Trail Notes Newsletter: Where Winter Lets Go

If you’ve been wondering, “Is it worth visiting Estes right now?”
This is your answer.

Early spring is one of the most overlooked times in Estes Park — and honestly, one of the most peaceful.

No peak-season crowds.
No rush between stops.
Just quiet moments, fresh mountain air, and space to actually enjoy it.

Here’s how to spend a full day doing it right:

☕ Start Slow — Morning in Town

Begin your day at Kind Coffee, where the pace is unhurried and the vibe feels local.

Take your drink down to the Riverwalk.

Snowmelt is flowing steadily now.
Ducks move through the water.
The town is just starting to wake up.

This is the kind of morning that doesn’t need a schedule.

🥾 Late Morning — Easy Trail, Big Views

Head over to Lily Lake Loop.

It’s one of the best early-season trails for a reason:

You’re not pushing for distance here.
You’re just taking it in.

🍽 Midday Reset — A Proper Mountain Lunch

Make your way to Bird & Jim.

This isn’t a quick bite kind of stop.

Seasonal dishes.
Warm, relaxed atmosphere.
The kind of place where you actually sit, slow down, and enjoy the meal.

🛍 Afternoon — Wander Without a Plan

Spend your afternoon exploring downtown Estes — no checklist needed.

A few places worth stepping into:

Let this part of the day be unstructured.

That’s where Estes shines.

🌅 Evening — The Kind of Sunset You Remember

Wrap up your day with a drive out to Lake Estes or the Stanley overlook.

Early spring sunsets hit differently:

It’s quiet.
It’s calm.
And it’s the kind of moment that stays with you longer than you expect.

🏔️ Why This Time of Year Matters

This is Estes Park without the noise.

No packed trails.
No waiting for parking.
No pressure to rush from one place to the next.

Just space.

And sometimes… that’s exactly what you came for.

👇 Planning a spring trip to Estes?
Save this itinerary — and send it to someone you’d bring with you.

Not every day in Estes needs to be a big hike.

Right now is one of the best times of year to slow it down — cool air, light snowmelt, and trails that invite you to notice more, not rush more.

If you’re looking for easy movement with a big payoff, start here:

These are the walks where you slow your pace and start to notice the small things again.

The sound of water. The movement of wildlife. The way the light hits the peaks this time of year.

Simple. Easy. Worth it.

Q: What gets wetter the more it dries?

What am I?

(Scroll to the bottom for the answer 👇)

This is one of the best parts of early spring in Estes…

You can actually walk in, sit down, and enjoy your meal without a wait.

No crowded lobbies. No rushing through your order.

Just good food, at your own pace.

If that’s what you’re looking for, these spots hit perfectly right now:

This is the window before everything speeds up again.

No reservations. No lines.

Just sit down… and enjoy it.

Downtown Estes feels different right now.

Quieter streets. Open doors.

Time to actually step inside and explore.

This is the season where shopping becomes something more than a quick stop — it becomes part of the experience.

This is when conversations happen.

You chat with shop owners. You hear stories behind the pieces. You discover things you weren’t even looking for.

Not rushed. Not crowded.

Just a slower, more personal side of Estes.

You can hear it before you see it.

Early spring runoff is building and every day, the water gets a little louder, a little faster, a little more alive.

This is when the rivers and falls start to take over the experience.

If you want to feel it right now, start here:

This is the season when water becomes the main character.

It’s louder. Colder. More alive.

And if you stop for a minute… you can feel the whole park starting to wake up.

Some days in Estes aren’t meant to be scheduled.

No stops mapped out. No timeline to follow.

Just a full tank of gas… and curiosity.

This is one of those drives.

Best loop this week: Estes → Devil’s Gulch → Glen Haven → back toward town

It’s quiet out here.

Less traffic. More space.

The kind of road where you notice the curves, the trees, and the way the light moves through the canyon.

Pull over when something catches your eye.

A stretch of river. A break in the trees. A view that wasn’t on your plan — because there was no plan.

That’s the whole point.

Early spring is one of the last windows where you can drive like this around Estes…

Unhurried. Uncrowded.

And exactly how the mountains are meant to be experienced.

Let Estes Set the Pace

Early spring doesn’t follow a schedule —
and neither should you.

This isn’t the season to rush from stop to stop.

It’s the season to leave space.

Plans will shift.

And that’s not something to work around… it’s something to lean into.

The best days this time of year don’t come from perfect planning.

