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Estes Park, Colorado

Estes Park (/ˈɛstɪs/) is a statutory town in Larimer County, Colorado, United States.[1] The town population was 5,904 at the 2020 United States Census.[4] Estes Park is a part of the Fort Collins, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Front Range Urban Corridor. A popular summer resort and the location of the headquarters for Rocky Mountain National Park, Estes Park lies along the Big Thompson River. Landmarks include The Stanley Hotel and The Baldpate Inn. The town overlooks Lake Estes and Olympus Dam.

Estes Park, Colorado
Town of Estes Park[1]
Estes Park Golf Course
Location of the Town of Estes Park in Larimer County, Colorado.
Estes Park
Location of the Town of Estes Park in the United States.
Coordinates: 40°22′38″N 105°31′32″W / 40.377117°N 105.525514°W / 40.377117; -105.525514[2]
CountryUnited States
StateColorado
CountyLarimer County[1]
Settled1859
IncorporatedApril 17, 1917[3]
Government
 • TypeStatutory town[1]
 • MayorWendy Koenig-Schuett
Area
 • Total6.897 sq mi (17.862 km2)
 • Land6.822 sq mi (17.668 km2)
 • Water0.075 sq mi (0.194 km2)
Elevation
7,522 ft (2,293 m)
Population
 • Total5,904
 • Density865/sq mi (334/km2)
 • Metro
359,066 (151st)
 • Front Range
5,055,344
Time zoneUTC−07:00 (MST)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−06:00 (MDT)
ZIP Codes[5]
80517
Area code970
FIPS code08-25115
GNIS feature ID0204674
Websiteestespark.colorado.gov

History edit

Early history edit

Before Europeans came to the Estes Park valley, the Arapaho Native Americans lived there in the summertime and called the valley "the Circle." When three elderly Arapahoes visited Estes Park in 1914, they pointed out sites they remembered from their younger days. A photograph at the Estes Park Museum identified the touring party as Shep Husted, guide; Gun Griswold, a 73-year-old judge; Sherman Sage, a 63-year-old chief of police; Tom Crispin, 38-year-old reservation resident and interpreter; Oliver W. Toll, recorder; and David Robert Hawkins, a Princeton student.[6]

In the 1850s, the Arapaho had spent summers camped around Mary's Lake, where their rock fireplaces, tipi sites, and dance rings were still visible. They also recalled building eagle traps atop Longs Peak to get the war feathers coveted by all tribes. They remembered their routes to and from the valley in detail, naming trails and landmarks. They pointed out the site of their buffalo trap, and described the use of dogs to pack meat out of the valley. Their recollections included a battle with Apaches in the 1850s, and fights with Utes who came to the area to hunt bighorn sheep, so all three of those tribes used the valley's resources.[7]

Whites probably came into the Estes Park valley before the 1850s as trappers, but did not stay long. The town is named after Missouri native Joel Estes,[8] who founded the community in 1859.[9] Estes moved his family there in 1863. One of Estes' early visitors was William Byers, a newspaper editor who wrote of his attempted ascent of Longs Peak in 1864, publicizing the area as a pristine wilderness.[10]

Griff Evans and his family came to Estes Park in 1867 to act as caretakers for the former Estes ranch. Recognizing the potential for tourism, he began building cabins to accommodate travelers. It became a dude ranch in Estes Park, with guides for hunting, fishing, and mountaineering;[11] when Isabella Bird arrived in 1873, Evans already had nine men and women as guests.[12]

 
Lord Dunraven (1841-1926), the famous Irish nobleman, politician and journalist, in later life. His ancestral seat was Adare Manor in County Limerick.
 
Albert Bierstadt was commissioned by The 4th Earl of Dunraven and Mount-Earl to make a painting of the Estes Park and Longs Peak area in 1876 for $15,000. The painting, originally displayed in Dunraven Castle in Glamorgan, is now in the collection of the Denver Art Museum.

The 4th Earl of Dunraven and Mount-Earl, a young Anglo-Irish peer, arrived in late December 1872 under the guidance of Texas Jack Omohundro, subsequently made numerous visits, and decided to take over the valley for his own private hunting preserve.[13] Lord Dunraven's 'land grab' didn't work, but he controlled 6,000 acres before he changed tactics and opened the area's first resort, the Estes Park Hotel, which was destroyed by fire in 1911.[14]

Bird, the daughter of an Anglican minister, came overland to Colorado, where she borrowed a horse and set out to explore the Rocky Mountains with a guide, the notorious James Nugent, aka 'Rocky Mountain Jim'. She wrote A Lady's Life in the Rocky Mountains, a memoir of their travels, including the breathtaking ascent of Longs Peak, where she was literally hauled up the steep pitches "like a bale of goods."[15]

On June 19, 1874, Rocky Mountain Jim and neighbor Griff Evans (see above) had an argument. Having had bitter history with each other, Nugent and Evans hated each other and were deep personal rivals when it came to tour guiding tourists. The argument escalated until Evans blasted Jim in the head with his rifle shotgun. Evans then traveled to Fort Collins to file an assault charge against Nugent, but he was arrested and tried for first degree murder when Jim Nugent died on September 9, 1874, of the bullet wound. Evans was put on trial, but the case was soon dismissed due to the lack of witnesses to the shooting. On August 9, 1875, the Loveland court-house acquitted Evans of any charges in the case.

