Estes Park, CO, Guide and Information

Imagine life in the Rocky Mountains around the mid 1800s or even a little later. It was pretty darn rugged. And when travelers set out–mostly to do some trapping or to move from one place to the next for other reasons–it could be very rough going. There were very few established places of lodging outside of big cities and folks often relied upon the benevolence of strangers to take them in for a night or two, particularly if they were caught out in the middle of nowhere in a snowstorm.

This way of life and so much more is richly described in the highly revered memoir–a travel memoir of sorts–by Englishwoman Isabella Bird. Anyone contemplating a trip to Estes Park and Rocky Mountain National Park should read her book “A Lady’s Life in the Rocky Mountains.” One of the best scenes in this masterpiece of Western literature recounts her ascent up Longs Peak with her guide known as Rocky Mountain Jim. Clad in a skirt and weighed down with a heavy dose of determination, Miss Bird clawed her way up this renowned mountain with the same grit as witnessed with today’s climbers. Thank goodness she had a guide.

As one of the most visited national parks in America and also one of the highest, Rocky Mountain National Park guarantees an elevated experience for lover’s of the outdoors. Come and spend a chunk of time at Estes Park for there is much to see and do there and in this nearby national park that is comprised of more than four hundred square miles of raw beauty.

Established in 1915 as a national park by President Woodrow Wilson, visitors throughout the more than one-hundred-year-old history of Rocky Mountain National Park have always left here awe inspired and extremely grateful that this land has been protected from development for future generations.