12 Unusual Places to Stay near Rocky Mountain National Park
Don’t let your trip to the park sound just like your neighbors’ vacation. Set it apart by staying at some of the fantastic and unusual places along the way.
You can stay in a beautiful tiny house resort or at a haunted hotel, or even something more unusual. Here are our top 12 places next to or on the way to Rocky Mountain National Park, if you are seeking unforgettable, adventurous experiences.
1. Hot Springs Resort with Attitude
What’s unique about a hot spring resort? It provides a simple, relaxing experience away from distractions including no phones, TV or WiFi in the rooms. Hot Sulphur Springs Resort’s lodging options include basic motel rooms, a cabin and an apartment. Your room includes access to hot pools fed by seven natural springs.
On a budget? Bring your RV or tent and camp for $20 per night at Pioneer Park. Pick a spot on the southern edge of this 80-acre park to be within walking distance to the hot springs resort. A day pass for the resort is $26 for adults.
For more information:
Hot Sulphur Springs Resort & Spa
800-510-6235
5609 Co Hwy 20, Hot Sulphur Springs, CO 80451
hotsulphursprings.com
Pioneer Park
townofhotsulphursprings.com/community/town-parks/
2. Historic 1920s Mountain Lodge
Rocky Mountain National Park doesn’t have any lodges inside the park. However, Grand Lake Lodge is a beautiful cabin resort just outside the park’s West Entrance. It’s surrounded by the park on three sides and overlooks Grand Lake, a stunning alpine lake, on the other side. Its large veranda and lookout decks have earned it the nickname “Colorado’s favorite front porch.”
Grand Lake Lodge got its start in the 1920s and is a registered National Historic Landmark. Visit the main lodge to relax at the circular fireplace, hickory rockers and swings before retreating to your cabin.
For more information:
Grand Lake Lodge
(855) 585-0004
15500 US Highway 34, Grand Lake, CO 80447
grandlakelodge.com
3. Yurt Glamping
On the western side of Rocky Mountain National Park, stay at one of two yurt villages at YMCA’s Snow Mountain Ranch. The ranch is about a 45-minute drive from the park’s West Entrance. When you stay at Snow Mountain Ranch, you can take advantage of all the incredible activities offered on the property from zip lines to rock climbing walls, a rollerskating rink, an indoor pool, a short hiking trail to a waterfall and trails to run on that surround the property. In winter, there are a ton of things to do from cross country skiing on miles of spectacular Nordic trails to snow tubing, ice skating, dog sledding and doing arts and crafts indoors. There are cabins accommodating varying numbers of people and lodge rooms where you can stay.
For more information:
YMCA of the Rockies, Snow Mountain Ranch
888-613-9622
ymcarockies.org/Lodging
4. Ski or Hike to a Mountain Hut
On the western edge of Rocky Mountain National Park, there are a series of modern backcountry huts. The first to be completed was Broome Hut west of Berthoud Pass. Bring 15 of your closest friends to this hut situated at 11,350 feet at treeline in the Second Creek Basin and watch the sunrise hit the face of the headwall. Or just reserve the beds you need and meet others staying at the hut. There is gorgeous alpine hiking from this hut during the summertime.
For more information:
Grand Huts Association
970-726-8096
PO Box 1046, Fraser, CO 80442
www.grandhuts.org
Reservations through 10th Mountain Division Huts
(970) 925-5775
www.huts.org/The_Huts/broomeHut.php
5. This YMCA isn’t a Sweaty Gym
The YMCA of the Rockies offers cabins and lodges on both the east and west sides of Rocky Mountain National Park. Both locations are unlike any Y you’ve ever seen. The Estes Park location is minutes from the East Entrance. The Tabernash location is about 45 minutes from the park’s west side.
Stay in a rustic mountain cabin, a yurt, vacation home or lodge. In the summer learn how to rock climb, do archery, or go horseback on a trail ride. In the winter, go snowmobiling, or go on a horse-drawn sleigh ride.
For more information:
YMCA of the Rockies
888-613-9622
Estes Park Center
2515 Tunnel Road, Estes Park, CO 80511
ymcarockies.org/Locations/Estes-Park-Center
Snow Mountain Ranch
1101 County Road 53, Granby, CO 80446
ymcarockies.org/Locations/Snow-Mountain-Ranch
6. Pretend you’re a Colorado Cowboy at This Luxurious Ranch
Legend says that warring tribes reconciled and buried the devil in the mountains above Tabernash, Colorado, about a 45-minute drive from Rocky Mountain National Park’s West Entrance. But they left the devil’s left thumb protruding above the dirt to remind them of the evil of war.
Under the Devil’s Thumb rock formation is a gorgeous upscale resort set on more than 6,500 acres. It’s called Devil’s Thumb Ranch Resort & Spa and is home to three beautiful restaurants, a pool and spa and dozens of trails. In winter there are seemingly endless trails to cross-country ski or snowshoe. You can also ride on a horse-drawn wagon.
