GolfElk on the fairways, a lodge on the ridgeCheck availability

Snow-dusted peaks and ponderosa pines in Rocky Mountain National Park above Estes Park

Golf

Golf in Estes Park.

Mountain golf where the elk outnumber the foursomes. Two courses right in town, a bucket-list drive over Trail Ridge Road to a third, and a lodge ten minutes from the first tee.

← Back to the lodge

Granite outcrops and pines near the lodge, the kind of mountain backdrop the local courses play under

In Town

Two courses, and the elk play free.

Both town courses are run by the Estes Valley Recreation and Park District, and both come with wildlife. On the 18-hole course there is a beloved local rule: if your ball lands in an elk footprint, you get to move it. The 9-hole down by the lake is a great easy walk, and the elk are often all around it.

  • Estes Park Golf Course: an 18-hole, par-71 course in the pines, elk and deer on the fairways (tee times)
  • Lake Estes Executive 9-Hole: a flat, walkable par-31 loop by Lake Estes, wildlife all around (tee times)
  • Both open roughly mid-April through October
  • Both minutes from the lodge, so an early tee time is easy
A road climbing toward the snow-capped peaks of Rocky Mountain National Park

Over the Top

The Grand Lake run.

For the round of the trip, leave early and drive Trail Ridge Road, the highest paved through-road in the country, straight across Rocky Mountain National Park to Grand Lake Golf Course on the far side. Play 18 in the valley, then time the drive home for a sunset back over the park. It is one of the great golf days anywhere.

  • Grand Lake Golf Course: an 18-hole mountain course in the Grand Lake valley (course info)
  • About 48 miles and 1.5 to 2 hours each way over Trail Ridge Road
  • Trail Ridge Road is seasonal, typically open late May through mid-October
  • Save the drive home for golden hour and watch for elk in the meadows: see the elk rut
The wraparound deck at the lodge, a place to replay the round over a drink

The Basecamp

First tee, then the deck.

The lodge sits ten minutes above town on a private ridge, so you can make the first tee time without a long drive and be back on the wraparound deck to replay the round by afternoon. Room for the whole foursome and then some.

  • Ten minutes from both Estes Park courses
  • Wraparound decks and 360-degree mountain views
  • Sleeps 8 across 3 bedrooms, room for the whole group
  • Make a week of it: things to do near the lodge

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Tee it up in the mountains.

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