Rocky Mountain National Park sits at the edge of town, and the outfitters here are how many visitors get into it: on a horse, behind a fly rod, on a rope or in an open 4x4. All 43 listed are based in the valley, so your guide lives where the trails start.
Pay a guide for the thing you'd be nervous doing alone. Climbing, fly fishing, a horse that might have opinions. They know the weather up here better than any app does, and in summer they book up, so call ahead.
Downtown
The guides are the story here: knowledgeable, funny and good at finding wildlife, driving custom open-air 4x4s through Rocky Mountain National Park and the rough roads around it. Each one is a certified photo guide, so expect stops built around the shot.
If you've never cast a fly rod, this is the shop to walk into. It sits on East Elkhorn next to Kirks Mountain Adventures and sells flies, gear and fly fishing classes alongside the guided trips.
Without a car, the Park gets a lot farther away. Explore Estes is a husband-and-wife business that fills the gap with private tours of Rocky Mountain National Park and rides around the valley.
Rafting days usually start with a long drive to the river, and this outfit's pitch is that it handles the driving. Rapid Transit works out of Virginia Drive downtown, next to the Sugar Shack and Fudge Factory, and carries people straight to the water.
Moose are what most people hope for, and moose sightings come up again and again here, along with bighorn sheep, mule deer and elk. Yellow Wood Guiding runs private trips into Rocky Mountain National Park with a naturalist guide who is also a professional photographer, and the guide's knowledge is the first thing everyone mentions.
Every trip here is private. Groups are never combined, and gear is never an upcharge: rods, reels, waders, boots, flies and snacks all come with it.
Sunrise in the Park means leaving town in the dark, and that is the trip Estes Park Tour Guides is known for. The office on Big Thompson Avenue opens early enough for it, and the hike is planned around the group, whether that means an easy walk to a lake or something longer.
Rainbow trout on a first-timer's line is the usual outcome of a day out with Estes Angler. The shop on West Riverside, about a third of a mile from downtown, guides fly and spin trips in Rocky Mountain National Park, on the Big Thompson and on Lake Estes, where charters troll for trout from a boat.
On East Elkhorn, in the same building as Kirks Flyshop and a few steps from Funky Moose, this outfitter books guided trips into Rocky Mountain National Park and sells the gear to go with them. Day hikes, backpacking, Longs Peak climbs, snowshoe outings, fly fishing and llama treks all start from here.
The flies get talked about more than anything else on these trips, which says something about the guides tying them on. Walk-and-wade days for wild trout on the streams and lakes of Rocky Mountain National Park are the core, along with local water around Estes.
Moraine Avenue, a few blocks from downtown on the road toward Beaver Meadows, is where this guide service is based, near Kinley Built and Snowy Peaks Winery. In the warm months that means guided rock climbing, alpine routes and mountaineering courses, from introductory climbs to alpine objectives that take real skill practice.
An hour on foot, about a mile of walking, and a running account of the town's darker history: that is the standard tour from Estes Park Ghosts. Stops include the historic Park Theatre and the former owner said to still haunt it, the Stanley Hotel that inspired Stephen King's Overlook, and the pet cemetery on the Stanley grounds, kept for the staff's animals.
Around the valley
The doors open at 7:30, which matters, because a half-day side-by-side rental goes further when it starts early. Most people take a Polaris RZR or Crew out onto the off-road trails with a trail map, and moose sightings come up more than you'd guess.
The rental department is why most visitors end up at this shop on Big Thompson Avenue, out toward Lake Estes. Camping and climbing gear, bikes, snowshoes, downhill skis, snowboards and sleds all go out the door here, and snow boots come up constantly.
The two-hour ride is the one most people book, though a thirty-minute ride and private rides are on the list for anyone short on time or nerve. Wranglers lead the groups, and the ones people remember are informative and, now and then, funny.
The RZRs and UTVs leave the lot on North Lake Avenue loaded on a truck and trailer, ready to ride. The fleet runs from a two-seat Kawasaki KRX 1000 to a four-seat Polaris RZR XP and a six-seat Kawasaki Mule Pro, plus a Jeep.
