If you love mountain towns, national parks, or Stephen King's The Shining, Estes Park belongs on your list. Tucked into the gateway of the Rockies, this small town is filled with local shops, breathtaking scenery, and a few haunted experiences at the Stanley Hotel — the real-life hotel that inspired the novel. It sits minutes from Rocky Mountain National Park, where there's something different to do in every season.
We chose to go over Super Bowl weekend in February, hoping for a cozy, snowy few days in Colorado. The town itself stayed clear — no snow at the hotel — but Rocky Mountain National Park delivered, with Trail Ridge Road closed for the season and buried under snow. A mix of adventure, relaxation, and just a little mystery.
Denver → the Stanley Hotel
To save money and use points we flew to Denver via Phoenix — so what we saved in cash, it cost in time. We landed around 6pm to a stunning sunset, picked up our rental car, and drove around Denver instead of through it to dodge traffic. It was dark for most of the 90-minute drive, but we passed some fun-looking towns along the way — like Lyons, where live music spilled out of several lively breweries right on the road.
We'd pictured a grand manor perched atop a snow-covered hill, surrounded by mountains — and it was everything we'd hoped for, except the snow. We made it to The Stanley Hotel in record time, though it took us a minute to find the entrance — the main door was tricky to spot in the dark with construction going on. After checking into our stunning room we moved our car to one of the hotel's free chargers and walked over to The Post Mountain House for dinner at the bar. We wrapped up the night with a nightcap at the Whiskey Bar at Cascades Restaurant — the same bar where Dumb and Dumber was filmed.
The Shining Tour & downtown Estes Park
We woke up to stunning views of Lake Estes, downtown, and the hotel's hedge maze, all framed by mountains — our corner room looked out over all of it. After breakfast at Cascades, we headed to the bottom floor of the hotel for the Shining Tour: an in-depth 60-minute walk around the grounds, with our guide covering Stephen King's stay at the hotel, how it inspired the novel, and the differences between the book, the movie, and the miniseries.
The hotel's halls, grand staircase, and the tour's recreation of the twins' bathroom — no shortage of Shining atmosphere.
"A little too on-theme: the recreation of the twins' bathroom, waiting at the end of a hall we did not want to walk down alone."
We wrapped up around 11:30 and headed to Elkhorn Avenue, the tree-lined downtown strip full of local artisan shops and restaurants — just a block from the Riverwalk, which was frozen over with snow and ice above the running water. After browsing a few shops we headed toward the national park, stopping for lunch at Trailhead Restaurant with beautiful views of Fall River and the Rockies.
Rocky Mountain National Park
After lunch we drove into Rocky Mountain National Park with our Jr. Ranger books in hand. Winter closes Trail Ridge Road at Many Parks Curve, so we parked, took in the panoramic views, then walked the closed, snow-covered road — passing cross-country skiers, a white rabbit, and tracks from animals we couldn't identify. The ranger station was closed on our way out, so our Jr. Ranger badges would have to wait a day.
A ghostly window & a secret magic show
Back at the hotel, things got spooky — a window in our bathroom, supposedly nailed shut, was mysteriously wide open when we got back to the room. We shook off the creepy feeling, changed into nice clothes, and headed to the beautiful 217 Wine Bar for happy hour, learning more about the hotel's history from the bartenders. Then it was on to Ember, for an incredible dinner overlooking Lake Estes.
The bathroom window that was nailed shut — until it wasn't; and dinner at Ember, worth it even with a wedding band thumping through the wall.
With time to kill before our magic show, we grabbed a drink at The Post Mountain House again and met some other people headed to the same thing. The show — Magus at Aiden Sinclair's Underground — is hidden behind a bookcase door downstairs. We went through it into a secret theater for a genuinely edge-of-your-seat performance. Afterward, we found a bar downtown to play pool, mingled with locals and fellow show-goers trying to debunk the tricks, and closed down the town before heading back through silent streets to the sparkling Stanley Hotel.
Bagels, elk & the Ghost Tour
We slept in, recharging from the day before, then waited in a long line for amazing bagels and coffee at Village Bagels. Back at the room we watched a documentary on The Shining, then headed to the ranger station to finally turn in our guidebooks and collect our Jr. Ranger badges. From there we drove around town hunting for the elk that supposedly fill the area — and found a huge herd grazing in a field on the outskirts of town.
With the Super Bowl approaching, we picked up pizza and salad from Antonio's Real New York Pizza to enjoy while watching the game (my two favorite teams were playing each other, so there was no losing for me). We only watched half before pausing it for our final tour of the trip — The Stanley Ghost Tour, with the same guide from the Shining Tour. He shared the hotel's haunting history and took us through all-new areas of the grounds. No spirits appeared, but it was a fun way to close out the visit before heading back up to finish the game.
Hedge maze & home
Before heading back to Denver, we checked out the hotel gift shop and wandered the hedge maze one last time. A fantastic trip — full of activities, relaxation, fun people, and beautiful views — and one we'd happily do again.
What we didn't have time for — and want to do when we go back
Because this area has such distinct seasons, a lot of activities only open up at certain times of year. In winter, if it's snowy and cold enough, we'd love to go downhill and cross-country skiing. In late spring through early fall, we'd want to kayak on Lake Estes, go biking through the national park, and drive the full Trail Ridge Road — the highest continuous paved road in the US, closed the whole time we were there. And the Stanley Hotel is in the middle of major renovations, including a new horror movie theater, so a return trip is already on the list.