Grand-Lake Travel Guide
COMPARE PRICES on all Grand Lake Hotels
Compare prices and availability on major travel sites with one click
COMPARE PRICES on all Flights to Grand Lake
Compare prices and availability on major travel sites with one click
The western entrance to Rocky Mountain National Park is at the picturesque little town of Grand Lake, in the shade of Shadow Mountain at the park's southwestern corner.
Here, in the crisp mountain air at 8,370 feet above sea level, you can stroll down an old-fashioned boardwalk as one of the locals rides by on horseback. In fact, take away the automobiles and electric lights, and this town looks and feels like the late 1800s. Located within the Arapaho National Recreation Area, Grand Lake is surrounded by three lakes -- Grand Lake, Shadow Mountain Reservoir, and Lake Granby -- each with a marina that offers boating (with rentals), fishing, and other watersports. Throughout the recreation area you'll also find miles of trails for hiking, horseback riding, four-wheeling, and mountain biking that become cross-country skiing and snowmobiling trails in winter.
The Grand Lake Yacht Club hosts the Grand Lake Regatta and Lipton Cup Races in late July or early August. The club was organized in 1902, and the regatta began 10 years later. Sailboats from around the world compete to win the prestigious Lipton Cup, given to the club by Thomas Lipton in 1912. Other summer events include an enormous Fourth of July fireworks display over Grand Lake, and Western Weekend, with a buffalo barbecue, 5K run, and a pancake breakfast, in mid-July. The Rocky Mountain Repertory Theatre (tel. 970/627-3421 or 970/627-5087; www.rockymountainrep.com) offers a summer program of Broadway shows and other theater, plus programs for children and teens.
Usually open daily from 11am to 5pm in summer, the Kauffman House, 407 Pitkin Ave. (tel. 970/627-9644; www.kauffmanhouse.org), is a log structure that was built as a hotel in 1892. It has been restored and now serves as the museum of the Grand Lake Historical Society, with many of its original furnishings and exhibits on what life was like here back when everyone arrived on horseback or by stagecoach. Admission is free, although donations are welcome.
Golfers may want to test their skills at the 18-hole championship Grand Lake Golf Course (tel. 970/627-8008), altitude 8,420 feet. Greens fees are $60 for 18 holes.
For further information on what to do in this area, stop at the Visitor Information Center on U.S. 34 at the turnoff into town (open daily 9am-5pm in summer, with shorter hours the rest of the year), or contact the Grand Lake Area Chamber of Commerce, P.O. Box 57, Grand Lake, CO 80447-0057 (tel. 800/531-1019, or 970/627-3402 visitor center; www.grandlakechamber.com). Information is also available from the Forest Service's Sulphur Ranger District office (P.O. Box 10, Granby, CO 80446), 9 Ten Mile Dr., off U.S. 40 about a half-mile south of Granby (tel. 970/887-4100; www.fs.fed.us/r2), open in summer Monday through Saturday from 8am to 4:30pm (until 6pm Fri), with shorter hours in winter.
