Estes Park is Open for Business, Welcomes Travelers!
New Rocky Mountain National Park time entry system takes three minutes or less. - Article from the Estes Chamber of Commerce
June 1, 2020, Estes Park, CO — The Estes Park business community is happy to welcome our visitors back. Travel experts are saying vacation travel this year will remain within 200 miles of home. Even since Rocky Mountain National Park reopened on May 27, people have been calling the Chamber asking if stores and restaurants are open.
“Yes,” said Donna Carlson, Executive Director of the Estes Chamber of Commerce. “Most of our stores have been open since May 4 and our restaurants were happy to serve customers indoors again this past weekend. Together with the lodging community, we all say, “Welcome back! Stay the weekend!”
The Chamber has been collaborating closely with the Town of Estes Park, Visit Estes Park, The Estes Park EDC and several other core entities, like Rocky Mountain National Park, to create a careful reopening with the Estes Valley Safe & Strong Recovery Plan.
“Safety is a primary concern for our town because of our high population of senior citizens,” Carlson said. “Many of the people who discovered Estes Park as a tourist destination decided to make it home, so we have the unusual combination of a large retirement community residing at the gateway of Rocky Mountain National Park. It’s been really important to our business community to create the safest possible environment for commerce to reopen.”
Visitors have been flooding the phones at the Chamber and Visitor Center to determine if it’s worth a trip to Estes Park and Rocky Mountain National Park. Part of that process is a timed entry system meant to control the number of cars in the park. The Chamber tested the time entry reservation system for RMNP and even video-taped the process to provide firsthand information to travelers. “It took us less than three minutes.”
For visitor information, go to https://www.visitestespark.com/. To make a Rocky Mountain National Park reservation, go to https://www.recreation.gov/ticket/facility/300013 or download the mobile app from Recreation.gov and make your reservation from your phone.
A community-driven task force formed The Estes Chamber of Commerce in May 2019 to be the champion and voice for business, promoting a strong business climate and making the Estes Valley a great place to live, work and play. More at www.esteschamber.org.