Mountain Time! Come for the View, stay for the ALTITUDE adjustment.

Mountain Time! is a Cozy Mountain cabin at 7,300 feet. BIG SKY VIEWS of Long's Peak & the Continental Divide! Quiet retreat 16.5 miles from Estes Park, 20 miles from Rocky Mountain National Park & YMCA of the Rockies & aprox 31 miles to CSU. The drive through the Big Thompson Canyon, right along the Big Thompson River on Hwy 34 is incredibly beautiful! We never get tired of it! There are frequently small herds of Big Horn Sheep or larger herds of Elk. If someone flashes their headlights at you or you see several cars pulled over along the road, it's probably what we call an "Elk Jamb" or a "Sheep Jamb". Do safely slow down, as traffic allows, to see the critters & to avoid the folks paying more attention to the animals than to your car! There are several good places to pull off the road to watch or even to go down to the riverside. Once you leave the highway, it is a mostly GRAVEL MOUNTAIN ROAD for the last 3.5 miles to the cabin. There are usually potholes & washboards. It is steep with switchbacks & an occasional bear in the road. There are lots of pine trees, rock faces, high meadows & wildlife to see all the way from town & at the cabin. You'll pass Combat Rock which is a rock face used by the US Military during WWII to train troops. It's currently a popular technical climbing spot & an anchor point for Slackliners (think tightrope walkers)& there is room to pull off to watch them. Mountain Time! has a Full Kitchen, Washer & dryer, big deck with propane BBQ, picnic table, glider & chairs and a propane FIRE TABLE for evening coziness! The Star gazing is mesmerizing! There is a Jotul propane fireplace in the living room for cool season coziness & electric baseboard heat with thermostats in each room. *WiFi has been installed for 2022* but it is still RURAL/MOUNTAIN service & it does SLOW or simply go out from time to time. So does ours. It's a mountain. If WIFI is your favorite thing, you may like town better. Mountain Time! is a Great base camp for hiking in ROCKY, climbing 14ers, mountain biking, & multiple local ROCK CLIMBING areas & shops. There are lots of trout fishing opportunities nearby & 3 nearby lakes for other fishing experiences. *kirkflyshop.com* has a good reputation with supplies & guiding & has been local "forever". There are several fly shops as well as kayaking & river rafting outfitters. There is a great locally owned Jeep/ATV rental place in Estes too in case you want to do a little open air Jeeping in the Big T Canyon or ROCKY! Last I knew, he had motorcycles too. * Backbone Adventures www.backbonecycles.com * is wonderfully equipped & owned by awesome Mountain Time! neighbor, Andy! Loveland, 15 miles to the East on Hwy 34, has a huge Scheel's Sporting store, JAX (all things sporty & mountainy, including clothing), Outlet shopping, Liberty Firearms(huge, fancy indoor ranges & supplies)a Harley place, several Yarn & quilting shops *Quilter's Dream*, groceries, theatres & the usual chain restaurants & some good locals like McGraff's, Daddy O's, Smash Burger & Ziggy's Coffee drive-through. Lots of choices & it is best to get your food & gas up in Loveland, as prices, taxes & crowds are higher in Estes. Remember to keep drinking more water than usual while you're here to help prevent altitude sickness. 👉*CHECK out* www.healthline.com/health/altitude-sickness-prevention & other sites for more info. 🏕Estes Park is the gateway to Rocky Mountain National Park & has MANY tourist shops, several good restaurants including our favorite, 🐷Smokin' Dave's BBQ (the one closest to the park is best in our opinion), The Grubstake with elk & buffalo besides regular grub, Coffee on the Rocks(for sandwiches etc & great coffee on the edge of a duckpond🦆) & recent guests tell me that the Notchtop Cafe is doing a great job. Also right in town, we like Poppy's Pizza 🍕& Grill (American food). There is a Visitors Center where you can get great info, catch a Trolly into the park or walk across the river behind it to a multi level parking garage. (the easiest parking in town.) There are several FISHING shops🎣, hiking shops, an Awe inspiring glass blowing shop(Patterson Glass Works), a large 🐑Yarn & Quilting shop (Stitchin' Den) & an indoor monitored climbing wall in Estes Park Mountain Shop. 