Estes Park, Colorado: Great Recreation Spot Has Spooky History

Estes Park, Colorado, is a beautiful, lush-green valley in the Colorado Rockies. A very popular place for camping and outdoor activities, Estes Park also is great for shopping and ghost hunting.

Estes Park was originally frequented by mostly Native Americans. Because of the abundance of areas to fish and hunt it was a great place to settle. The beauty of the valley also lended itself to vision quests and spirituality for the Native American People.

Estes Park has always been beautiful and the essence of a small town. They have one street for down town lined with shops and cafes all directed at tourists because this is one of the ways they keep the town going. They also have the famous Stanley Hotel that was in the Jack Nicholson thriller "The Shining". It is said that the 4th floor of this hotel is a hotbed of ghost activity.

Although Estes Park is a picture of serenity now, unfortunately due to the town being in such a high valley surrounded by large bodies of water it hasn't always been. There have actually been two floods, one in 1976 when the Big Thompson river that winds all through the valley itself flooded and covered the town. It killed 145 people and destroyed hundreds of homes. In 1982 the reservoir that sit right down the road from the Stanley hotel flooded and broke the Dam which allowed the reservoir to go rushing downtown. Completely destroying most of the shops downtown. They have restored everything since and it is just as beautiful if not more as it was in the past.

Staying in Estes Park is a great vacation, you can camp at the dozen of campgrounds, sleep in the hundred of cabins, or stay in the many hotels around town. During the winter the town is covered in a blanket of snow and everything is frozen over. There are at least half a dozen rivers winding through the valley itself giving you many different places to fish or swim. However one of the greatest pleasures is just driving there. About an hour away is Loveland, CO which is the mouth of the canyon or valley and you go from there up the winding two lane road following the Big Thompson River all the way to Estes Park. The view is stunning with green pine covered mountains on every side and water everywhere.

When first driving into Estes Park there is the classic roadside hotels for the weary traveler however just right up on the same road is the KOA Campground which is on the right hand side of the street right across from the reservoir. The KOA has cabins and areas for camping. They also have a small playground for kids. Next door to the KOA there is ranch for horse riding up the trails around Stanley Hotel. On your way home you can stop by the cider stand on the side of the road that has peach cider, cherry cider, and apple cider. They also have many different kinds of salsas and butters.

When staying here, you can be assured you will see deer crossing in heavy traffic and large groups of moose and elk walking down the road. However with the elk you also have some wonderful gourmet restaurants and small town hospitality. This is a don't miss place to vacation.