William Henry Jackson photographed Estes Park in 1873.[16]

Alex and Clara (Heeney) MacGregor arrived soon after and homesteaded at the foot of Lumpy Ridge. The MacGregor Ranch has been preserved as a historic site. In 1874, MacGregor incorporated a company to build a new toll road from Lyons, Colorado, to Estes Park. The road became what is today U.S. Highway 36. Before that time, however, the "road" was only a trail fit for pack horses. The improved road brought more visitors into Estes Park; some of them became full-time residents and built new hotels to accommodate the growing number of travelers.[17]

In 1884, Enos Mills (1870-1922) left Kansas and came to Estes Park, where his relative Elkanah Lamb lived. That move proved significant for Estes Park because Mills became a naturalist and conservationist who devoted his life after 1909 to preserving nearly a thousand square miles of Colorado as Rocky Mountain National Park. He succeeded and the park was dedicated in 1915.[18]

Enos Mills' younger brother Joe Mills (1880-1935) came to Estes Park in 1889. He wrote a series of articles about his youthful experiences for Boys Life which were later published as a book. After some years as a college athletics coach, he and his wife returned to Estes Park and built a hotel called The Crags on the north side of Prospect Mountain, overlooking the village. They ran that business in the summer while he continued his coaching career in winters at University of Colorado in Boulder.[19]

Many early visitors came to Estes Park in search of better health. The Rocky Mountain West especially attracted those with pulmonary diseases, and in Estes Park some resorts catered to them, providing staff physicians for their care.[20]

Recent history edit

 
Main Street, 1912

In 1903, a new road was opened from Loveland through the Big Thompson River canyon to Estes Park, increasing access to the valley. In 1907, three Loveland men established the first auto stage line from Loveland to Estes Park with three five-passenger touring Stanley Steamers. The following year, Mr. Stanley built nine-passenger steam busses and opened a bus line between Lyons and Estes Park.[21]

By 1912, Estes Park had its own seasonal newspaper, the Estes Park Trail, which provided advertising for the local hotels and other businesses. It was a year-round weekly by 1921.[22] In 1949, Olympus Dam was finished, creating Lake Estes, giving the town its main source of drinking water.

Land was still being homesteaded in the area in 1914, when Katherine Garetson (1877-1963) filed on land near the base of Longs Peak. She built a cabin and started a business known as the Big Owl Tea Place. She proved up on her homestead claim in 1915, and left a memoir of her years there.[23]

In 1916 the Estes Valley Library was founded by the Estes Park Women's Club. It originally formed part of the old schoolhouse and contained only 262 printed works.[24]

Estes Park was also the site of the organization of the Credit Union National Association, an important milestone in the history of American credit unions.[25] In 1992, members of the modern American militia movement attended the three-day Rocky Mountain Rendezvous in Estes Park, which focused on "guns, resisting the federal government, and white supremacy".[26]

Major flooding events edit

Flood of 1982 edit

The town suffered severe damage in July 1982 from flooding caused by the failure of Lawn Lake Dam, "after years of disrepair and neglect."[27] The flood's alluvial fan can still be seen on Fall River Road. The downtown area was extensively renovated after the flood, and a river walk was added between the main street, Elkhorn Avenue, and the Big Thompson River.

Flood of 2013 edit

Both U.S. Highway 36 and U.S. Highway 34, the major routes into town, were severely damaged. Hundreds of Estes Park residents were also isolated by the destruction of sections of Fish Creek Road and all nine crossings across Fish Creek. Damaged sewer lines dumped raw sewage down the creek and into the Big Thompson River.[28]

Geography edit

Estes Park sits at an elevation of 7,522 feet (2,293 m) on the front range of the Rocky Mountains at the eastern entrance of the Rocky Mountain National Park.[29] Its north, south and east extremities border the Roosevelt National Forest. Lumpy Ridge lies immediately north of Estes Park.

At the 2020 United States Census, the town had a total area of 4,414 acres (17.862 km2) including 48 acres (0.194 km2) of water.[4]

Historic ski areas edit

Estes Park was home to a number of now defunct ski areas:[30]

Estes Park vicinity was also the home of other resorts and tourist attractions.[30]

Climate edit

Estes Park has a humid continental climate (Koppen: Dfb). Summers are typically warm, sometimes hot, while winters are usually cold, with lows dropping into the teens and sometimes the single digits.

Climate data for Estes Park 3 SSE, Colorado, 1991–2020 normals, extremes 2001–2021
Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec Year
Record high °F (°C) 60
(16)
57
(14)
69
(21)
74
(23)
85
(29)
93
(34)
94
(34)
91
(33)
89
(32)
79
(26)
66
(19)
59
(15)
94
(34)
Mean maximum °F (°C) 50.6
(10.3)
51.4
(10.8)
61.1
(16.2)
68.0
(20.0)
76.1
(24.5)
87.1
(30.6)
88.3
(31.3)
85.6
(29.8)
82.0
(27.8)
71.5
(21.9)
60.4
(15.8)
51.5
(10.8)
89.4
(31.9)
Mean daily maximum °F (°C) 37.1
(2.8)
37.5
(3.1)
45.0
(7.2)
51.5
(10.8)
61.2
(16.2)
73.9
(23.3)
80.2
(26.8)
77.7
(25.4)
69.6
(20.9)
56.6
(13.7)
44.1
(6.7)
36.2
(2.3)
55.9
(13.3)
Daily mean °F (°C) 26.6
(−3.0)
26.6
(−3.0)
33.1
(0.6)
38.8
(3.8)
47.9
(8.8)
58.3
(14.6)
64.2
(17.9)
62.0
(16.7)
54.4
(12.4)
43.4
(6.3)
33.8
(1.0)
26.3
(−3.2)
42.9
(6.1)
Mean daily minimum °F (°C) 16.1
(−8.8)
15.8
(−9.0)
21.2
(−6.0)
26.1
(−3.3)
34.7
(1.5)
42.6
(5.9)
48.2
(9.0)
46.4
(8.0)
39.2
(4.0)
30.2
(−1.0)
23.5
(−4.7)
16.4
(−8.7)
30.0
(−1.1)
Mean minimum °F (°C) −7.5
(−21.9)
−7.2
(−21.8)
3.3
(−15.9)
12.6
(−10.8)
21.1
(−6.1)
35.5
(1.9)
42.6
(5.9)
39.1
(3.9)
28.9
(−1.7)
13.1
(−10.5)
3.1
(−16.1)
−7.1
(−21.7)
−13.1
(−25.1)
Record low °F (°C) −19
(−28)
−27
(−33)
−18
(−28)
−3
(−19)
6
(−14)
28
(−2)
36
(2)
31
(−1)
20
(−7)
−10
(−23)
−20
(−29)
−22
(−30)
−27
(−33)
Average precipitation inches (mm) 0.82
(21)
0.68
(17)
1.58
(40)
2.26
(57)
2.27
(58)
1.37
(35)
2.55
(65)
1.71
(43)
1.65
(42)
1.12
(28)
0.74
(19)
0.67
(17)
17.42
(442)
Average snowfall inches (cm) 9.8
(25)
13.3
(34)
18.8
(48)
19.3
(49)
9.5
(24)
0.0
(0.0)
0.0
(0.0)
0.0
(0.0)
0.5
(1.3)
9.1
(23)
11.0
(28)
12.7
(32)
104.0
(264)
Average precipitation days (≥ 0.01 in) 6.3 9.3 8.9 10.1 12.4 9.4 14.1 13.4 8.8 7.3 6.0 6.9 112.9
Average snowy days (≥ 0.1 in) 7.4 10.3 9.5 8.0 3.7 0.1 0.0 0.0 0.3 3.8 5.8 8.6 57.5
Source: NOAA (mean maxima and minima 2006–2020)[35][36]

