Rocky Mountain National Park: Approaching the park
Approaching the park from the east , you barely penetrate the foothills of the Rockies before you arrive at the gateway town of ESTES PARK , 65 miles northwest of Denver and 90 miles southwest of Cheyenne. At the end of the nineteenth century, Estes Park was the private hunting preserve of the Irish Earl of Dunraven; once he was squeezed out, the town took on the more democratic function it still serves, of providing visitors with food, lodging and other services. In itself, it's not an attractive place, but its presence does at least ensure that all the necessary evils of mass tourism are confined into one neat valley. The park headquarters and main visitor center (daily: June-Aug 8am-9pm; Sept-May 8am-5pm; admission $15 per vehicle, $5 pedestrians and bikes; information tel 970/586-1206; weather tel 970/586-1333) is a couple of miles north, on US-36.To reach the western entrance, 85 miles from Denver, turn north off I-70 onto US-40, a small detour beyond the junction takes you to the former mining community of GEORGETOWN , one of the best preserved Victorian mining towns in Colorado. The town is however most known as the starting point of the Georgetown Loop Railroad , 1106 Rose St (summer daily every 80min 10am-3.20pm; $12.95; tel 303/569-2403 or 1-800/691-4386). On the line, 1920s steam trains run a tortuous six-mile round-trip to Silver Plume, on a route that loops in big arcs - added to enable the engines to overcome the six percent climb - and includes a trip across a precarious trestle above Clear Creek.
Back on US-40. the highway negotiates Berthoud Pass en route to GRAND LAKE , a more low-key version of Estes Park. This unlikely yachting center, high in the mountains, consists of one main boardwalk-lined street beside the lake, lined with family amusements, lodgings and restaurants. The Kawuneeche Visitor Center of Rocky Mountain National Park is a mile north of town (daily: May-Sept 8am-6pm, Oct-April 8am-5pm; tel 970/627-3471).
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