Estes Park is a town in Larimer County, Colorado (USA) on the Big Thompson River. The population was 5,413 at the 2000 census. The town is named after Joel Estes, the founder of Estes Park in 1859. The town is a popular summer resort and headquarters for Rocky Mountain National Park.

The town's outskirts include The Stanley Hotel. Once a fine example of Edwardian opulence, the 1906 building had Stephen King as a guest, inspiring him to change the locale for his novel The Shining from an amusement park to the Stanley's fictional stand-in the Overlook Hotel. Estes Park is also recognized as the birthplace of the American credit union movement.

Trail Ridge Road, the highest continuous highway in the United States, runs from Estes Park westward through Rocky Mountain National Park, reaching Grand Lake over the continental divide.

Geography

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Estes Park sits at an elevation of 7,522 feet on the front range of the Rocky Mountains at the eastern entrance of the Rocky Mountain National Park. Its location is (40.372856, -105.519136). Its north, south and east extremities border the Roosevelt National Forest. Lumpy Ridge lies immediately north of Estes Park.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 15.2 km² (5.9 mi²). 15.1 km² (5.8 mi²) of it is land and 0.1 km² (0.1 mi²) of it (0.85%) is water.

Demographics

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As of the census of 2000, there were 5,413 people, 2,541 households, and 1,565 families residing in the town. The population density was 359.1/km² (929.5/mi²). There were 3,323 housing units at an average density of 220.4/km² (570.6/mi²). The racial makeup of the town was 95.14% White, 0.31% African American, 0.48% Native American, 0.78% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 2.07% from other races, and 1.16% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 5.56% of the population.

There were 2,541 households out of which 20.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.3% were married couples living together, 6.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.4% were non-families. 31.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.11 and the average family size was 2.61.

In the town the population was spread out with 17.6% under the age of 18, 5.8% from 18 to 24, 26.6% from 25 to 44, 29.4% from 45 to 64, and 20.7% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45 years. For every 100 females there were 92.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.7 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $43,262, and the median income for a family was $55,667. Males had a median income of $31,573 versus $20,767 for females. The per capita income for the town was $30,499. About 3.2% of families and 4.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 4.6% of those under age 18 and 0.8% of those age 65 or over.

Sister City

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Estes Park's official sister city is Monteverde, Costa Rica.

External links

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• Town of Estes Park (official website)
• Estes Park Trail-Gazette

Cities in Colorado | Larimer County, Colorado