Meet in the Mountains to Find Adventure for Everyone
By Becky Gruhl
Meetings and conferences don’t immediately bring forth images of outdoor adventure. However, offering members or employees additional reasons to attend an upcoming event or rewarding them for achieving company goals can greatly increase the return on your meeting investment. Surrounded by Rocky Mountain National Park and national forest land, Estes Park provides endless opportunities for adding excitement and entertainment to your plans. This beautiful mountain village blends solitude and tranquility with fun outdoor recreation and daring excursions. With an Estes Park destination meeting or event there is truly something for every adventurer—even those who have never thought of themselves as adventurous!
A glimpse of scenic Estes Park. Courtesy of Visit Estes Park.
Double-Dog Dare
More active or daring groups may be looking for an adrenaline rush to entice and excite meeting participants. Estes Park does not disappoint. Groups can enjoy the splendor, dramatic scenery and multi-sensory experiences on a downhill bike tour of the highest continuous paved highway in the country. For something requiring less manpower, take a wild ride on an off-road 4×4 tour in the national forest where you‘ll climb an old wagon road, drive up a boulder field, float out of your seats and even be drenched in mountain mud.
Jeep adventure on an autumn morning in September near Estes Park. Photo by James Frank.
Test your nerves and balance at the adventure park by maneuvering 32 high-ropes challenges while hovering 21 feet above the ground!
Open Air Adventure Park high-ropes challenges. Photo by Biju Sukumaran.
Mildly Wild
If exploring the outdoors sounds great, but avoiding the fear factor is preferable, there are plenty of mid-level adventures in Estes Park. Try taking a guided excursion to fly fish the nearby alpine lakes, streams and rivers in search of the four different species of trout: rainbow, brown, brook and greenback cut-throat. Back up great fish stories with beautiful Rocky Mountain photos. In the winter, rent snowshoes and poles from an Estes Park gear shop before heading to the trails (with or without a guide, depending on experience) to find incredible wildlife, frozen waterfalls or breathtaking overlooks. In the summer months, soak in the rays on the water with rentals from the Lake Estes Marina. From balancing on paddleboards to sipping wine aboard pontoon boats, groups of all sizes and skill levels can find their perfect activity.
Fly fishing on the Big Thompson River in Rocky Mountain National Park. Photo by James Frank.
Laid Back
For groups looking more for scenery and serenity than intensity, low-level adventures will still get your group out of the boardroom and into the crisp, clean Rocky Mountain air. Soak in the beauty during a leisurely ride on sturdy mountain trail horses where groups can enjoy the abundant wildflowers and wildlife around Estes Park. Take attendees’ taste buds on an adventure with local beverage experts from a tasting session of Estes Park craft beers, wines or spirits to a whiskey lesson from the state’s largest whiskey bar, there’s a perfect pairing for every group.
Attendees’ taste buds can even go on an Estes Park adventure. Photo by Biju Sukumaran.
For a truly effortless adventure, sit back and take in the views aboard a guided, on-road tour covering the history, geology and biology of the stunning natural areas around Estes Park.
In Estes Park meetings can be taken to new heights, literally, where teams and colleagues can test their limits, revel in new experiences and share bragging rights. More than a meeting, Estes Park offers groups of all sizes a variety of adventures and memories to last a lifetime!
Becky Gruhl is the Partner & Group Development Manager at Visit Estes Park. Becky has been vacationing to Estes Park since childhood and moved there to work with groups as part of the Visit Estes Park team in August 2015. When she’s not helping groups plan their perfect Rocky Mountain meeting, Becky enjoys hiking, shopping and tasting her way around Estes Park and Rocky Mountain National Park.
