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is a Statutory Town in Larimer County, Colorado, United States, along the Big Thompson River. The population was 5,413 at the 2000 census. As of a 2006 census estimate, the population has risen to 6,006.
The town is named after Missouri native Joel Estes, who founded 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 1909 building had Stephen King as a guest, inspiring him to change the locale for his novel
from an amusement park to the Stanley's fictional stand-in, the Overlook Hotel.
Estes Park was also the site of the organization of the Credit Union National Association, an important milestone in the history of American credit unions.
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.
The town suffered severe damage in July 1982 from flooding caused by the failure of Lawn Lake Dam.
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 . 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 5.9 square miles (15.2 km²), of which, 5.8 square miles (15.1 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.1 km²) of it (0.85%) is water.