Estes Park, CO Vacation 2021
A few weeks ago, my family went on vacation in Estes Park, Colorado. It was definitely at the top of our lists for our favorite vacation EVER! I thought it’d be fun to share (& reminisce about) all of the things we did! I’ll link to as many places as I can so you can read reviews or look into things more if you’re interested.
We left early on Saturday morning & spent the day traveling so I don’t have any pictures or much to share about that day. We did make a stop in Denver for a late lunch at Sam’s No. 3. My family is big on eating at local places & we love finding places featured on Food Network. My brother has eaten at this one several times & was so excited to take us. Here is the write up from food network! It was delish!!
day one...
There was the cutest little coffee shop called Coffee on the Rocks right down the walking path from our condo that we quickly became obsessed with.
When you leave the coffee house, there’s a darling little trail around a small pond. They have picnic tables & super comfy chairs set up along the path. My mom & I went there a couple of times throughout the trip to lounge & read a bit!
There were elk all over the area we were staying & it was SO COOL!!!
We saw this message posted as we walked back to our condo & you can bet we all peed down our legs just a little lol!
We enjoyed breakfast & church online before heading to go horseback riding in the mountains.
We ended the day walking around downtown Estes Park & then having some delicious food & drinks at a brewery called The Barrel. It was such a great first day!
day two...
Day two started off with the most delicious cinnamon rolls for breakfast from Cinnamon’s Bakery.
Then, we spent the afternoon on the water at Lake Estes which was just what we needed! Between paddle boating, kayaking, & paddle boarding, we were all plum tuckered out. We rented everything from here.
We felt very deserving of an ice cream treat to finish off the afternoon. This was from Hayley’s Ice Cream & it was so good!
We hung around our condo for the evening & then walked down to have dinner at a BBQ joint called Smokin Daves BBQ & Brew.
day three...
Day three started off bright & early when we left at 4:30 for a sunrise hike!
The views were absolutely gorgeous & made the *almost* 7 mile hike SO worth it! We hiked to the following lakes: Bear Lake, Nymph Lake, Dream Lake, Emerald Lake & Lake Haiyaha. All the lakes were absolutely beautiful in their own way, but the hike to Lake Haiyaha was our favorite for sure!
We had a super relaxing afternoon with açaí smoothies at our favorite coffee shop (Coffee on the Rocks) & a much needed nap.
Then back to our favorite brewery & food truck place for dinner!
day four...
On day four we took a jeep tour all over Rocky Mountain National Park through Green Jeep Tours!
We experienced more amazing views AND…
…saw TWO MOOSE!!!
We enjoyed some delicious lemon sorbet from Munchin House in the afternoon.
& then a relaxing evening playing card games on our back deck.
day five...
On day five, my sister’s dreams came true when we rode the Estes Park Aerial Tramway to feed the chipmunks! It was too cute!!
We spent the afternoon walking in the river outside our condo & then enjoyed a picnic dinner where we had a little visitor.
I realized I didn’t take any pictures of our condo, but here is a link for it. It was a three bedroom, three bath with a two car garage. The location was so great & it was perfect for our family!
Overall, it was such a wonderful vacation packed full of memories that will last a lifetime!
