Things to Do in Grand Lake, Colorado

Grand Lake, Colorado is a small town located only a mile away from the western entrance to Rocky Mountain National Park. It is a quaint, mountain town with a laid back atmosphere and beautiful scenery. My husband and I recently spent a few days in Grand Lake. We were very budget conscious during our trip. Here are several things we did to make our trip to Grand Lake easy on our wallets.

Online Specials

Before we went on our trip, my husband checked out Grand Lake's Chamber of Commerce website. The site is full of helpful information for anyone planning a trip to Grand Lake.

We found lodging specials via the Chamber's Web site. When we called some of the lodges in the area to make reservations, the room rates they quoted on the phone were higher than the ones we found on the Chamber of Commerce site. When we told them about the specials, they were more than happy to honor the rates on the Chamber's website.

As a word of caution, when you see a special offer, make sure you understand what type of room you will get for the special rate. Sometimes the so-called "specials" are the rooms with a view of the parking lot or rooms located in a noisier area of the hotel. This may or may not matter to you.

We booked a room at the Gateway Inn for the special rate of $89.00 plus tax. We were forewarned that the room was closest to the lobby and the room's balcony was next to the Inn's outdoor deck. The staff wanted to make sure we were aware that there may be noise from the bar and deck until 9:00 or 10:00 at night. Since we stay up late anyway, we decided it was worth the $30.00 per night we would save.

The Gateway Inn was a great place to stay. It was well worth the $89.00 per night. We were not bothered by any noise and the staff was very friendly and helpful.

Free Things to Do

Many vacation friendly towns have museums, parks or walking/hiking trails and Grand Lake was no different. Here are some of the free things we did in Grand Lake.

Kauffman House Museum
We visited the Kauffman House Museum which is actually an old log hotel built prior to 1900. You can take a tour of the parlor, dining room, kitchen and several bedrooms of this historic old hotel.

Hiking
You don't have to go far to find places to hike near Grand Lake. About a mile from the town's main street is a trail to Adam's Falls. This is a perfect hike if you have small children because it is really just a short walk to the spot where you can view the beautiful waterfall.

Picnic Areas
There are picnic areas near the lake that do not require an entrance fee. After our hike to Adam's Falls, we had a picnic lunch at a nearby park right by the lake. We relaxed and watched the pontoon boats, kayaks and canoes go by.

Another day we visited Point Park which offers beautiful views of Mount Craig. You can watch as boaters go from Grand Lake to Shadow Mountain Lake via the canal that connects the two lakes.

Low Cost Things to Do

You don't have to spend a fortune when you are on vacation. We found several low cost things to do around Grand Lake.

Visit the Shops on Main Street
There are many shops, galleries, bars and restaurants along Grand Lake's historic boardwalk. You can look at all the unique items in the shops and not spend a dime. If you think you'll be tempted to buy, you can always window shop or put a limit on your spending. A lot of the shops have low cost souvenirs for the budget conscious.

Boating
Grand Lake Marina offers a wide variety of boat rentals. Since we were being budget conscious, we chose to go with the least expensive boat rental which was the canoe rental. The cost was $15.00 for an hour which was just the right amount of time to explore part of the lake and not get too tired out from rowing. Grand Lake Marina also rents kayaks, pontoons, and fishing boats.

Eating Out on a Budget
One of our favorite places to grab a bite to eat was Miyauchi's Snack Bar across the street from the lake. They serve burgers, hot dogs and a variety of sandwiches, as well as a wide range of ice cream and frozen treats. They do not have seating inside, but have several tables outside where you can enjoy your meal. There is also a gazebo nearby with a couple of picnic tables which is where we enjoyed one of our evening meals. The view of the lake and mountains is beautiful and it beats sitting in a crowded restaurant.

Although there are several ice cream shops on the boardwalk in Grand Lake, we always ended up at Miyauchi's Snack Bar. They have the best price in town if you just want a small taste of ice cream. For fifty five cents, you can get a decent sized kiddy cone. It's the perfect size if you are calorie conscious in addition to being budget conscious.

One night, we went to the Sagebrush BBQ and Grill. We got our meal to go which cut down on the cost. We took the meal back to our room at the Gateway Inn to have a nice quiet meal. The barbequed pork sandwich from the Sagebrush was the best barbequed pork I had ever tasted.

Grand Lake, Colorado is a great place to relax and unwind and these are just a few ideas of things to do there that are reasonably priced or better yet free!

To view some beautiful pictures of the Grand Lake area check out my slide show - Travel: Grand Lake, Colorado

http://www.associatedcontent.com/slideshow/25321/travel_grand_lake_colorado.html?cat=16

Sources:
Writer's personal experience in Grand Lake and the following websites.
http://www.grandlakechamber.com
http://www.gatewayinn.com/
http://www.kauffmanhouse.org/
http://www.sagebrushbbq.com/
http://www.glmarina.com
(Miyauchi's Snack Bar does not have a website.)