Estes Park, Colorado is the gateway to Rocky Mountain National Park and the first place my Denver resident son, Joel Comm of The Ad Sense Code and Twitter Power fame, takes Colorado visitors. Estes Park is only a short one-hour drive from Denver. You can spend all your time in Estes Park or move on into Rocky Mountain National Park. Estes Park has Free Visitor Shuttles during the summer season with nearly all primary access routes to the core business located on the shuttle routes. Just leave your car one of the Visitor Centers’ parking lots and ride east to amusement and lodging areas, west to the Fall River Gateway Visitor Center or southwest past several of the area’s campgrounds on the way to Rocky Mountain National Park’s Beaver Meadows Visitor Center.

Estes Park has more than 150 lodging properties that range from campgrounds to hotel rooms and many have pools, playgrounds and other amenities. Shopping can occupy a day in itself (ask my daughter-in-law) with more than 300 small shops selling treasures from the world, region and Estes Park. Want to eat a burger? Wild game? Check. Sit on a patio and enjoy mountain views? Check. Barbeque and/or picnic at one of the campsites? Check. There is no lack of diversions just in the small town of Estes Park, Colorado but don’t leave without spending at least one day in Rocky Mountain National Park…

Please visit this Rocky Mountain National Park link for detailed information on campgrounds, shuttles, entrance fees, reservations and what to do within the park. A little brief information about gorgeous Rocky Mountain National Park:

- There are 150 lakes and 450 miles of streams in the park’s wetland ecosystem. Pine forests and grassy hillsides in the montane ecosystem. The subalpine ecosystem with bent spruce and fire trees in the higher areas, until you emerge on the alpine tundra, an area too harsh for trees.

- Watch for Elk, mule deer, moose, bighorn sheep, black bears, coyotes, cougars, eagles, hawks and scores of smaller animals. Watch out for the wild and crazy elk if you visit during the Fall elk rut (mating season). Elk are also nothing to mess with in the Spring when they are superprotective of their babies.

- Rocky Mountain National Park elevations range from 7,500 to over 12,000 feet.

- There are 359 miles of trails for hikers, backpackers and horseback riders. Watch the altitude! Even very fit people can develop altitude sickness here. There is a hiker’s shuttle between the Town of Estes Park and Rocky Mountain National Park that makes it easy to leave your car, take a hike and return at the end of the day. Backpackers can choose from over 200 backcountry campsites when they apply for a backcountry camping permit.

- Camping. There are five drive-in campgrounds in Rocky Mountain National Park. Three campgrounds, Moraine Park, Glacier Basin, and Aspenglen, must be reserved. Longs Peak and Timber Creek campgrounds are on a first-come, first-served basis.

- Drive through Rocky Mountain National Park on Trail Ridge Road, the highest continuous paved highway in North America, that leads to Grand Lake and stop along the route for gentle walks. Our family did this and took a small hike up to one of the many waterfalls.

ex-Marine and I have only day-hiked once in any of our National Parks because we are deathly afraid of bears. Don’t laugh! Western natives think a person is lucky to see a bear. So they tell me… We were hiking at Crested Butte, Colorado on a crowded access road leading to the top of a ski run while a worker blasted music on the slope a short distance away when a bear appeared right in the middle of the trail and gave us…a look… The music didn’t scare him but we levitated and slowly backed away. This bear could just keep the mountain for himself. I know my readers are made of sterner stuff so don’t let our wimpyness keep you from discovering America’s wonderful, scenic and easily accessible National Parks.