They come from slowing down.
Changing course.
Staying a little longer when something feels right.

Let the weather guide you.
Let the light guide you.
Let the moment guide you.

Because in early spring…

The best experiences in Estes are the ones you didn’t plan.

Last Light at Sprague Lake

📍 Location: Sprague Lake – Rocky Mountain National Park
📅 Fall Evening
📷 Photographer: Marty Douglas

Some moments in Rocky Mountain National Park don’t need movement to feel alive.

This week’s featured photo captures a quiet fall sunset at Sprague Lake — where still water reflects the last glow of the day as it fades behind the peaks.

Clouds hang low over the mountains, softening the light.
Hints of autumn color line the shoreline.
And the lake mirrors it all, perfectly still for just a moment.

Fall in the Rockies has a different kind of presence.

The air is cooler.
The light is softer.
And everything feels like it’s slowing down before the first heavy snow returns.

Scenes like this don’t last long.

The color fades.
The sky dims.
And the mountains settle back into shadow.

But for a few minutes at sunset… everything aligns.

Thank you to Marty Douglas for capturing this peaceful moment at Sprague Lake.

📩 Have a powerful moment from Estes Park or RMNP to share?

Email your photo to [email protected] — I’d love to feature it in an upcoming post or newsletter!

If you’ve ever looked at a wildlife shot from Rocky Mountain National Park and thought, “How do you even get that?”

This is the guy you want to talk to.

Brian Stanley of Photosbybrian isn’t offering a casual sightseeing tour. His guided sessions are built for photographers who genuinely want to improve — the ones asking about settings, light direction, positioning, animal behavior, and timing.

🦌 What Makes His Tours Different

Brian keeps his groups intentionally small.

Each session runs 4–5 hours, scheduled during the most powerful light of the day:

These are not “ride around and point” tours. They’re hands-on learning experiences focused on:

As a licensed guide in Rocky Mountain National Park, Brian works primarily on both the east and west sides of the park. He grew up spending summers on the west side and knows that terrain intimately — not just where to go, but when and why.

🎓 Beyond the Park

Brian is also a Photography Mentor through The Camera School, offering deeper training for photographers looking to sharpen skills in:

If you’re serious about improving — not just collecting snapshots — this is mentorship-level guidance.

🌐 Connect with Brian

Website: www.photosbybrian.net
Facebook: Photosbybrian
Instagram: @photosbybrianstanley
Email: [email protected]
Phone: 303-827-5272

Brian will be in Estes next week and would love to introduce himself in person if you're around.

If you've been asking yourself how to elevate your photography in RMNP — this might be the sign to step out at sunrise and find out.

Early spring has a different rhythm.

Less silence.
More movement.
More flow.

That shows up in the music.

🎧 https://estesparkresortguide.bandcamp.com

Thanks for listening. It means more than you know.

Did you capture a muddy trail moment? A returning bird? A thawing lake?

✨ Maybe it was:
🌊 Melting ice along the river
🥾 A muddy but memorable trail
🦌 Wildlife reappearing
🌅 Or a slower kind of sunset

📬 Submit your photo here: Estes Park Resort Guide – Photo & Video Submission Form
📅 Deadline: Friday, April 3 at 5 PM MT

Selected photos may be featured in Trail Notes and Estes Park Resort Guide — with full credit.

📷 Have a story behind the shot? We’d love that too.

Spring visibility builds summer momentum.

We’re featuring:

🏪 Businesses preparing for peak season
🎨 Artists launching spring work
🛍 Shops refreshing inventory
📅 Events worth planning ahead for

Let’s spotlight it before the busy season hits.

📧 [email protected]
📱 facebook.com/EstesParkResortGuide

Let’s get your story in front of the people already planning their trips.

Before the Rush

This is the window.

That brief stretch of time right before everything shifts.

Before the crowds return.
Before reservations fill up.
Before the pace picks up again.

Right now, Estes Park feels… open.

Not empty. Not quiet in a lonely way.

Just available.

You can find parking without circling.
You can walk into places without waiting.
You can stand in a beautiful spot and actually have a moment with it.

And that doesn’t last long.

Soon, summer energy will take over.
The trails will fill.
The rhythm will change.

But right now…

You still have space.

To slow down.
To explore without pressure.

To experience the mountains the way they were meant to be felt.

If you’ve been thinking about coming up — this is your sign.

Don’t wait for peak season.

Come for this.

A: A towel.