My husband and I recently spent a week in Estes Park, CO with our five month old son! This was our first trip as a family and I was a little nervous about how it would go. I’m happy to report that things went well with our baby and I found Estes Park to be very family-friendly! The views were amazing and I highly recommend going in the fall! Below you can find our itineraries and recommendations for food, hikes, etc. We went the third week of September which was great for fall colors! We noticed even more colors throughout the week as the leaves turned!
*IMPORTANT*: Rocky Mountain National Park now requires a pass to get in and timed entry. This means you need to sign up in advance to get into the park and select the time that you will enter. You can stay the whole day after that but can’t enter until your time slot. You can register early (recommended) or extra passes open up at 7PM MST the night before for the next day. Get on early – space is limited! Click here for the link.
Day 1 – Settling In
We spent two nights in Denver to catch a Rockies vs. Cubs game then headed up to Estes Park on Sunday afternoon! If you’re driving from the airport, you’ll have the opportunity to swing by some of the Northwest suburbs of Denver like Arvada and Boulder. In Arvada, we got coffee from one of the BEST coffeeshops I’ve ever been to called Corvus Coffee Roasters. Highly recommend their pastries and coffee!
Upon arrival in Estes Park, we checked into our hotel, Trailborn Hotel! It’s a newly renovated hotel that is very Instagramable. They have a great restaurant that is reasonably priced called Casa Colina that is open for breakfast and dinner. We settled in, went and did laundry for Judah’s clothes at Village Laundry (mostly cash/coins only) then went back to the hotel for dinner at Casa Colina and free s’mores by the fire! I’m not sponsored by the hotel but would recommend it for anyone in the area as the views, atmosphere, and s’mores really went a long way with me!
Day 2 – Coffee & Bear Lakes Hike
9:00AM – Walk to Kind Coffee along the Riverwalk
10:00AM – Head to Three Lakes Hike via Bear Lake Trail
10:30AM – Head to park and ride since Bear Lake Trail lot is full
11:00AM – Begin hike!
2:00PM – Finish hike and eat sandwiches in the Park & Ride Lot
4:00PM – Walk the town
6:00PM – Himalayan Curry & Kebob
We had so much fun on our first full day in Estes Park! We walked from our hotel to Kind Coffee and got our caffeine fix. They also have breakfast sandwiches! We then went into Rocky Mountain National Park for the most popular hike – the Three Lakes Hike via Bear Lake Trail! There is parking at the trailhead but it’s usually pretty crowded. I recommend the Park & Ride. The shuttles come every five minutes or so and make it really easy to get there and back. Driving to Bear Lake Trailhead alone is another 10 minutes or so, so, if you get there and need to turn around to go the park and ride you’re wasting time.
The hike was beautiful and pretty easy for families! At the trailhead is Bear Lake and there are three other lakes along the way, ending at Emerald Lake! It took us about 3 hours with a new born. I didn’t find it to be too challenging but it was rewarding for all the stairs you had to climb to get there! We then made and ate sandwiches in the parking lot for a post-hike lunch! Our hotel had complimentary ice coolers you could take on your hike – super convenient! After the hike we walked around downtown, which had so many cute shops. We ended the night at Himilayan Curry & Kebob. I was really craving rice after hiking so much nad this place did not disappoint! The food was authentic and fresh! I’d definitely eat there again! We didn’t eat a lot of dessert around town but I’m told Hayley’s Ice Cream is a great spot for ice cream!
Day 3 – Cinnamon Rolls & The Loch Valley
9:00AM – Cinnamon’s Bakery
10:00AM – Alberta Falls & The Loch Valley
1:30PM – Finish hike & parking lot lunch
2:30PM – You Need Pie! Stop
3:30PM – Laundry
6:00PM – Smokin’ Dave’s BBQ
We started the day at Cinnamon’s Bakery and YOU NEED TO GO HERE! They sold out minutes after we got there so be sure to go sooner than 9am to guarantee a cinnamon roll. We got the old fashioned (regular) cinnamon roll and the salted caramel. Surprisingly, the salted caramel was our favorite. The person who helped us even threw in an extra salted caramel roll for free since we got two corner pieces. Corner pieces, center pieces…I feel like they’re all good at this place!
We then went on our way to our hike for the day. We hiked to Alberta Falls which is a very easy and beautiful .5 mile hike or so. This one is great for families with wide paths and a gradual incline! The falls are beautiful and we saw some beautiful Aspen trees changing color along the way. We then went on to The Loch Valley. This part of the hike was a little more intense and was another 2 miles or so to get to The Loch. It was a really beautiful hike that had a ridge portion, meaning you’re walking along the ridge of the mountain. Despite this, it felt very safe and the path was wide at all times. It was absolutely beautiful! The last third of a mile is pretty steep. Lots of heavy breathing from us but it was doable even with Travis carrying our baby in a baby carrier!
After that, we needed pie so we went to a place called You Need Pie! haha go figure. They had pie flavors of all kinds and it lived up to it’s name! Next we went and did laundry because we are on a trip with a 5-month-old after all but I’d recommend Village Laundry for anyone wanting to clean their clothes before they head home after hiking as well! We walked around the shops once more and then went to dinner at Smokin’ Dave’s BBQ! It was fantastic. I got the two meat plate and ate about 1/4th of it. When you order the chicken as one of your meats, they bring out a half chicken! I couldn’t finish my meal but the food was great. It’s pretty popular so I recommend getting there just before the dinner crowd hits at 6.
