Taffy made where visitors can watch, fudge cooked in small batches, caramel corn stirred in copper kettles: candy is something people watch being made in Estes Park as much as something they buy. Eleven shops are listed, all in the valley, and most sit near downtown on or around Elkhorn Avenue.
Watch them pull the taffy first, it's half the fun. Then follow your nose to the fudge. Buy less than you want, eat it on a bench on Elkhorn, and save one piece for the drive home. You won't, but try.
Downtown
Come in the morning and there's a fair chance the Model K Kiss wrapping machine is running, a 77-year-old piece of equipment that still wraps the taffy made on site. This is the only taffy actually made in Estes Park, on West Elkhorn a block from Bond Park.
On East Elkhorn, a few steps from Bond Park and right next to Purple Mountain Taffy Company, Laura's has been cooking candy in copper kettles with wooden paddles for decades. Fudge and taffy come up about equally when people talk about the place, with caramel apples close behind.
Caramel apples are the thing to get here, whole or sliced, and the fudge and toffee come right behind. This is a national chain, so the boxed assortments, truffles and Mountain-Sized candies will look familiar from other towns.
On Virginia Drive, a few steps from Bond Park and next door to The Vortex Barbershop, this candy shop runs on homemade fudge. Samples are free, which makes choosing a flavor harder, not easier.
A few steps from Bond Park on East Elkhorn, right next to Laura's Fine Candies, this shop is about one thing: salt water taffy, soft, and in more flavors than anyone needs. A quick stop, in and out, with a bag for the drive.
Pickle soda is the bottle people dare each other to buy, and it sits a few shelves from blue cream soda, fruit punch and a long wall of other glass-bottled flavors. This is the Estes Park outpost of a national soda and candy franchise, on East Elkhorn next to Hands Down Best In Town Therapeutic Massage, and the house taffy (blueberry, watermelon, tangerine, grape cotton candy) shares space with old-school brands like Nik-L-Nip.
On East Elkhorn at Bond Park, a few doors from Wheel Bar, this candy and ice cream shop makes its scoops in small batches right in the store, more than 40 flavors of them. Huckleberry is the one people single out.
Right at the Riverwalk end of East Elkhorn, next to Slice Brothers Pizza and the Rocky Mountain Crepe Company, this shop leans hard on nostalgia. Old-time candy is the main event, the kind of wrappers grandparents recognize, along with taffy, fudge and a big shelf of freeze dried candy, the shop's other specialty.
Jerky gets as much shelf space as candy here, and the range of flavors is the reason to stop. The shop is on West Elkhorn at the downtown end of the street, steps from Estes Village and Lonigans, so it is easy to fold into a walk along the strip.
The smell reaches the sidewalk on East Elkhorn before you reach the door. Caramel Corn has stirred its namesake by hand in copper kettles for close to eight decades, in small batches, sweet and savory both, and sells it by the bag.
Japanese KitKats, Pocky, Milka and bags of foreign Lay's are the reason to walk in, and the international candy is what people leave talking about. Elk Bites also stocks freeze-dried candy, a bulk Swedish pick-and-mix and a sugar-free shelf.
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Several have been at it a long time. The Taffy Shop has made Estes Park Salt Water Taffy since 1935, Caramel Corn has been open since 1945, and Munchin' House has been the downtown ice cream stop since 1968. Laura's Fine Candies cooks its confections in small batches in copper kettles and is open year-round.
The list mixes local and national names. Rocky Mountain Chocolate Factory is part of a national chain, and Rocket Fizz belongs to a franchise brand. Purple Mountain Taffy Company says its candy is made in Colorado from an original family recipe. Only 1 listing carries a locally made tag, so ask what is made in-house.
Ten of the 11 are marked open Sunday, and 2 list shipping or online sales. Fudge and chocolate do not enjoy a warm car, so buy them last. Summer is the busy season, and many Estes Park shops cut hours in winter, so check before you go. Ice cream is on the list too, which makes an easy reward at the end of a Park day.
The Taffy Shop says it is the only store in Estes Park where taffy can be watched being made. It has made Estes Park Salt Water Taffy since 1935. Call ahead to ask when the machines are running, since that can vary by day and season.
Two of the 11 list shipping or online sales, including Laura's Fine Candies and Purple Mountain Taffy Company. Ask the others whether they ship, especially for fudge and chocolate, which may need careful packing in warm weather.
Ten of the 11 are marked open on Sunday. Summer is the busy season, and winter hours are shorter at many Estes Park businesses, so check before you go in the off-season rather than assuming a shop is open.
Munchin' House has been the downtown ice cream stop since 1968, scooping more than 40 flavors made in the store, along with shakes, malts and an espresso shake. Caramel Corn also sells local ice cream on East Elkhorn Avenue.