The via ferrata is what most people book KMAC for. It's a private route the company runs, and the Cloud Ladder is the part they talk about afterward.
Out on Highway 7, about six miles from downtown, Elkhorn Stables runs guided trail rides from a base at 9,100 feet, on the road toward Allenspark. The two-hour ride is the popular one, and private rides can be booked for families who want the trail to themselves.
For anyone who has never held a fly rod, the teaching is the point here: patient guides, real casting instruction, and rainbow trout on the end of the line. Jeremy Young and a small staff run half-day and full-day trips on rivers in and around Rocky Mountain National Park, plus high alpine lakes, evening hatches and trophy trout.
The wranglers are the reason people come back, more than the horses or even the scenery, which says something about a stable that rides into Rocky Mountain National Park. Allen and Julie Jackson run the livery at the YMCA of the Rockies off Tunnel Road, a few miles past downtown toward the Beaver Meadows entrance.
Patience is the word that follows these guides around, along with how much they know. Lost Outfitters runs guided fly fishing days around Estes Park and in Rocky Mountain National Park, and beginners are well looked after.
It's the only stable inside Rocky Mountain National Park, on Sprague Lake Road about three miles in from Beaver Meadows, run by Hi Country Stables under authorization from the Park Service. Rides start near 8,700 feet and the long ones climb past 12,000.
Bruce, the naturalist behind Tour Estes Park, has lived in the area for more than 50 years, and every tour is private. Half day or full day, each one starts with a conversation about what the group actually wants to see.
Everybody Anywhere is the motto, and it is meant literally: Kep Expeditions builds its Rocky Mountain National Park tours so people of different abilities can go, and it aims to run vehicles that meet ADA guidelines. Trips run from three hours to a full day, private or group, with guided hikes for those who want them.
An early flight out of Denver is the classic job for Genesis Executive Transportation, a Northern Colorado black car and shuttle service centered on Fort Collins. The fleet runs from executive sedans to limo buses, and it covers weddings, bachelor and bachelorette nights, concerts and business meetings, around the clock.
Lumpy Ridge granite, the alpine classics in the Park and a guided day on Longs Peak are the big-ticket trips here. But plenty of what this guide service does is smaller: a family's first afternoon on real rock, a beginner learning basics and technique, or a guided hike through Rocky Mountain National Park.
Next to the Boone Family Mountain Center on Tunnel Road, out by the YMCA cabins, Sasquatch runs guided fly fishing in Rocky Mountain National Park. The trip list is long: half days built around drive-up-and-fish water, evening and cookout trips, all-day hike-and-fish, belly boating, an overnight, a fish-and-golf combination, and Trout Scouts and family trips for small kids.
It is the only stable inside Rocky Mountain National Park, off Sprague Lake Road at Glacier Creek, and the two-hour trail ride is the one most people book. That ride is the easy trail, meant for beginners and kids, with creek crossings, some rocky footing and calm horses matched to each rider.
A stop at the Stanley Hotel is the part of the e-bike tour people mention afterward, along with the guide. Ride Colorado runs guided e-bike tours of Estes Park, about two hours long, on pedal-assist bikes that make the hills manageable with no cycling background needed.
Bull elk, bighorn sheep, moose, mule deer, even marmots: this Estes Park outfit builds wildlife photography tours around whatever a group most wants to shoot. Tours run in Rocky Mountain National Park and across the West, sunrise starts and full days included, and the workshops teach animal behavior along with camera technique.
Sprague Lake at sunrise is the usual first outing with this women-only hiking outfit, an easy walk that doubles as altitude adjustment. From there the trips get harder: Ouzel Falls, Mills Lake, Lake Haiyaha and Chasm Lake, all in Rocky Mountain National Park, with timed-entry permits included.
From May into mid-October, weather permitting, an RMNPhotographer guide rides along in your own car into Rocky Mountain National Park and points the phones and cameras at elk, deer, moose and the high country. The vehicle needs one spare seat.