Demographics edit

Historical population
CensusPop.Note
1930417
1940994138.4%
19501,61762.7%
19601,175−27.3%
19701,61637.5%
19802,70367.3%
19903,18417.8%
20005,41370.0%
20105,8588.2%
20205,9040.8%
U.S. Decennial Census
 
Estes Park entrance sign
 
Estes Park city center
 
The historic Stanley Hotel, which opened in 1909.
 
Estes Park, Colorado.

In August 1900, Estes Park[37] had a population of 218 in 63 households. Many (73) were born in Colorado. Eighteen were born in other countries: Canada (4), England (4), Germany (4), Finland (3), and one each from the Netherlands, Scotland, and Ireland. Eighty had been born in midwestern states, and thirty from states in the northeast.[38]

As of the census[39] of 2010, 5,858 people, 2,796 households, and 1,565 families resided in the town of Estes Park. The population density was 929.5 inhabitants per square mile (358.9/km2). There were 4,107 housing units at an average density of 570.6 per square mile (220.3/km2). The racial makeup of the town was 91.0% White, 0.3% African American, 0.5% Native American, 1.2% Asian, 2% Pacific Islander, 5.5% from other races, and 1.4% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 14% of the population.

There were 2,541 households, out of which 20.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.3% were married couples living together, 6.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.4% were non-families. 31.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.11 and the average family size was 2.61.

In the town, the population was spread out, with 17.6% under the age of 18, 5.8% from 18 to 24, 26.6% from 25 to 44, 29.4% from 45 to 64, and 20.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.7 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $43,262, and the median income for a family was $55,667. Males had a median income of $31,573 versus $20,767 for females. The per capita income for the town was $30,499. About 3.2% of families and 4.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.6% of those under age 18 and 0.8% of those age 65 or over.

Arts and culture edit

Estes Park's outskirts include The Stanley Hotel, built in 1909. An example of Edwardian opulence, the building had Stephen King as a guest, inspiring him to change the locale for his novel The Shining from an amusement park to the Stanley's fictional stand-in, the Overlook Hotel. Olympus Dam, on the outskirts of the town, is the dam that creates Lake Estes, a lake which is the site for boating and swimming in Estes Park. There are some hotels on the shore.[40]

Roughly three to four million tourists visit Rocky Mountain National Park each year, with 2021 seeing 4.4 million tourist visits; most use Estes Park as their base.[41] In the spring and fall, wapiti travel through the town on their migrations too and from the national park.[42]

Infrastructure edit

Transportation edit

Trail Ridge Road, the highest continuous highway in the United States, runs from Estes Park westward through Rocky Mountain National Park, reaching Grand Lake over the continental divide.[43]

Public transportation edit

The main airport serving Estes Park is Denver International Airport, located 75 miles southeast. Service between the airport and Estes Park is provided by local carriers.[44]

The town of Estes Park operates Estes Transit, a free shuttle during the summer months.[45]

Highways edit

Notable people edit

  • Jacob M. Appel, author, wrote The Mask of Sanity while living in Estes Park[46]
  • Tommy Caldwell, rock climber
  • Jim Detterline, climber, resident of the Estes Park–Allenspark area at the time of his death[47]
  • Tom Hornbein, mountaineer & anesthesiologist. He was part of the U.S. expedition that climbed Mt. Everest in 1963. He and Willi Unsoeld were the first climbers to reach the summit via the West Ridge route, and the first to complete a traverse of a major Himalayan peak by descending by a different route than the one used to summit. In climbing circles, his climb is considered to be among the great feats in the history of mountaineering. He also designed the oxygen masks for the climb.
  • Wendy Koenig, is an American middle-distance runner. She competed in the 800 metres at the 1972 Summer Olympics and the 1976 Summer Olympics. She is currently the mayor of Estes Park.
  • Loren Shriver, astronaut, commander on STS mission that launched the Hubble Telescope
  • Freelan Oscar Stanley, inventor of the Stanley Steamer and builder of the Stanley Hotel
  • William Ellery Sweet, 23rd Governor of Colorado, built a summer home in Estes Park in 1912, now used as a residence by his descendants

In popular culture edit

  • Estes Park was the setting for Nicholas Sansbury Smith's Trackers series of novels.
  • The Stanley Hotel inspired Stephen King to write the novel The Shining. He checked into the hotel in 1973 for a one-night stay with his wife Tabitha.
  • The lavish ‘Danbury Hotel', featured in the 1994 film "Dumb and Dumber" in which Harry and Lloyd stay, is the Stanley Hotel, Estes Park, Colorado.

Sister city edit

Estes Park's official sister city is Monteverde, Costa Rica.

