Golf in Estes Park comes with an audience. Elk are common on the 18-hole course, and the nine-hole course by Lake Estes has the Big Thompson River running through it. Five listings cover golf, bowling, swimming and a rec complex, for the days when your legs have had enough of the trail.
Golfing with elk on the fairway is a very Estes Park thing to do, so do it at least once. If the clouds roll in, and they will, the bowling alley is a perfectly good plan B.
Downtown
Elk and geese share the fairways at the Lake Estes 9-Hole Golf Course, a short executive layout on Big Thompson Avenue just past the Visitor Center. The Big Thompson River runs through it, Lake Estes is just down the road, and mountains ring the whole thing.
Around the valley
Most people come for the water: a lazy river, a hot tub and a kids' pool, all under one roof on Community Drive, a short drive east of downtown and not far from the fairgrounds. Beyond the pool there are pickleball and basketball courts and an indoor track.
On a wet summer afternoon, eight lanes of bowling, a room of arcade games and pool tables go a long way. The Bull Pin is on South St.
Elk on the fairways are part of the deal at the town's eighteen-hole course, a par 71 run by the Estes Valley Recreation and Park District, which also runs the nine-hole Lake Estes course. The mountains frame nearly every hole, the greens are trickier than they look, and the layout is fair to golfers of any level.
Nearly four miles from downtown, on the YMCA of the Rockies campus and a couple of miles from the Beaver Meadows entrance, the Estes Park Aquatic Center is the swimming pool for the Y's grounds. It sits on Association Drive by the Lula W.
Try another filter, or show every recreation spots again.
Map tiles could not load.
Map tiles © OpenStreetMap contributors
Two courses are run by the Estes Valley Recreation and Park District. The Estes Park 18-Hole Golf Course is par 71 with the Rocky Mountains framing the fairways. The Lake Estes 9-Hole Golf Course is an executive course just outside downtown, with a pro shop, practice facilities and an 18-hole disc golf course on the same grounds, where carts are available for rent.
The Bull Pin is an eight-lane bowling alley with an arcade, a scratch kitchen, a bar and a patio over Lake Estes, and lanes can be reserved online. Estes Valley Community Center combines an aquatics center, a golf course, a marina and a campground. The YMCA of the Rockies aquatic center and its Longhouse are listed too.
Four of the 5 are marked wheelchair accessible. Winters are long and cold, so golf is a warm-season activity, and hours shift. Call ahead before you drive over, especially on a shoulder-season day, and ask whether the course or the disc golf grounds have opened for the season.
Two are listed: the par 71 Estes Park 18-Hole Golf Course and the nine-hole Lake Estes course. Both are run by the Estes Valley Recreation and Park District. Call ahead for seasonal hours and conditions.
Yes. The Lake Estes golf grounds hold an 18-hole disc golf course, with disc golf gear sold on site and carts available for rent. Check hours before you go, since the course is likely seasonal.
The Bull Pin has eight lanes, an arcade and a scratch kitchen, and lanes can be reserved online to skip the wait. It is marked kid-friendly and wheelchair accessible, and the patio looks over Lake Estes.
Estes Valley Community Center lists an aquatics center, and the Estes Park Aquatic Center at the YMCA of the Rockies is listed too. Public access and hours are not in the listings, so call ahead.
