{"id":13,"date":"2008-01-11T12:43:28","date_gmt":"2008-01-11T19:43:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/lorismith.biz\/blog\/2008\/01\/11\/what-to-do-with-kids-while-visiting-estes-park\/"},"modified":"2008-01-12T15:01:58","modified_gmt":"2008-01-12T22:01:58","slug":"what-to-do-with-kids-while-visiting-estes-park","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/lorismith.biz\/blog\/2008\/01\/11\/what-to-do-with-kids-while-visiting-estes-park\/","title":{"rendered":"Things to do with kids while visiting Estes Park, Colorado"},"content":{"rendered":"

What to do with kids in Estes<\/st1:placename> Park<\/st1:placetype><\/st1:place>? I saw this question posted recently and it is a concern for many who visit here with children too young to hike long distances. You don’t need to climb Longs Peak or back country camp in RMNP to fully appreciate the area. <\/span>There is art, history, nature, food, shopping, entertainment and much more. <\/span>There are too many activities to list so I will just mention of few.<\/p>\n

It is going to be hard for me not to emphasize JUST going into the park. <\/span>It is by far the best attraction we have. <\/span>You don\u2019t have to hike for miles to experience its beauty though. There are lots of places to hike just a block or two and explore rocks, streams, and see great views. <\/span>Visit the Alluvial Fan near the North Entrance for hours of rock hopping, playing in the water or looking for wildflowers or wild raspberries. <\/span>Also Lily<\/st1:placename> Lake<\/st1:placename><\/st1:place> has a very short walking loop with plenty of opportunity for adventure. <\/span>Stop in to the Beaver<\/st1:placename> Meadows<\/st1:placename> Visitor<\/st1:placename> Center<\/st1:placetype><\/st1:place> and talk to the staff for ideas. <\/span>They have ranger led walks just for young children. Make your own GORP, have a picnic in Moraine Park. Drive up Old Fall River Road<\/st1:address><\/st1:street> and find a patch of snow to play in. <\/span>Let\u2019s back up for a minute before you come into the park, stop by the Estes Park Convention and Visitor\u2019s Bureau<\/a> and get one of their calendars of events to find out what is going on around town. <\/span>There might be a festival going on at Bond Park or the Stanley Park Fairground. <\/span>We have the Rooftop Rodeo, Arabian horse shows, car shows, art shows, Highlands Scottish Irish Festival, Quilt Shows, Film Festivals and our course Elk Fest. <\/span>You could go to a festival every weekend all summer. <\/span>We do have some fun touristy kinds of attraction like go-carts and miniature golf, but I would encourage you to also check out some of the unique attractions Estes<\/st1:placename> Park<\/st1:placetype> offers like the Estes<\/st1:placename> Park<\/st1:placetype> Museum<\/st1:placetype> or MacGregor<\/st1:placename> Ranch<\/st1:placename> Museum<\/st1:placetype><\/st1:place>. <\/span>Our Art<\/st1:placename> Center<\/st1:placename><\/st1:place> and Library offer programs for hands-on activities throughout the summer months. <\/span>Did you bring Fido? <\/span>Take him to the Dog<\/st1:placename> Park<\/st1:placetype><\/st1:place> to burn up some energy. <\/span>If you are downtown, check out some of our kid friendly stores that sell toys or have rocks and artifacts. <\/span>Watch the glass blowers at several glass shops too. <\/span>Grab an ice cream cone and head over to Riverside<\/st1:placename> Plaza<\/st1:placetype> or Performance<\/st1:placename> Park<\/st1:placetype><\/st1:place> to enjoy an outdoor concert. <\/span>Visit the flower garden on West Elkhorn<\/st1:place> Ave. and see how many flowers you can name. <\/span>Rent a bike cart and ride around Lake<\/st1:placetype> Estes<\/st1:placename><\/st1:place> or play at one of the many playgrounds around town. <\/span>Ride the Aerial Tram to the top of Prospect<\/st1:placename> Mountain<\/st1:placetype><\/st1:place>. <\/span>Maybe the weather is turning off bad? <\/span>Head over to the Aquatic<\/st1:placename> Center<\/st1:placetype><\/st1:place> for a swim or to the Historic Park Theater for a movie. <\/span>How about the Estes<\/st1:placename> Park<\/st1:placetype> Mountain<\/st1:placetype><\/st1:place> shop for a rock climbing lesson? <\/span>And I almost forgot the YMCA of the Rockies<\/st1:place>, horseback riding and chuck wagon dinners too. <\/span> <\/span>Soon we will have a Planetarium for star gazing. <\/span>How about an old time portrait? <\/span>Are you tired yet? <\/span>You don\u2019t need to leave Estes to keep the family entertained. <\/span><\/span>#1 Rule-don\u2019t forget to take lots of water, sunscreen and snacks! <\/span> <\/span> <\/span> <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

What to do with kids in Estes Park? I saw this question posted recently and it is a concern for many who visit here with children too young to hike long distances. You don’t need to climb Longs Peak or back country camp in RMNP to fully appreciate the area. There is art, history, nature, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5,4],"tags":[41,46,10,43,40,31,44,45],"class_list":["post-13","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-fun-around-estes-park","category-hiking","tag-activities","tag-colorado","tag-estes-park","tag-fun","tag-kids","tag-rmnp","tag-summer-vacation","tag-things-to-do"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/lorismith.biz\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/lorismith.biz\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/lorismith.biz\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/lorismith.biz\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/lorismith.biz\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=13"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/lorismith.biz\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/lorismith.biz\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=13"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/lorismith.biz\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=13"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/lorismith.biz\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=13"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}