See also edit

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d e "Active Colorado Municipalities". Colorado Department of Local Affairs. from the original on December 12, 2009. Retrieved October 18, 2021.
  2. ^ "2014 U.S. Gazetteer Files: Places". United States Census Bureau. July 1, 2014. from the original on February 7, 2015. Retrieved January 6, 2015.
  3. ^ "Colorado Municipal Incorporations". State of Colorado, Department of Personnel & Administration, Colorado State Archives. December 1, 2004. from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved September 2, 2007.
  4. ^ a b c d "Decennial Census P.L. 94-171 Redistricting Data". United States Census Bureau, United States Department of Commerce. August 12, 2021. from the original on December 17, 2021. Retrieved September 10, 2021.
  5. ^ . United States Postal Service. Archived from the original (JavaScript/HTML) on March 5, 2012. Retrieved September 13, 2007.
  6. ^ "Shep Husted, Arapaho Tour". from the original on July 3, 2014. Retrieved March 29, 2013.
  7. ^ Clement Yore, "Estes Park Region was Formerly the Playground of the Arapaho Indians," Estes Park Trail, January 27, 1922, p. 7 and February 3, 1922, pp. 7-8. An account of unidentified Indians raiding white ranches for horses is given in Abner Sprague, "Roads and Trails," Estes Park Trail, December 8, 1922, p. 3.
  8. ^ . ePodunk. Archived from the original on May 15, 2019. Retrieved October 7, 2012.
  9. ^ "Estes Park Colorado". Estes Park Colorado. from the original on September 19, 2012. Retrieved October 7, 2012.
  10. ^ William Byers, "Ascent of Longs Peak," Rocky Mountain News, September 23, 1864, p. 2, quoted in James H. Pickering, "This Blue Hollow": Estes Park, the Early Years, 1859-1915 (Boulder, Colo: University Press of Colorado, 1999), chapter 1.
  11. ^ Betty D. Freudenburg, Facing the Frontier: The Story of the MacGregor Ranch(Estes Park, Colo.: Rocky Mountain Nature Association, 2005), p. 61.
  12. ^ Sprague, Marshall (February 1967). "Love In The Park". American Heritage. Vol. 18, no. 2. Retrieved September 28, 2023.
  13. ^ Jane Rawlings, June 2023, "He Tried to Own Estes Park,"p. 2 of The Senior Voice Vol. 43, No. 7.
  14. ^ Freudenburg pp. 61-67.
  15. ^ Isabella Bird, A Lady's Life in the Rocky Mountains (Sausalito, Calif.: Comstock, 1980), Letter 7, p. 87.
  16. ^ USGS photo in Freudenburg, p. 56.
  17. ^ Freudenburg, chapter 7.
  18. ^ Pickering, "This Blue Hollow": Estes Park, the Early Years, 1859-1915, pp. 220-235.
  19. ^ A Mountain Boyhood (New York: J.H. Sears, 1926, republished 1988 by University of Nebraska Press), introduction.
  20. ^ Pickering, This Blue Hollow, 127-128.
  21. ^ "First Auto Stage Line to Estes Park Established Spring of 1907," Estes Park Trail, January 5, 1923, p. 1.
  22. ^ Colorado Historic Newspapers, http://www.coloradohistoricnewspapers.org/Default/Skins/Colorado/Client.asp?skin=Colorado&AW=1364318345023&AppName=2 August 22, 2023, at the Wayback Machine
  23. ^ Katherine Garetson, Homesteading Big Owl, 2d ed. (Allenspark, Colo.: Allenspark Wind, 2001).
  24. ^ "Estes Valley Library". from the original on March 12, 2017. Retrieved March 12, 2017.
  25. ^ Creating CUNA 2008-03-10 at the Wayback Machine)
  26. ^ Markham-Cameron, Julia (June 2019). "Firearm Stockpiling as a Symptom of the White Patriot Identity, or: How Whites Learned to Start Worrying and Love The Gun" (PDF). Social Justice & Equity Law Journal. 2 (2): 178–80. (PDF) from the original on November 5, 2021. Retrieved June 28, 2023.
  27. ^ Ann Depperschmidt (July 12, 2009). . Reporter-Herald. Archived from the original on September 27, 2007. Retrieved December 23, 2009.
  28. ^ Fort Collins Coloradoan (September 17, 2013). "Estes Park vows to rebound from ravages of flood". 9news.com. Archived from the original on September 18, 2013. Retrieved September 18, 2013.
  29. ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. February 12, 2011. from the original on August 24, 2019. Retrieved April 23, 2011.
  30. ^ a b TCSP. ""Northern Front Range Resorts"". Colorado Ski History. from the original on January 9, 2008. Retrieved December 23, 2009.
  31. ^ TCSP. ""Davis Hill"". Colorado Ski History. from the original on October 9, 2007. Retrieved December 23, 2009.
  32. ^ Colorado Ski History: Hidden Valley January 8, 2008, at the Wayback Machine (Ski Estes Park)
  33. ^ TCSP. ""Leydman Hill Jump"". Colorado Ski History. from the original on October 9, 2007. Retrieved December 23, 2009.
  34. ^ TCSP. ""Old Man Mountain"". Colorado Ski History. from the original on October 9, 2007. Retrieved December 23, 2009.
  35. ^ "NOWData – NOAA Online Weather Data". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. from the original on May 8, 2021. Retrieved June 8, 2021.
  36. ^ "Summary of Monthly Normals 1991–2020". National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. from the original on August 22, 2023. Retrieved June 8, 2021.
  37. ^ "Does The Estes Park Real Estate Market Need More Regulations?". Estes Park Home Search. Retrieved March 31, 2015.
  38. ^ U.S. census, Estes Park precinct, Larimer County, Colorado, August 1900.
  39. ^ "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. from the original on December 27, 1996. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
  40. ^ https://www.theestesparkresort.com/
  41. ^ "Near-record crowds in 2021 intensified challenges for Rocky Mountain National Park rangers".
  42. ^ Heinz, Mark (October 29, 2023). "Huge Elk Herds With Wyoming Roots Take Over Colorado Mountain Town". Cowboy State Daily. Retrieved October 30, 2023.
  43. ^ "Rocky Mountain National Park - Park Area: Trail Ridge Road". Rmnp.com. from the original on September 18, 2009. Retrieved December 23, 2009.
  44. ^ "DIA Airport Shuttle Schedule and Rates | Estes Park Shuttle". from the original on August 22, 2023. Retrieved October 17, 2018.
  45. ^ "Estes Transit (Free Shuttles) | Town of Estes Park". from the original on August 22, 2023. Retrieved October 17, 2018.
  46. ^ Writing Today, June 2017, P. 3
  47. ^ "Jim Detterline: The passing of a hero". FOX31 Denver. October 27, 2016. from the original on August 22, 2023. Retrieved June 24, 2023.

