I'd love your input on guided hiking tours into the park. We're staying in Estes Park for a week in mid-September and we're both active and in good shape. Many thanks.
Posted by
Colorado Springs
2970 posts
A few random thoughts as they occur to me:
As background - we've been going up to RMNP annually for the past 10 years or so and have hiked most of the trails in the park. Forgive the presumption here, but in my opinion you really won't need a guide unless you want to get into something technical - an ascent of Long's Peak for example. For a casual hiker investing in one of the many excellent guide books describing day hikes in the park would be the better alternative I think.
The park website is really quite good, with excellent maps describing the various trails with detailed commentary on degrees of difficulty, etc.
Early on we bought one of the more comprehensive guides at the visitor center that describes the hikes in even more detail and that's been quite helpful for us. Am sure you can find them on Amazon before your trip to preview a few you'd like to tackle.
Other thoughts: Estes is located at an altitude of 7,500 ft. Some of the popular trail heads start at about 9,000ft and ascend from there. Coming from Florida I'd suggest taking it easy the first few days until you acclimate - the potential for altitude sickness for people parachuting in from sea level is quite high.
Take lots of water. Sunscreen too - the sun can be pretty intense that high.
In September you'll see fewer crowds than at the height of summer but it can still get crowded around midday - an early start in the morning will help guarantee a parking spot at the popular trail heads.
The park will still have timed entry in place in September, and from the Estes side the time blocks begin as early as 5 AM, so do plan ahead.
You're going to love it. Rocky Mountain is one of the true jewels of the National Park system.
Posted by
Seattle, WA
17284 posts
In case the Timed Entry Permit requirement is a surprise, here is the information:
https://www.nps.gov/romo/planyourvisit/timed-entry-permit-system.htm
It says they are not needed for “guided trips” but they do not define those or explain.
Looks like the permits are available for most of September.
Posted by
Brooklyn, NY
4187 posts
We were just there last Sunday. It was not crowded. We had a 12:00 entry time. We did notice horseback riding options - $120 for 2 hours.
We only spent the day there but it was a lovely day. We hiked around Splay Lake and spotted a moose with her calf in the lake.
As a side note, we stopped at the Stanley Hotel (The Shining and Dumb and Dumber movie sets). We had a nice dinner. They also have tours but we had too many kids with us to take the tour.
Posted by
Big Island of Hawaii
747 posts
The Scottish Festival will be September 6-8 in Estes Park and there will be huge crowds. Hopefully your mid-September trip is later than that. The Elk Fest will be September 28 & 29 in Estes Park.
September is a good time to see elk in Estes Park and RMNP. If you do some research on-line you'll find suggestions for where to go for the best viewing.
Posted by
Southern California
442 posts
I agree with Robert--pace yourself if you're coming from a lower elevation. We had spent several days in Albuquerque and then several more days in Denver and still wondered why were were so winded on our first hike. Even when you've been staying "Mile High", 9000 feet is a big difference.
The Visitor Center is a great place to get information on hikes. We were there in mid-June the year we went and my husband and son wanted to hike to Long's Peak. The ranger asked "Are you experienced ice hikers with your own equipment? If not, then you're headed as far as the Keyhole." I'm sure they will have good suggestions for your experience and fitness levels.
Enjoy! We are hoping to revisit the park as part of our "Best of the Rockies" vacation planned for 2026.
Posted by
OP
Florida
1450 posts
All this sounds like really good advice, thanks! We scooped up timed entries as soon as they became available on Aug. 1 for our dates. I will check out the Scottish Festival.
Posted by
Colorado Springs
2970 posts
While you're likely to encounter elk anywhere in the park, one spot where you're guaranteed to see a sizeable herd is Moraine Park - a pretty little valley on the Estes side. There's a viewing platform overlooking the valley (near a parking area) where you can observe them from a safe distance.
There are also a couple of hiking trails that go down into the valley itself but be cautious about approaching the herd too closely while on foot. September is the start of the rut - the annual mating season - and the males will be especially testy that time of year. Stay well clear while taking your photos.