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Colorado Estes Park vs. Buena Vista/Salida Help
Posted on 8/17/23 at 6:32 am
Posted on 8/17/23 at 6:32 am
Scheduled to fly into Denver labor day weekend for 3 days of hiking and sightseeing (and cool weather). Trying to decide on a single location to spend all of the days rather than trying to hit up both areas in a short trip. Need to book accommodations (yeah i'm late) and looking for suggestions as to which area will provide the most activities, better accommodations and if one area is overall better than the other.
Any suggestions are appreciated.
Any suggestions are appreciated.
7
Posted on 8/17/23 at 7:15 am to failuretocommunicate
I love Estes Park and Glacier Lodge. Small old school cabins. Close to the entrance. Dave used to won or run the place. Close to the Bear Lake area. Rock and Rock Mountain Lodge had good food and beer.
Posted on 8/17/23 at 11:49 am to zippyputt
quote:
Glacier Lodge
Sorry, but they closed in 2022.
quote:
Was Glacier Lodge sold in Estes?
After nearly 50 years, the Ranglos Family has sold the property. Regretfully, the new owners, did not buy the business and all bookings at Glacier Lodge are considered cancelled. Cancellation email notifications and full refunds will begin being processed on Monday, February 1, 2022.
Posted on 8/17/23 at 11:58 am to failuretocommunicate
Go down to Chaffee County for sure. Stay in BV, Salida, Mt Princeton Hot Springs Resorts cabins, or tons of other options down there. Your late attempt to find a place may make it pretty hard though. Lots of 14ers around there to choose from, check out St Elmo mining ghost town. Estes/RMNP will be overpacked on a holiday weekend. You'll have slow/terrible traffic going both ways to either, but there's so much more to do down in the huge Arkansas Headwaters Recreation Area/Chafee County.
AHRA's CPW Page
AHRA large high res PDF map
MPHS
AHRA's CPW Page
AHRA large high res PDF map
MPHS
This post was edited on 8/17/23 at 12:08 pm
Posted on 8/17/23 at 1:04 pm to ColoradoAg03
BV/Salida for sure on the holiday weekend.
Posted on 8/17/23 at 1:25 pm to failuretocommunicate
Estes Park will have cooler temps and much better hiking options close by, but those options will be in the park that I doubt you have reservations for....so you will be hiking really early or late afternoon.
If you go to the Valley and plan on flying out on Monday you best allow a minimum of 5 hours to get back to Denver. Also driving over to BV on Friday any time after 10am will take twice as long as it should.
If you go to the Valley and plan on flying out on Monday you best allow a minimum of 5 hours to get back to Denver. Also driving over to BV on Friday any time after 10am will take twice as long as it should.
Posted on 8/17/23 at 8:25 pm to Shexter
Oh no!! So sad! It was a great place to stay. Dang.
Dave Rangos was the person I dealt with. Great guy.
Dave Rangos was the person I dealt with. Great guy.
This post was edited on 8/17/23 at 8:27 pm
Posted on 8/18/23 at 6:50 am to idontyield
Looks like it'll be the Valley since I'd prefer not to fight crowds if possible. Appreciate the info....just checked my flights and I actually arrive 7:00 AM on Saturday....so hopefully I can head towards the Valley before traffic gets too crazy. Actually fly back to New Orleans on Tuesday.
Recs on where to stay in the Valley would be appreciated.
TIA
Recs on where to stay in the Valley would be appreciated.
TIA
Posted on 8/18/23 at 7:46 am to failuretocommunicate
Surf Hotel in BV is pretty hard to beat if they have a vacancy and you got the coin.
Posted on 8/18/23 at 8:50 am to failuretocommunicate
EP is legit and basically at the entrance of RMNP. Plenty to do in the area and the Stanley Hotel has one of the best whiskey selections out there if you’re into that.
Posted on 8/23/23 at 12:09 pm to SomewhereDownInTX
Estes Park hands down!! Next door to entrance at Rocky Mountain National park. Gorgeous small town too. You would have to stay at least a week to hit a lot of the hiking trails. So gorgeous.
This post was edited on 8/23/23 at 12:10 pm
Posted on 8/23/23 at 12:33 pm to failuretocommunicate
RMNP/Estes is great....but there's some great hiking near BV in the National Forest. It will most def be less crowded than a national park on labor day weekend. If you're ok w/ crowds and some traffic, Estes is a great choice. Personally I'd go to BV/Salida, less touristy, smaller crowds and still plenty of outdoor options.
Posted on 8/23/23 at 12:35 pm to failuretocommunicate
Estes Park
Posted on 8/23/23 at 1:50 pm to specchaser
quote:
but there's some great hiking near BV in the National Forest
I would argue there's better hiking than in RMNP and surrounding areas. Chaffee County is loaded with 14ers.
Posted on 8/23/23 at 3:34 pm to ColoradoAg03
quote:
I would argue there's better hiking than in RMNP
Better hiking in Chaffee County than in the National Park? This board never ceases to amaze me.
Posted on 8/23/23 at 6:31 pm to idontyield
quote:
Better hiking in Chaffee County than in the National Park? This board never ceases to amaze me.
I'm a Colorado alum and have been to RMNP a ridiculous number of times. And I can see his point. Hiking in RMNP has become absurd. There are many better places in the US and the world to go hike. It's become stupid.
Posted on 8/23/23 at 6:33 pm to idontyield
Sounds like either place would be a great time. I'm leaning towards the valley due to the crowd issue. Since it's a short trip it'll be mostly early morning hikes into the early afternoons then early evening beer and food. Nothing too crazy.... Just a short getaway.
Posted on 8/23/23 at 9:02 pm to failuretocommunicate
Be aware, Estes and RMNP have massive amounts of construction going. They are making the city a huge loop, and redoing both main entrances to RMNP.
Posted on 8/24/23 at 7:55 am to Tigris
Agreed on RMNP. For me, it just feels like a lot of our national parks are getting loved to death. I cannot deny the beauty of nature. I also cannot deny the power of crowds and traffic to ruin my enjoyment of said beauty.
I celebrate that people are enjoying being in nature and experiencing our great natural heritage in record numbers. It’s great for conservation and preservation. But damn.. not sure the big parks are for me anymore unless I go in the off-season. Last visit to Zion was over new years and that was pretty great.
I celebrate that people are enjoying being in nature and experiencing our great natural heritage in record numbers. It’s great for conservation and preservation. But damn.. not sure the big parks are for me anymore unless I go in the off-season. Last visit to Zion was over new years and that was pretty great.
Posted on 8/24/23 at 9:41 am to hogfly
we’ve traveled to Colorado over a dozen times over the past few years. Three times we’ve gone to RMNP only this last time were we able to jump thru all the hoops and hassles to hike the bear lake area. Don’t get me wrong it was spectacular but I don’t need to ever go back
On the other hand every single one of those trips have included a stay in BV, including our trip mid September coming up. It’s our favorite spot in Colorado and much more our speed
I travel to have fun and see cool stuff. RMNP isn’t very fun
On the other hand every single one of those trips have included a stay in BV, including our trip mid September coming up. It’s our favorite spot in Colorado and much more our speed
I travel to have fun and see cool stuff. RMNP isn’t very fun
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