External links edit

  • Town of Estes Park website
  • CDOT map of the Town of Estes Park
  • Estes Park Museum online collections

estes, park, colorado, estes, park, statutory, town, larimer, county, colorado, united, states, town, population, 2020, united, states, census, estes, park, part, fort, collins, metropolitan, statistical, area, front, range, urban, corridor, popular, summer, r. Estes Park ˈ ɛ s t ɪ s is a statutory town in Larimer County Colorado United States 1 The town population was 5 904 at the 2020 United States Census 4 Estes Park is a part of the Fort Collins CO Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Front Range Urban Corridor A popular summer resort and the location of the headquarters for Rocky Mountain National Park Estes Park lies along the Big Thompson River Landmarks include The Stanley Hotel and The Baldpate Inn The town overlooks Lake Estes and Olympus Dam Estes Park ColoradoStatutory town 1 Town of Estes Park 1 Estes Park Golf CourseLocation of the Town of Estes Park in Larimer County Colorado Estes ParkLocation of the Town of Estes Park in the United States Coordinates 40 22 38 N 105 31 32 W 40 377117 N 105 525514 W 40 377117 105 525514 2 CountryUnited StatesStateColoradoCountyLarimer County 1 Settled1859IncorporatedApril 17 1917 3 Government TypeStatutory town 1 MayorWendy Koenig SchuettArea 4 Total6 897 sq mi 17 862 km2 Land6 822 sq mi 17 668 km2 Water0 075 sq mi 0 194 km2 Elevation7 522 ft 2 293 m Population 2020 4 Total5 904 Density865 sq mi 334 km2 Metro359 066 151st Front Range5 055 344Time zoneUTC 07 00 MST Summer DST UTC 06 00 MDT ZIP Codes 5 80517Area code970FIPS code08 25115GNIS feature ID0204674Websiteestespark wbr colorado wbr gov Contents 1 History 1 1 Early history 1 2 Recent history 1 3 Major flooding events 1 3 1 Flood of 1982 1 3 2 Flood of 2013 2 Geography 2 1 Historic ski areas 2 2 Climate 3 Demographics 4 Arts and culture 5 Infrastructure 5 1 Transportation 5 1 1 Public transportation 5 1 2 Highways 6 Notable people 7 In popular culture 8 Sister city 9 See also 10 References 11 External linksHistory editEarly history edit Before Europeans came to the Estes Park valley the Arapaho Native Americans lived there in the summertime and called the valley the Circle When three elderly Arapahoes visited Estes Park in 1914 they pointed out sites they remembered from their younger days A photograph at the Estes Park Museum identified the touring party as Shep Husted guide Gun Griswold a 73 year old judge Sherman Sage a 63 year old chief of police Tom Crispin 38 year old reservation resident and interpreter Oliver W Toll recorder and David Robert Hawkins a Princeton student 6 In the 1850s the Arapaho had spent summers camped around Mary s Lake where their rock fireplaces tipi sites and dance rings were still visible They also recalled building eagle traps atop Longs Peak to get the war feathers coveted by all tribes They remembered their routes to and from the valley in detail naming trails and landmarks They pointed out the site of their buffalo trap and described the use of dogs to pack meat out of the valley Their recollections included a battle with Apaches in the 1850s and fights with Utes who came to the area to hunt bighorn sheep so all three of those tribes used the valley s resources 7 Whites probably came into the Estes Park valley before the 1850s as trappers but did not stay long The town is named after Missouri native Joel Estes 8 who founded the community in 1859 9 Estes moved his family there in 1863 One of Estes early visitors was William Byers a newspaper editor who wrote of his attempted ascent of Longs Peak in 1864 publicizing the area as a pristine wilderness 10 Griff Evans and his family came to Estes Park in 1867 to act as caretakers for the former Estes ranch Recognizing the potential for tourism he began building cabins to accommodate travelers It became a dude ranch in Estes Park with guides for hunting fishing and mountaineering 11 when Isabella Bird arrived in 1873 Evans already had nine men and women as guests 12 nbsp Lord Dunraven 1841 1926 the famous Irish nobleman politician and journalist in later life His ancestral seat was Adare Manor in County Limerick nbsp Albert Bierstadt was commissioned by The 4th Earl of Dunraven and Mount Earl to make a painting of the Estes Park and Longs Peak area in 1876 for 15 000 The painting originally displayed in Dunraven Castle in Glamorgan is now in the collection of the Denver Art Museum The 4th Earl of Dunraven and Mount Earl a young Anglo Irish peer arrived in late December 1872 under the guidance of Texas Jack Omohundro subsequently made numerous visits and decided to take over the valley for his own private hunting preserve 13 Lord Dunraven s land grab didn t work but he controlled 6 000 acres before he changed tactics and opened the area s first resort the Estes Park Hotel which was destroyed by fire in 1911 14 Bird the daughter of an Anglican minister came overland to Colorado where she borrowed a horse and set out to explore the Rocky Mountains with a guide the notorious James Nugent aka Rocky Mountain Jim She wrote A Lady s Life in the Rocky Mountains a memoir of their travels including the breathtaking ascent of Longs Peak where she was literally hauled up the steep pitches like a bale of goods 15 On June 19 1874 Rocky Mountain Jim and neighbor Griff Evans see above had an argument Having had bitter history with each other Nugent and Evans hated each other and were deep personal rivals when it came to tour guiding tourists The argument escalated until Evans blasted Jim in the head with his rifle shotgun Evans then traveled to Fort Collins to file an assault charge against Nugent but he was arrested and tried for first degree murder when Jim Nugent died on September 9 1874 of the bullet wound Evans was put on trial but the case was soon dismissed due to the lack of witnesses to the shooting On August 9 1875 the Loveland court house acquitted Evans of any charges in the case William Henry Jackson photographed Estes Park in 1873 16 Alex and Clara Heeney MacGregor arrived soon after and homesteaded at the foot of Lumpy Ridge The MacGregor Ranch has been