🧗‍♀️ Don't miss driving from Estes up Old Fall River Road (mostly gravel & seasonal with wonderful pull offs for a picnic!) or Trail Ridge Road, to the visitor center at the top of the Continental Divide! Take a picnic lunch & plan to spend the full day! Trail Ridge Road is the highest continuously paved road in the US! (Closed seasonally. Check the Rocky Park info site below.) At the top there are gift shops with the usual things, plus an Indian jewelry shop, a very special educational building, VIEWS, a (pricy & limited) cafe & restrooms. There is also a short hike from the parking lot to the very top rocks of the Divide. The hike to the *Toll Memorial* near the top is very interesting too, giving names & distances to visible peaks.. Do Please stay ON the TRAILs because the Tundra flora can take decades to regrow just from foot traffic damage. Watch for Marmots & watch & LISTEN for the adorable Pikas! From the visitor center you can go all the way over the Divide to lovely Grand Lake for shopping, dining or hiking & moose viewing, or back down Trail Ridge for supper in Estes. There are MILES of beautiful scenery to drive, bike or hike through. Canyons, mesas, rivers, forests & tundra with even more miles of hiking trails & their own special flora & fauna. BRING binoculars & strong sunglasses!!! 📅 Come in Spring for wild flowers & baby animals & several "festivals" in Estes Park. (See the EPNEWS.com link below for the current calendar listings). Summer has even more scheduled festivities in Estes, ROCKY Mtn Park & July 4th fireworks in Estes & Loveland. August for MUSIC🎸 & wine festivals, September & October🎃 to enjoy the ASPENS changing color & the ELK herds returning to town & calling to each other! September 10th-12th is the Scottish Irish Festival in Estes Park, there are also ARTS festivals, Music & Brews festivals. October has more of the same plus ELK FEST🦌 on the 2nd & 3rd! November has the annual Catch the Glow Parade🎄 in Estes on the 26th as our official Christmas season kickoff! 🌲 Do CHECK OUT🌲 1. epnews.com for their month by month sampling of events for the full year. 2. esteschamber.org has other Estes Park town info & events 3. Rocky Mountain National Park's website has all the park specific info you need. 4. National weather SPECIFIC for our area & ALTITUDE. https://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?zoneid=COZ035 5. https://theknow.denverpost.com/ Local events & info & ROCKY Park "Timed Permit" info but I would refer to the PARK'S SITE for up to the minute correct info as it changes with weather & the seasons. 6. https://www.estesvalleyfire.org/guest-resources Trail Ridge Road closes for the season sometime in late Oct or early Nov until approximately Memorial Day or later. There is no access to the Western Slope during that time unless you go South to Denver/ I-70 first or North over Cameron Pass/Hwy14 (weather dependent). PLEASE READ ALL AMENITY descriptions carefully & don't assume. Refer to pictures & their descriptions too. This is a RURAL MOUNTAIN CABIN on gravel. Not a town hotel on a freeway. It is WONDERFUL but not everyone's cup of tea. 🚨🚧❄⛄ ❄4WD is good out here all year to help keep our access road in better shape. 4WD is only REQUIRED November 14th THROUGH March. BUT may be HIGHLY recommended the last couple weeks of October THROUGH April or even MAY. It is an especially good Idea to KEEP AN EYE ON THE WEATHER LINK we provided. It's the same one we use every day. Evenings can be chilly all summer & if you are hiking you NEED to know if storms are predicted for that afternoon so you can plan to be DOWN BELOW TREELINE BY NOON. Do invest in TRIP INSURANCE if you can. We can't reimburse you for weather related cancellations of flights or snow closed roads etc. Colorado has a Chain Law too for the winter months. If you're coming May- Sept you likely will have lovely driving. www.cdot.gov/travel/colorado-chain-law Be sure to read the "passenger vehicle" section, not the commercial one. There is a notification APP you can sign up for from that site as well. Helpful. There is an electronic lock on the cabin that you will pick the 4 digit # for so it's easy to remember. After you book you tell me the 4 numbers you want & I will program them into the lock when the cabin is cleaned & ready for your arrival! For security, ALL previous guest numbers are deleted from the lock before the new numbers are entered. Seven days before your arrival, VRBO gives you more info that I have provided, including exact directions to the cabin. It's exciting! We can't wait to host you!!!