In summer, the ranch offers a ton of activities from mountain biking, fly fishing to ziplining to spending time with the resident goats, chickens and ducks. Stay in the ranch’s cabins, lodge rooms, bunkhouse or sister inns.
For more information:
Devil’s Thumb Ranch Resort & Spa
970-726-5632
3530 County Road 83, Tabernash, CO 80478
www.devilsthumbranch.com
7. Stay in a Tiny House
Stop in Lyons, Colorado, a charming town about 45 minutes from Rocky Mountain National Park, and stay in a tiny house at WeeCasa Tiny House Resort. Featuring a number of unique tiny houses with flush toilets, WeeCasa has fun and creative themes for its houses, including the Gnome House featuring a circular entrance door to Judy Blue Eyes, a well appointed house with turquoise accents. From your tiny house, you can walk to Lyons‘ historic downtown that is lined with restaurants, art galleries and a bakery.
For more information:
WeeCasa Tiny House Resort
720-460-0239
Lyons, Colo
weecasa.com
8. Sleep Lightly at a Haunted Hotel
A Victorian mansion stands out in the forefront of Rocky Mountain National Park’s Lumpy Ridge in Estes Park, a gateway town to the park. Seen above the Stanley Hotel is the ominous rock formation called the Twin Owls. But that’s not the spookiest part of the Stanley story. Author Stephen King was inspired by the Stanley Hotel before he wrote The Shining, a tale about an alcoholic winter caretaker at a remote mountain resort. We dare you to to stay in room 217. Read more about Freelan Stanley and his hotel’s haunted history.
For more information:
The Stanley Hotel
(800) 976-1377
333 Wonderview Avenue, Estes Park, CO 80517
www.stanleyhotel.com
9. Hang Your Keys on the Ceiling
While another Estes Park hotel, The Stanley, inspired a book, the Seven Keys Lodge (previously the Baldpate Inn) built in 1917 was named after a book. The author of the mystery novel Seven Keys to Baldpate visited the inn and said it looked just like the lodge in his book, so the name of the real inn was changed. The theme of the novel revolved around seven guests, each with their own key to the inn.
The modern-day Baldpate Inn boosts the world’s largest key collection as a result of their key-giving tradition in honor of the book. Each guest was given a key to keep as their own. After it became too expensive to continue the giveaways, guests started donating their own keys to the inn, often from exotic locations. The collection of over 20,000 hangs in the Key Room.
For more information:
The Seven Keys Lodge
(Previously The Baldpate Inn)
970-586-6151
4900 South Hwy. 7, Estes Park, CO 80517
sevenkeyslodge.com
10. Bed in Fire Tower has 360-degree View
For an unforgettable adventure, stay in a fire lookout tower. While this is not near Rocky Mountain National Park (it’s 75 miles and a 1 hour and 45-minute driveaway), it’s definitely worth considering if you are up for an adventure.
Drive to a 11,000 feet elevation near Evergreen, Colo. then hike 1 mile (2 miles in winter) and climb up the stairs on the outside of an old fire lookout tower to reach a 14-foot-square room with unobstructed views. Oh yeah… there’s no water up there so you have to lug your own drinking water up with you. Need to use the bathroom? Climb across a catwalk and down exterior stairs to a privy that gets rid of the evidence with fire. (It’s called an incinerating toilet.) The good news is that there are comfy beds, a heater, and a kitchen for your use.
For more information:
Mestaa’Ėhehe Mountain Fire Lookout
303-567-3000
Idaho Springs CO 80452
www.recreation.gov/camping/campgrounds/234792
11. Stay in a Hostel Bunkhouse
Would you swap privacy for inexpensive accommodations? Don’t forget to bring a headlamp and earplugs to the Climber’s Lodge at the Colorado Mountain School located in Estes Park minutes from Rocky Mountain National Park.
It offers 16 single bed spaces (6 are bunkbeds) in three shared rooms. But there are luxuries too, like a full kitchen, WiFi, lounge games and a ping pong table. Having a family reunion or a group retreat? Rent the entire lodge affordably. Shuttles run to and from its doorstep to the Denver International Airport daily.
For more information:
(720) 387-8944
341 Moraine Ave, Estes Park, CO 80517
coloradomountainschool.com/product/estes-park-adventure-hostel/
12. Immerse Yourself in Mid-Century Modern Style
In the heart of the artistic town of Lyons, Colorado, you can stay at the newly renovated A-Lodge, which opened in 2020. Just 40 minutes from Rocky Mountain National Park, this hip downtown hotel with mid-century modern furnishings offers a mix of rooms, including a two-bedroom king suite, a queen suite with a kitchenette and a queen kitchenette with bunk bed.
Stroll to Lyons’ charming downtown for a bite at one of its restaurants, including Mojo’s Taqueria, or get picnic supplies at the St. Vrain Market, known for its baked goods and fresh bread.
The lodge also features an outdoor beer garden on the lodge’s east side where you can relax with a drink in the evening.
For more information:
720-975-8666
lyons.a-lodge.com/