preserved as a historic site In 1874 MacGregor incorporated a company to build a new toll road from Lyons Colorado to Estes Park The road became what is today U S Highway 36 Before that time however the road was only a trail fit for pack horses The improved road brought more visitors into Estes Park some of them became full time residents and built new hotels to accommodate the growing number of travelers 17 In 1884 Enos Mills 1870 1922 left Kansas and came to Estes Park where his relative Elkanah Lamb lived That move proved significant for Estes Park because Mills became a naturalist and conservationist who devoted his life after 1909 to preserving nearly a thousand square miles of Colorado as Rocky Mountain National Park He succeeded and the park was dedicated in 1915 18 Enos Mills younger brother Joe Mills 1880 1935 came to Estes Park in 1889 He wrote a series of articles about his youthful experiences for Boys Life which were later published as a book After some years as a college athletics coach he and his wife returned to Estes Park and built a hotel called The Crags on the north side of Prospect Mountain overlooking the village They ran that business in the summer while he continued his coaching career in winters at University of Colorado in Boulder 19 Many early visitors came to Estes Park in search of better health The Rocky Mountain West especially attracted those with pulmonary diseases and in Estes Park some resorts catered to them providing staff physicians for their care 20 Recent history edit nbsp Main Street 1912In 1903 a new road was opened from Loveland through the Big Thompson River canyon to Estes Park increasing access to the valley In 1907 three Loveland men established the first auto stage line from Loveland to Estes Park with three five passenger touring Stanley Steamers The following year Mr Stanley built nine passenger steam busses and opened a bus line between Lyons and Estes Park 21 By 1912 Estes Park had its own seasonal newspaper the Estes Park Trail which provided advertising for the local hotels and other businesses It was a year round weekly by 1921 22 In 1949 Olympus Dam was finished creating Lake Estes giving the town its main source of drinking water Land was still being homesteaded in the area in 1914 when Katherine Garetson 1877 1963 filed on land near the base of Longs Peak She built a cabin and started a business known as the Big Owl Tea Place She proved up on her homestead claim in 1915 and left a memoir of her years there 23 In 1916 the Estes Valley Library was founded by the Estes Park Women s Club It originally formed part of the old schoolhouse and contained only 262 printed works 24 Estes Park was also the site of the organization of the Credit Union National Association an important milestone in the history of American credit unions 25 In 1992 members of the modern American militia movement attended the three day Rocky Mountain Rendezvous in Estes Park which focused on guns resisting the federal government and white supremacy 26 Major flooding events edit Flood of 1982 edit Main article Lawn Lake Dam The town suffered severe damage in July 1982 from flooding caused by the failure of Lawn Lake Dam after years of disrepair and neglect 27 The flood s alluvial fan can still be seen on Fall River Road The downtown area was extensively renovated after the flood and a river walk was added between the main street Elkhorn Avenue and the Big Thompson River Flood of 2013 edit Main article 2013 Colorado floods Both U S Highway 36 and U S Highway 34 the major routes into town were severely damaged Hundreds of Estes Park residents were also isolated by the destruction of sections of Fish Creek Road and all nine crossings across Fish Creek Damaged sewer lines dumped raw sewage down the creek and into the Big Thompson River 28 Geography editEstes Park sits at an elevation of 7 522 feet 2 293 m on the front range of the Rocky Mountains at the eastern entrance of the Rocky Mountain National Park 29 Its north south and east extremities border the Roosevelt National Forest Lumpy Ridge lies immediately north of Estes Park At the 2020 United States Census the town had a total area of 4 414 acres 17 862 km2 including 48 acres 0 194 km2 of water 4 Historic ski areas edit Estes Park was home to a number of now defunct ski areas 30 Davis Hill 31 Hidden Valley 32 Leydman Hill Jump 33 Old Man Mountain 34 Estes Park vicinity was also the home of other resorts and tourist attractions 30 Climate edit Estes Park has a humid continental climate Koppen Dfb Summers are typically warm sometimes hot while winters are usually cold with lows dropping into the teens and sometimes the single digits Climate data for Estes Park 3 SSE Colorado 1991 2020 normals extremes 2001 2021Month Jan Feb Mar Apr May Jun Jul Aug Sep Oct Nov Dec YearRecord high F C 60 16 57 14 69 21 74 23 85 29 93 34 94 34 91 33 89 32 79 26 66 19 59 15 94 34 Mean maximum F C 50 6 10 3 51 4 10 8 61 1 16 2 68 0 20 0 76 1 24 5 87 1 30 6 88 3 31 3 85 6 29 8 82 0 27 8 71 5 21 9 60 4 15 8 51 5 10 8 89 4 31 9 Mean daily maximum F C 37 1 2 8 37 5 3 1 45 0 7 2 51 5 10 8 61 2 16 2 73 9 23 3 80 2 26 8 77 7 25 4 69 6 20 9 56 6 13 7 44 1 6 7 36 2 2 3 55 9 13 3 Daily mean F C 26 6 3 0 26 6 3 0 33 1 0 6 38 8 3 8 47 9 8 8 58 3 14 6 64 2 17 9 62 0 16 7 54 4 12 4 43 4 6 3 33 8 1 0 26 3 3 2 42 9 6 1 Mean daily minimum F C 16 1 8 8 15 8 9 0 21 2 6 0 26 1 3 3 34 7 1 5 42 6 5 9 48 2 9 0 46 4 8 0 39 2 4 0 30 2 1 0 23 5 4 7 16 4 8 7 30 0 1 1 Mean minimum F C 7 5 21 9 7 2 21 8 3 3 15 9 12 6 10 8 21 1 6 1 35 5 1 9 42 6 5 9 39 1 3 9 28 9 1 7 13 1 10 5 3 1 16 1 7 1 21 7 13 1 25 1 Record low F C 19 28 27 33 18 28 3 19 6 14 28 2 36 2 31 1 20 7 10 23 20 29 22 30 27 33 Average precipitation inches mm 0 82 21 0 68 17 1 58 40 2 26 57 2 27 58 1 37 35 2 55 65 1 71 43 1 65 42 1 12 28 0 74 19 0 67 17 17 42 442 Average snowfall inches cm 9 8 25 13 3 34 18 8 48 19 3 49 9 5 24 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 1 3 9 1 23 11 0 28 12 7 32 104 0 264 Average precipitation days 0 01 in 6 3 9 3 8 9 10 1 12 4 9 4 14 1 13 4 8 8 7 3 6 0 6 9 112 9Average snowy days 0 1 in 7 4 10 3 9 5 8 0 3 7 0 1 0 0 0 0 0 3 3 8 5 8 8 6 57 5Source NOAA