What is now a charming mountain town that serves as a gateway to Rocky Mountain National Park was once a summer hunting and camping area for Native American tribes.

According to Visit Estes Park, archaeological records show that humans have lived in the area for at least 12,000 years. Visit Estes Park goes on to explain that the destination drew Ute and Arapaho tribes, who summered in the Estes Park area and moved to the Middle Park region south of Grand Lake in the winter.

Miners flocked to the Estes Valley when gold was discovered in Colorado in 1849. Joel Estes, after whom the town was named, “discovered” the Estes Valley in 1859. Estes and his family lived in the area from 1860 to 1866.

William Byers, the owner and editor of the Rocky Mountain News, visited the area in 1864, naming it Estes Park. He sold his homestead to Griff Evans, who established the area’s first dude ranch and welcomed various historical figures, including the Earl of Dunraven and Isabella Bird. Alexander and Clara (Heeney) MacGregor established large cattle ranches in the 1870s.

The story continues with F. O. Stanley, who traveled to Estes Park from Massachusetts in 1903 searching for a cure to tuberculosis. After experiencing the mountain air, Stanley built the Stanley Hotel as a luxury travel shop, which created a boom in the area’s resort business. Stanley also ran “mountain bus trips ” up the Bid Thompson Canyon, which Visit Estes Park reports was likely one of the Rocky Mountain region’s first shuttle services.

Enos Millis, from Kansas, led a campaign to establish the area as a national park. He was successful when, on January 26, 1915, President Woodrow Wilson signed the legislation creating Rocky Mountain National Park.

As it is only a few minutes away from the park, Estes Park serves as the eastern gateway to RMNP. As it is now over 100 years old, and filled with everything from “alpine tundra, rugged mountain grandeur, cascading waterfalls,” to “tranquil meadows, massive glaciers, towering peaks,” and “thousands of species of wildflowers, bird and wildlife,” RMNP is one of the crown jewels of the US’s national park system.

Today, Estes Park stands as a hub for outdoor adventure, as well as a charming mountain town with a strong historical past and cultural scene.

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