31. Mountain Top Preschool & Child Care
City: Estes Park, CO
Category: Tours & Attractions
Telephone: (970) 586-6489
Address: 1250 Woodstock
Description: Full- and half-day care is provided with a preschool program. Drop-ins are available.
32. Eagle Rock School And Professional Development Center
City: Estes Park, CO
Category: Tours & Attractions
Telephone: (970) 586-0600
Address: 2750 Notaiah Road
Description: This is a year-round, tuition-free, ungraded residential high school. It has been developed and funded by the American Honda Corporation as a public service. A beautiful setting, excellent staff, and facilities for science, arts, and physical education are here. It focuses on young people who are not experiencing success in their current school settings and are willing to commit to growth and change. Individualized learning opportunities are offered to 100 students, who are accepted through a careful application process.
33. Frost Giant 5K Or 10K Race
City: Estes Park, CO
Category: Tours & Attractions
Telephone: (970) 586-8191
Description: You might be a mild-mannered human, but you’ll become an Estes Park frost giant if there’s a little humidity and freezing weather, for your breath will add lacy frozen filigrees to your eyebrows and hair. If you join the 200 or so runners and walkers who participate, you’ll puff up a scenic road to MacGregor Ranch and circle back for a total of either 5 or 10 kilometers (roughly 3 or 6 miles). The 5K race starts around 11 a.m.; the 10K starts at noon.
34. Imagine This!
City: Estes Park, CO
Category: Tours & Attractions
Telephone: (970) 586-9203
Description: The rest of this event’s title is “See It! Hear It! Do It! Be It!” This is the single biggest arts event of the year, sponsored by the Cultural Arts Council of Estes Park, which represents all the arts in the area. Artists, musicians, jugglers, and actors give youngsters and adults a chance to create art at more than 26 hands-on activities areas. There’s also a silent auction of original artwork, gift certificates, and merchandise. In the evening a benefit performance of dancers, musicians, and other artists from the Estes Valley keeps the entertainment going. Since the event is the main friend- and fund-raiser of the year for the nonprofit Arts Council, a donation of $1 is requested at the door.
35. Dog Weight Pull
City: Estes Park, CO
Category: Tours & Attractions
Description: In Jack London’s Call of the Wild, Buck pulls a 1,000-pound sled over a wager of gold. This isn’t quite as dramatic, but it’s more the real thing—a four-state, regional dog-pull contest held the last weekend in February. Dogs pull weighted sleds and wagons; winners are those who pull the most weight over the course in a minute. Dogs wear special harnesses to prevent injury, and weights are added incrementally. Small challengers have included a 10-pound poodle mix. A 200-pound Irish Wolfhound was among the largest. The little guy and the bruiser don’t face off; they’re in different classes and compete against dogs their own size.
36. Women’S History Month
City: Estes Park, CO
Category: Tours & Attractions
Telephone: (970) 586-9203
Description: The Cultural Arts Council of Estes Park celebrates female artists and performers with a series of exhibits and programs that run into April. Call for a schedule.
37. Estes Park Music Festival Winter Concerts
City: Estes Park, CO
Category: Tours & Attractions
Telephone: (970) 577-9900
Address: 333 Wonderview Avenue
Description: These wonderful weekend concerts feature a variety of internationally known musicians. Call or visit the visitor bureau Web site for the exact date.
38. Duck Race
City: Estes Park, CO
Category: Tours & Attractions
Telephone: (970) 586-9519
Description: On the first Saturday in May, thousands of floating yellow plastic ducks, each tagged with a sponsor and charity choice, raise more than $20,000 at this annual event. To help you remember the date, the Rotary Club sponsors it on Kentucky Derby Day. But ducks aren’t as quick as a thoroughbred. They start at Nicky’s Restaurant, 1350 Fall River Road, and depending on the runoff, bobble downtown on the Fall, then, nearly two hours later, reach the Wheel Bar, 132 East Elkhorn Avenue. The mayor and police chief pull out the winning duck and distribute great prizes, such as trips to Disneyland and Hawaii. Sponsoring a duck costs around $20. Watching is free. Proceeds go to local charities.
39. Art Walk And Jazz Festival
City: Estes Park, CO
Category: Tours & Attractions
Telephone: (970) 577-9900
Description: More than 20 galleries feature special exhibits and artists’ demonstrations as part of the Art Walk, a self-guided studio and gallery tour held Friday through Sunday. Children’s art activities are offered, and live jazz concerts put an extra spring in the step of revelers in downtown Estes Park. This festival usually happens the second weekend in May.
40. Art Market
City: Estes Park, CO
Category: Tours & Attractions
Telephone: (970) 586-5882
Description: More than 90 local, regional and national artists gather to showcase their art in this fun weekend event.
41. Lake Estes Fishing Derby
City: Estes Park, CO
Category: Tours & Attractions
Telephone: (970) 586-8191
Description: Every three weeks during summer, the Division of Wildlife drops 400 fish at many points along the Estes Valley river system, making trout plentiful. They double-stock the rivers and lake for this event, and the town buys some extra-big fish to tempt anglers. What’s more, the Cline Trout Farm in Boulder donates some fish for the weekend (the first one in June). All this means contestants in the 8 a.m. to noon fishing derby are likely to pull in fine catches.
42. Wool Market
City: Estes Park, CO
Category: Tours & Attractions
Telephone: (970) 577-9900
Description: Tourists are welcome to enjoy this working wool market, the largest natural fiber show in the country. Around 10,000 wander among the market’s animal shows. Events start the Thursday prior to the second weekend in June, with workshops and seminars on spinning, weaving, dyeing, raising animals, shearing, and grading wool. Throughout the weekend, you can enjoy spinning and weaving contests and a children’s tent. See llamas, angora rabbits, alpacas, and sheep, or consider buying one of the beautiful sweaters, yarns, or other wool-related items. Admission is free.
43. Teddy Bear Picnic
City: Estes Park, CO
Category: Tours & Attractions
Telephone: (970) 586-6483
Address: 521 Lone Pine Drive
Description: The Talking Teddy Store has sponsored this picnic since 1983. Cute silly events may include a dentist who talks to children about care of their bear’s teeth (and children’s teeth). Cele-bear-ties, such as Smokey Bear and Celestial Seasoning’s Sleepytime Bear, have appeared. There are prizes for the largest bear family, biggest bear, and cutest bear costume. Sandwiches, cake, and beverages might be on hand for nibbling. The picnic starts mid-morning and lasts until the teddies get tired. Admission is free.
City: Estes Park, CO
Category: Tours & Attractions
45. Estes Park Fireworks Display
City: Estes Park, CO
Category: Tours & Attractions
Telephone: (970) 586-6104
Description: Locals arrive around 8 p.m. on the Fourth of July, generally gathering in the Stanley Village Shopping Center or near Lake Estes. Outdoor bands entertain the crowds. Around 9:30 p.m., the fireworks shoot up at the edge of the lake, so the reflections bloom in the water below. If you position yourself well, you get to see all this drama with the mountains as a backdrop. The event is free.