mean maxima and minima 2006 2020 35 36 Demographics editHistorical population CensusPop Note 1930417 1940994138 4 19501 61762 7 19601 175 27 3 19701 61637 5 19802 70367 3 19903 18417 8 20005 41370 0 20105 8588 2 20205 9040 8 U S Decennial Census nbsp Estes Park entrance sign nbsp Estes Park city center nbsp The historic Stanley Hotel which opened in 1909 nbsp Estes Park Colorado In August 1900 Estes Park 37 had a population of 218 in 63 households Many 73 were born in Colorado Eighteen were born in other countries Canada 4 England 4 Germany 4 Finland 3 and one each from the Netherlands Scotland and Ireland Eighty had been born in midwestern states and thirty from states in the northeast 38 As of the census 39 of 2010 5 858 people 2 796 households and 1 565 families resided in the town of Estes Park The population density was 929 5 inhabitants per square mile 358 9 km2 There were 4 107 housing units at an average density of 570 6 per square mile 220 3 km2 The racial makeup of the town was 91 0 White 0 3 African American 0 5 Native American 1 2 Asian 2 Pacific Islander 5 5 from other races and 1 4 from two or more races Hispanic or Latino of any race were 14 of the population There were 2 541 households out of which 20 5 had children under the age of 18 living with them 52 3 were married couples living together 6 6 had a female householder with no husband present and 38 4 were non families 31 0 of all households were made up of individuals and 9 7 had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older The average household size was 2 11 and the average family size was 2 61 In the town the population was spread out with 17 6 under the age of 18 5 8 from 18 to 24 26 6 from 25 to 44 29 4 from 45 to 64 and 20 7 who were 65 years of age or older The median age was 45 years For every 100 females there were 92 2 males For every 100 females age 18 and over there were 90 7 males The median income for a household in the town was 43 262 and the median income for a family was 55 667 Males had a median income of 31 573 versus 20 767 for females The per capita income for the town was 30 499 About 3 2 of families and 4 5 of the population were below the poverty line including 4 6 of those under age 18 and 0 8 of those age 65 or over Arts and culture editEstes Park s outskirts include The Stanley Hotel built in 1909 An example of Edwardian opulence the building had Stephen King as a guest inspiring him to change the locale for his novel The Shining from an amusement park to the Stanley s fictional stand in the Overlook Hotel Olympus Dam on the outskirts of the town is the dam that creates Lake Estes a lake which is the site for boating and swimming in Estes Park There are some hotels on the shore 40 Roughly three to four million tourists visit Rocky Mountain National Park each year with 2021 seeing 4 4 million tourist visits most use Estes Park as their base 41 In the spring and fall wapiti travel through the town on their migrations too and from the national park 42 Infrastructure editTransportation edit Trail Ridge Road the highest continuous highway in the United States runs from Estes Park westward through Rocky Mountain National Park reaching Grand Lake over the continental divide 43 Public transportation edit The main airport serving Estes Park is Denver International Airport located 75 miles southeast Service between the airport and Estes Park is provided by local carriers 44 The town of Estes Park operates Estes Transit a free shuttle during the summer months 45 Highways edit nbsp US 34 is an east west highway that runs from Granby Colorado to Berwyn Illinois In Colorado it connects Estes Park to Loveland Interstate 25 Greeley and Interstate 76 nbsp US 36 begins at the nearby Rocky Mountain National Park running to Uhrichsville Ohio passing through Kansas Missouri Illinois and Indiana It connects Estes Park to Boulder and Interstates 25 and 76 both near Denver nbsp State Highway 7 begins at the junction of US 36 and N St Vrain Avenue in Estes Park and runs to Boulder Lafayette and Brighton Its northwestern segment is part of the Peak to Peak Scenic Byway Notable people editJacob M Appel author wrote The Mask of Sanity while living in Estes Park 46 Tommy Caldwell rock climber Jim Detterline climber resident of the Estes Park Allenspark area at the time of his death 47 Tom Hornbein mountaineer amp anesthesiologist He was part of the U S expedition that climbed Mt Everest in 1963 He and Willi Unsoeld were the first climbers to reach the summit via the West Ridge route and the first to complete a traverse of a major Himalayan peak by descending by a different route than the one used to summit In climbing circles his climb is considered to be among the great feats in the history of mountaineering He also designed the oxygen masks for the climb Wendy Koenig is an American middle distance runner She competed in the 800 metres at the 1972 Summer Olympics and the 1976 Summer Olympics She is currently the mayor of Estes Park Loren Shriver astronaut commander on STS mission that launched the Hubble Telescope Freelan Oscar Stanley inventor of the Stanley Steamer and builder of the Stanley Hotel William Ellery Sweet 23rd Governor of Colorado built a summer home in Estes Park in 1912 now used as a residence by his descendantsIn popular culture editEstes Park was the setting for Nicholas Sansbury Smith s Trackers series of novels The Stanley Hotel inspired Stephen King to write the novel The Shining He checked into the hotel in 1973 for a one night stay with his wife Tabitha The lavish Danbury Hotel featured in the 1994 film Dumb and Dumber in which Harry and Lloyd stay is the Stanley Hotel Estes Park Colorado Sister city editEstes Park s official sister city is Monteverde Costa Rica See also edit nbsp Geography portal nbsp History portal nbsp United States portal nbsp Colorado portalColorado Bibliography of Colorado Index of Colorado related articles Outline of Colorado List of counties in Colorado List of municipalities in Colorado List of places in Colorado List of statistical areas in Colorado Front Range Urban Corridor North Central Colorado Urban Area Fort Collins CO Metropolitan Statistical