anywhere and they have a whole bunch of great places to stay. One of my favorites is the Silver Moon Inn. It is located at the top of main street and the shops are just a short walk away and it is pet friendly. Of course we all know of the infamous Stanley Hotel. If you are not afraid of ghosts that is a great place to stay. Full of so much history and a great view of the town. Even if you don't decide to stay at the Stanley I recommend going up there and taking the ghost tour they have. It is very interesting and kind of creepy.

There are so many other great places to stay that include the Wildwood Inn, Appenzell Inn, Beautiful Mary's Lake Lodge as well as many, many others.

Things to Do

Where do I even Start? Of course you have the great shopping on main street and if you are looking for a bite to eat there is a plethora of delicious restaurants. Again, one of my favorite places to eat is The Wapiti Restaurant  and Pub. It is kind of tucked away but once you find it , you are guaranteed to leave satisfied.

If you are a fan of brewery's, you could tour the Estes Park Brewery. Delicious! Or if you are a fan of history you can take a walking tour of Estes Park Historic sites! I would highly recommend checking out the visitors center to get the map of the sites and they can even tell you a little bit about the history of Estes Park.

Rocky Mountain National Park is also really close by. You can spend the day hiking, doing a backpacking trip or again, one of my favorites is to drive up to Trail Ridge. It is simply breathtaking up there. The only down part to that is the weather has to be right. The best times are late spring, summer or early fall.

There is also plenty of fishing around and camping. Or you can go to Lake Estes and rent a kayak or little boat and row around looking at the scenery and breathing in that great mountain air. Or you could just photograph the wildlife.

To satisfy your inner child you can go go-karting or play a round of putt putt at Estes Park Ride-a-Kart or Estes Park Fun City or even take a horseback riding trip

As you can see Estes truly is a great destination for a "stay-cation". It is local and there is so much to see and do that is all close to town! If you plan your getaway around certain times of the year you can catch great events such as The Highlands Festival, The Rooftop Rodeo, The Parade of Lights (another one of my favorites) and coming up this weekend, the 13th-16th, the 3rd Annual Estes Park Winter Festival! It is going to have an Irish barn dance on Friday, an Ice Sculpture playground, an ice rink, live music and more!

So maybe you should plan your stay-cation this weekend :)