It was a beautiful drive between Sugarloaf and Rocky Mountain National Park; winding and scenic. We arrived before check-in, so we replenished supplies at Safeway, Bart’s Liquor and then headed to Moraine Campground where we were able to check-in a bit early. After setting up camp and grabbing lunch, we headed out on the KTM to explore.
A dirt road to a trailhead out to Fern Falls / Fern Lake beckoned. A beautiful trail - perfect for MTB, but consistently prohibited - will be one of our hikes later.
Heading back into Estes park, we checked out the local pickleball courts.
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| An ice hockey rink make nice PB courts |
They cleverly converted the wintertime ice hockey skating rink into the perfect summer use - four courts with mountain views.
Across town at The Stanley Hotel, at the Cascade Bar, they boast 1,300 different whiskeys (yet none is the infamous. Wyoming Whiskey). https://menu.somm.ai/r/Stanley%20Hotel,%20333%20Wonderview%20Ave,%20Estes%20Park
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| Cascade Bar with 1,300 whiskeys |
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| The Stanley Hotel |
The grounds of the hotel were fun to explore.
Heading back to camp, we found that there was (still) quite a long line to get into the Park. FYI: reservations are required even for day use; make sure to get reservations at nps.gov before arriving..
After dinner, we rode the MTBs around the campground, looping to Cub Lake road where we saw deer, a doe with fawn, a large herd of elk feeding in the meadow, and a young buck in our camp site.