Area Cheley Colorado Camps Rocky Mountain National ParkReferences edit a b c d e Active Colorado Municipalities Colorado Department of Local Affairs Archived from the original on December 12 2009 Retrieved October 18 2021 2014 U S Gazetteer Files Places United States Census Bureau July 1 2014 Archived from the original on February 7 2015 Retrieved January 6 2015 Colorado Municipal Incorporations State of Colorado Department of Personnel amp Administration Colorado State Archives December 1 2004 Archived from the original on September 27 2007 Retrieved September 2 2007 a b c d Decennial Census P L 94 171 Redistricting Data United States Census Bureau United States Department of Commerce August 12 2021 Archived from the original on December 17 2021 Retrieved September 10 2021 ZIP Code Lookup United States Postal Service Archived from the original JavaScript HTML on March 5 2012 Retrieved September 13 2007 Shep Husted Arapaho Tour Archived from the original on July 3 2014 Retrieved March 29 2013 Clement Yore Estes Park Region was Formerly the Playground of the Arapaho Indians Estes Park Trail January 27 1922 p 7 and February 3 1922 pp 7 8 An account of unidentified Indians raiding white ranches for horses is given in Abner Sprague Roads and Trails Estes Park Trail December 8 1922 p 3 Profile for Estes Park Colorado CO ePodunk Archived from the original on May 15 2019 Retrieved October 7 2012 Estes Park Colorado Estes Park Colorado Archived from the original on September 19 2012 Retrieved October 7 2012 William Byers Ascent of Longs Peak Rocky Mountain News September 23 1864 p 2 quoted in James H Pickering This Blue Hollow Estes Park the Early Years 1859 1915 Boulder Colo University Press of Colorado 1999 chapter 1 Betty D Freudenburg Facing the Frontier The Story of the MacGregor Ranch Estes Park Colo Rocky Mountain Nature Association 2005 p 61 Sprague Marshall February 1967 Love In The Park American Heritage Vol 18 no 2 Retrieved September 28 2023 Jane Rawlings June 2023 He Tried to Own Estes Park p 2 of The Senior Voice Vol 43 No 7 Freudenburg pp 61 67 Isabella Bird A Lady s Life in the Rocky Mountains Sausalito Calif Comstock 1980 Letter 7 p 87 USGS photo in Freudenburg p 56 Freudenburg chapter 7 Pickering This Blue Hollow Estes Park the Early Years 1859 1915 pp 220 235 A Mountain Boyhood New York J H Sears 1926 republished 1988 by University of Nebraska Press introduction Pickering This Blue Hollow 127 128 First Auto Stage Line to Estes Park Established Spring of 1907 Estes Park Trail January 5 1923 p 1 Colorado Historic Newspapers http www coloradohistoricnewspapers org Default Skins Colorado Client asp skin Colorado amp AW 1364318345023 amp AppName 2 Archived August 22 2023 at the Wayback Machine Katherine Garetson Homesteading Big Owl 2d ed Allenspark Colo Allenspark Wind 2001 Estes Valley Library Archived from the original on March 12 2017 Retrieved March 12 2017 Creating CUNA Archived 2008 03 10 at the Wayback Machine Markham Cameron Julia June 2019 Firearm Stockpiling as a Symptom of the White Patriot Identity or How Whites Learned to Start Worrying and Love The Gun PDF Social Justice amp Equity Law Journal 2 2 178 80 Archived PDF from the original on November 5 2021 Retrieved June 28 2023 Ann Depperschmidt July 12 2009 Path of destruction Flood of 1982 still evident in hike to Lawn Lake Reporter Herald Archived from the original on September 27 2007 Retrieved December 23 2009 Fort Collins Coloradoan September 17 2013 Estes Park vows to rebound from ravages of flood 9news com Archived from the original on September 18 2013 Retrieved September 18 2013 US Gazetteer files 2010 2000 and 1990 United States Census Bureau February 12 2011 Archived from the original on August 24 2019 Retrieved April 23 2011 a b TCSP Northern Front Range Resorts Colorado Ski History Archived from the original on January 9 2008 Retrieved December 23 2009 TCSP Davis Hill Colorado Ski History Archived from the original on October 9 2007 Retrieved December 23 2009 Colorado Ski History Hidden Valley Archived January 8 2008 at the Wayback Machine Ski Estes Park TCSP Leydman Hill Jump Colorado Ski History Archived from the original on October 9 2007 Retrieved December 23 2009 TCSP Old Man Mountain Colorado Ski History Archived from the original on October 9 2007 Retrieved December 23 2009 NOWData NOAA Online Weather Data National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Archived from the original on May 8 2021 Retrieved June 8 2021 Summary of Monthly Normals 1991 2020 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Archived from the original on August 22 2023 Retrieved June 8 2021 Does The Estes Park Real Estate Market Need More Regulations Estes Park Home Search Retrieved March 31 2015 U S census Estes Park precinct Larimer County Colorado August 1900 U S Census website United States Census Bureau Archived from the original on December 27 1996 Retrieved January 31 2008 https www theestesparkresort com Near record crowds in 2021 intensified challenges for Rocky Mountain National Park rangers Heinz Mark October 29 2023 Huge Elk Herds With Wyoming Roots Take Over Colorado Mountain Town Cowboy State Daily Retrieved October 30 2023 Rocky Mountain National Park Park Area Trail Ridge Road Rmnp com Archived from the original on September 18 2009 Retrieved December 23 2009 DIA Airport Shuttle Schedule and Rates Estes Park Shuttle Archived from the original on August 22 2023 Retrieved October 17 2018 Estes Transit Free Shuttles Town of Estes Park Archived from the original on August 22 2023 Retrieved October 17 2018 Writing Today June 2017 P 3 Jim Detterline The passing of a hero FOX31 Denver October 27 2016 Archived from the original on August 22 2023 Retrieved June 24 2023 External links editEstes Park Colorado at Wikipedia s sister projects nbsp Media from Commons nbsp Travel information from Wikivoyage Town of Estes Park website CDOT map of the Town of Estes Park Estes Park Museum online collections Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Estes Park Colorado amp oldid 1193993347, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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