Day 4 – Casa Colina & Lake Hiayaha
8:00AM – Breakfast at Casa Colina in our hotel
9:00AM – Head to Ya Ya Farm & Orchard
11:00AM – Head back to the Mountains
12:00PM – Johnny’s Good Eats Burgers
3:30PM – Lake Hiayaha
6:00PM – Penelope’s Old Time Burgers
We loved the restaurant in our hotel! It had great food for both breakfast and dinner and we found it to be reasonably priced. It was a great stop for breakfast before we headed to Longmont for Ya Ya Farms & Apple Orchard! Actually picking apples required a reservation made in July but, being from out of state, we weren’t going to take any home anyway! We enjoyed seeing donkeys and horses, peacocks, chickens, flowers, and apples! They also had great apple cider donuts!
Then we trekked back to the mountains (about a 30 minute drive) and stopped at a brewery with a food truck called Johnny’s Good Eats. When I tell you this was one of the best burgers of my life, I’m not kidding! Please try to find their schedule and go get a burger to confirm if I’m exaggerrating or not!
After hanging out for a bit with Judah, we took off for the mountains again! This time we set out to do Lake Hiayaha Hike. The trail starts out at Bear Lake Trailhead and follows along until Dream Lake. I liked the familiarity of the hike! At Dream Lake (the second of the three lakes hike) you veer off into a woodsy area and hike a few switchbacks. From there you hike through some wonderful views and forest area until you reach large rocks. Scrambling is needed but there is not real “climbing” involved and I did not find it challenging. My husband was carrying our 5-month old in front of him and did not have issues, although he did need to watch his step. This lake was absolutely beautiful. There were not many great “landing” zones for us to change Judah or make up a bottle but all in all it was still a great place to stop. The water was a brilliant blue due to some recent rock slides stirring up the sediment in the lake. This was my favorite view the whole trip! The hike took us about 2 hours round trip but we did do the first part very quickly since we had already done half of it.
To cap off the night we ate at Penelope’s Old Time Burgers! It was great! Not my fave burger of the trip (see lunch haha) but definitely worth checking out! I’m told it’s an institution!
Day 5 – Scenic Route & Grand Lake
8:00AM – Bird’s Nest Bakery
10:00AM – Walk around lake
1:00PM – Scenic Route at Trail Ridge Rd.
3:00PM – Arrive at Grand Lake
3:30PM – Ice Cream at Myauchi’s Snack Stand
4:00PM – Head back to Estes Park
6:00PM – Mangia Mangia Pizzeria
7:00PM – S’mores
Day 5 was one of my favorite days! Bird’s Nest Bakery was some of the best food we ate on the trip. Try the breakfast burrito. It may change your life. They toast the tortilla and everything inside is cooked to perfection…it’s a must-get! Their coffee is also great with creative lattes that aren’t too sweet and pastries that go alongside it! Next we went to the Visitor’s Center and walked around the lake path. Word to the wise, when you see elk on the golf course, observe at a distance.
We then got in the car and headed up to the scenic highway via Trail Ridge Road! There are two well known scenic highways – Trail Ridge Rd, which is a paved highway that takes you from Estes Park to Grand Lake, and Peak to Peak, that takes you from Estes Park to Black Hawk. We did Trail Ridge Road and it was beautiful! We downloaded our favorite music (because you will not have internet/signal) and drove around while looking at the fall colors. It was perfect! You do get up pretty high so it can be an anxiety-inducing drive! You will need a timed entry pass even to do this drive if you want to enter before 4pm (I would strongly advise not driving this road at night).
One of my favorite parts of the trip was visiting Grand Lake at the end of the scenic drive! It was absolutely beautiful! My new favorite town. There is a beautiful lake with cabins all around it and the cutest strip of shops. We loved getting ice cream from Myauchi’s Snack Bar! They had homemade, creative flavors! This is the kind of place I want to come back and visit!
We trekked back to Estes Park and went to the Mangia Mangia Pizzeria food truck! The pizza was fantastic! I got one that started with a “p” and had arugula, tomatoes, and ricotta on it. It was amazing! For our last night, we went back to our hotel common area for s’mores!
Day 6 – Bird’s Nest & Sprague Lake
9:00AM – Bird’s Nest Bakery
10:30AM – Sprague Lake Hike
12:00PM – See elk
2:30PM – Brewery with Aunt Merry
4:00PM – head to Denver
Ok, so obviously we had to go back to Bird’s Nest Bakery on the last day – it was by far our favorite!! If you’re not wanting to repeat places, another plact we really wanted to go was Village Bagels! Unfortunately, we didn’t get online in time the night before to get tickets into Rocky Mountain National Park. The great news is that there are a few hikes that don’t require a pass to get in because they start outside the entrance. That’s what the Sprague Lake Hike comes into play! This was one of my favorite hikes. Sprague lake is in the park, but you can hike to it from the East Portal. Keep in mind the “East Portal Loop” is a different hike. Instead, start at the East Portal and follow signs for the Glacier Pass then, when signs point you towards glacier past and sprague lake ()about 1 mile in) follow signs for Sprague Lake!
The aspens were really popping on the hike and the hike was not challenging other than a relatively steep incline for the first .25 mile. Sprague Lake was beautiful and there’s a really casual loop you can do around the lake. To top things off we saw a lot of elk up close at and around the lake. It was awesome!
To cap off the day, we ended at a brewery with my husband’s Aunt Merry, who was in town. After that we headed to Denver for a final night’s stay before our flight. If you’re looking for areas to stay in Denver, I’d look at the Northwest suburbs like Boulder, Arvada, Bloomfield, or Westminster. Arvada had one of the best coffeeshops ever – Corvus Coffee Roasters there. Highly recommend!
Hope this helps and that you have the best time!
LVL 