Getting a whole wedding party from the ceremony to the reception without a parking scramble is the job Estes Park Trolleys does most. The two trolleys are enclosed and built in a 1920s style, with windows that open.
The star tour is the one that comes up again and again. Chelsea Stills, who also goes by The Hiking Mermaid, takes people out after dark to look at the sky, with or without hands-on camera instruction, and since she is a professional photographer the night ends with pictures worth keeping.
In winter, the snowshoe trips are what this guide outfit is best known for, more than the climbing in its name. Apex Ex Colorado runs rock climbing trips, half-day climbs, ice climbing and climbing courses for people who want to learn the ropes rather than be hauled up them, and the guiding takes in off-piste terrain and top-rope sessions too.
Beer is the thread through most Magic Bus outings, with haunted stops and local history close behind. The company organizes group tours and team builds around Northern Colorado: brewery tours, ghost tours, historical tours and scavenger hunts.
Out on Big Thompson Avenue, next to Estes Park Mountain Shop, Epic Climbing Gym gives the valley somewhere to climb when weather or the calendar rules out real rock. There is bouldering, a Moonboard for people training on set problems, and a treadwall, the rotating wall that keeps you climbing without ever topping out.
Trips with Colorado Wilderness Rides and Guides run anywhere from a third of a day to two weeks, and the outfit holds a climbing concession in Rocky Mountain National Park. The base is on Marys Lake Road, under half a mile from Mary's Lake.
Spotting an elk from the car is easy in this town. Understanding what it is doing is where Chadd's Walking With Wildlife comes in.
In winter, Tundra Tours puts people on snowshoes. The flagship trip follows Trail Ridge Road at around 10,000 feet.
Rocky Mountain Jim, Isabella Bird and F. O.
Moose calves in spring, pikas hauling flowers in summer, bugling elk in fall. Creeks and Critters Nature Tours builds private and group tours around whichever of those, or whatever scenery, the client wants to photograph in Rocky Mountain National Park.
Rick Martinez came camping in Rocky Mountain National Park in September 2013, got held in Estes Park by the flood, and stayed. Before that came a long career in video production, satellite teleconferencing and photography.
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The mix is wide. Fly fishing is the busiest corner, with Kirks Flyshop, Fly Fish Estes Park, Fly Fishing the Rocky Mountains LLC and Lost Outfitters all guiding in and around the national park. Climbing and mountaineering sit with KMAC Guides, which is AMGA-accredited and leads Longs Peak hikes. Horseback rides come from Sombrero Stables, Elkhorn Stables and Jackson's Stables.
Motorized options split two ways. Backbone Adventures and Estes Park ATV Rentals rent vehicles for self-guided trips, while Wildside 4x4 Tours runs guided open-air photo tours with certified guides. Private tours are an option too, such as Yellow Wood Guiding, which limits groups to four guests, and Explore Estes, which runs private park tours and trailhead drop-offs. Rapid Transit Rafting shuttles guests to the river.
Season shapes everything. Summer is the busy season, so book guided trips early, and many outfitters cut back in winter. Some stay open: Elkhorn Stables is open all year, and KMAC Guides lists winter programs including backcountry skiing, ice climbing and snowshoeing. Ask what a trip includes, such as gear and snacks, before you pay.
Elkhorn Stables says it is open all year, with guided rides for every level. Other stables may run seasonally, so call ahead. Winters here are long and cold, so dress in layers even for a ride that sounds easy.
Yes, several. Kirks Flyshop, Fly Fish Estes Park, Fly Fishing the Rocky Mountains LLC and Lost Outfitters all guide trips. Fly Fish Estes Park says groups are never combined and that gear comes with the trip. Ask each guide what is included.
Backbone Adventures and Estes Park ATV Rentals both rent ATVs, UTVs or Jeeps for self-guided trips. Where you can drive and what you need to bring varies, so ask the shop to explain routes and rules before you book.
KMAC Guides and Kirks Flyshop both list guided Longs Peak hikes. Longs Peak is a serious day on the mountain, so ask each company what experience and gear they expect before you commit.
