Estes Park Museums

(Estes Park, Colorado - CO, USA)

The museums of Estes Park have much in common, with many being filled with historical information relating to the adjacent Rocky Mountains National Park. The is especially the case at the Estes Park Historical Museum, where are range of educational programs and events are in place.

Much of the town that you see today has been shaped by one individual, the wealthy entrepreneur Freelan Oscar Stanley, who made his fortune from the automobile industry and in June 1909, opened his very on hotel. His story is clearly told within the Stanley Museum, Big Thompson Avenue, where you will learn how he endeavored to improved the whole infrastructure of the Estes Park, adding power, water, paved streets, a bank and much more besides, making this a leading tourist destination of its time.

Estes Park Historical Museum / Estes Park Town Government

Address: 200 4th Street, Estes Park, Colorado CO, USA
Tel: +1 970 586 6256
Founded in the early sixties by volunteers from the town, the Estes Park Historical Museum was established to collect and maintain local history from this area of Colorado. The main gallery of exhibits is actually housed within the original offices of the Rocky Mountain National Park, which once served as the headquarters and have since been fully resorted. Close by and within the grounds, a genuine log cabin may also be of interest. Onsite, the museum shop is filled with book relating to local history, posters, prints and cuddly creatures for the younger generation of visitor.
Open hours: May to October, Monday to Saturday - 10:00 to 17:00, Sunday - 13:00 to 17:00; November to April, Friday and Saturday - 10:00 to 17:00, Sunday - 13:00 to 17:00
Admission: free

MacGregor Ranch Museum

Address: 180 MacGregor Lane, Estes Park, Colorado CO, USA
Tel: +1 970 586 3749
The MacGregor Ranch Museum preserves the rich ranching heritage of Colorado and continues to successfully operate as a fully working and very historic castle ranch. Located off the Devil's Gulch Road and within a well-preserved late 19th-century building, constructed using a mixture of both stone and timber, the ranching museum itself is accessed via a wooden boardwalk and features a smokehouse, blacksmiths, milking parlor and various pieces of machinery, designed to by pulled by horses.
Open hours: June to August, Tuesday to Friday - 10:00 to 16:00
Admission: free

Stanley Museum

Address: 517 Big Thompson Avenue, Estes Park, Colorado CO, USA
Tel: +1 970 577 1903
The Stanley Museum is locnley Museum is located within the Lower Stanley Village area and tells the story of the famous Stanley Hotel, and the thriving tourism industry of Estes Park, which originates as long ago as the 1870s, long before the official opening of the Rocky Mountain National Park in 1915. Located close to the hotel and proudly displaying an impressive vintage Model R Stanley Roadster car from 1909, the Stanley Museum offers displays relating to the region's automotive history, information about the acclaimed Stanley Steam Car, many lectures, and on occasion, guided tours of the actual hotel itself.
Open hours: June to September, Tuesday to Sunday - 10:00 to 17:00, October to May, Tuesday to Saturday - 10:00 to 15:00, Sunday - by appointment
Admission: free, donations suggested

Historic Fall River Hydroplant

Address: 1754 Fish Hatchery Road, Estes Park, Colorado (CO), USA, US
Tel: +1 970 586 6256
The famous Historic Fall River Hydroplant is of great historical interest a years, when it was built to power the town's rather luxurious Stanley Hotel and other significant buildings. Today, the plant is owned by the town of Estes Park and still contains much of the original machinery, with exhibits clearly documenting the growth of the town and its continual demands for the generation of electricity. There is also a section devoted to the Lawn Lake Flood of 1982, which caused considerable damage to the town and the hydroplant itself.
Open hours: late May to early September, Tuesday to Sunday - 13:00 to 16:00
Admission: free, donations suggested

Lula W. Dorsey Museum

Address: 2515 Tunnel Road, Estes Park, Colorado CO, USA
Tel: +1 970 586 3341
The Lula W. Dorsey Museum really is one of a kind and resides within the YMCA of the Rocky Mountains, at the Estes Park Center. Attractions are very varied and range from timelines of artifacts relating to the YMCA, to surrounding wildlife and the recently excavated 'Big Rock Archaeology Diorama', which is known to have originated around 2,000 years ago. Period furnishings recreate a living, dining room and kitchen that you would have found in lodges during the 1920s, with much attention to detail.
Open hours: late May to early September - daily; mid-September to mid-May, hours vary
Admission: free