9 Ideal Destinations for a 3-Day Weekend in the Rockies
Telluride is the kind of town a person can see across a long weekend and still feel like they got all of it. Bridal Veil Falls drops 365 feet off the back wall of the box canyon at the edge of town, the tallest free-falling waterfall in Colorado. West Glacier's the same story a few hundred miles north, where the Going-to-the-Sun Road climbs to Logan Pass and back before the weekend is out. There are nine of these around the Rockies of Colorado, Wyoming, and Montana, and every one is made for three quick days.
Estes Park, Colorado
Estes Park is the eastern gateway to Rocky Mountain National Park, and the town grew up around the hikers and climbers headed into it. Above downtown, the white colonial-revival Stanley Hotel dates to 1909. A single night there in October 1974 gave Stephen King the idea for The Shining. Elkhorn Avenue carries the shops, restaurants, and coffeehouses, with the Big Thompson River passing through the middle of town.
The park is the main reason to come. Trail Ridge Road climbs above 12,000 feet across the Continental Divide, and elk graze the meadows along the way. Lake Estes, on the east edge of town, allows boating and trout fishing, though swimming is forbidden because of the glacial water temperatures. For a wider view, the aerial tramway lifts to the top of Prospect Mountain.
West Glacier, Montana
West Glacier marks the southwest entrance of Glacier National Park, where the Going-to-the-Sun Road begins. The road is a National Historic Landmark, the only one ever built across the park. It climbs 50 miles to Logan Pass on the Continental Divide and passes glacial lakes, waterfalls, and hanging valleys on the way.
From the pass, the Hidden Lake Overlook trail crosses an alpine meadow on a raised boardwalk, with mountain goats and pikas often in view. Farther along the Highline Trail, the backcountry Granite Park Chalet offers beds with no road access. Outside the park, the Middle Fork of the Flathead River carries white-water rafting trips through early summer.
Saratoga, Wyoming
Saratoga grew up around its hot spring in south-central Wyoming. The Hobo Hot Pool, in a riverside park near the middle of town, is open every hour of the day and costs nothing. The mineral water measures between 106 and 119 degrees. A municipal swimming pool opens beside it for the warmer months.
The North Platte River brings anglers for its blue-ribbon trout fishing, with more than 100 miles of water through the Platte Valley. Trails climb into the Medicine Bow National Forest west of town, across the Snowy Range. South of Saratoga, the Lodge and Spa at Brush Creek Ranch is a high-end guest ranch.
Telluride, Colorado
Telluride occupies the floor of a box canyon in the San Juan Mountains at 8,750 feet, with peaks on three sides. The old silver-mining town is a National Historic Landmark district, and Victorian storefronts line Colorado Avenue. A free gondola links downtown and Mountain Village, the first and only free public gondola in the country. The slopes above both belong to the Telluride Ski Resort.
Bridal Veil Falls closes the back of the canyon, dropping 365 feet down the headwall as the tallest free-falling waterfall in Colorado. A four-wheel-drive road and a hiking trail both reach it. Closer to town, the Bear Creek Trail climbs to a smaller falls through the Uncompahgre National Forest.
Thompson Falls, Montana
Thompson Falls rests along the Clark Fork River in the Lolo National Forest, in the far west of Montana. The town and the falls share the name of David Thompson, the mapmaker who passed through the area in 1809. A hydroelectric dam crosses the river at the falls.
Thompson Falls State Park lines the river just outside town, with short trails and river access on the Clark Fork. Anglers work the water for trout, and a historic steel bridge crosses the river near the falls. The surrounding Lolo National Forest opens onto miles of quiet nature trails.
Yellowstone National Park, Wyoming
Yellowstone National Park became the first national park in the world in 1872, and a volcanic caldera powers what visitors come to see. Old Faithful erupts on a rough schedule through the day. The Grand Prismatic Spring spreads bands of color across the Midway Geyser Basin. The terraces of Mammoth Hot Springs and the wide surface of Yellowstone Lake round out a long weekend.
Beyond the geysers, Yellowstone Falls drops through its canyon, Bunsen Peak gives a short climb with a wide view, and Specimen Ridge preserves stands of petrified trees. For visitors who would rather not camp, the park operates its own lodges, among them the Old Faithful Snow Lodge, the Roosevelt Lodge Cabins, and the Mammoth Hot Springs Hotel.
Grand Lake, Colorado
Grand Lake is the largest and deepest natural lake in Colorado, more than 500 acres of glacier-fed water below the western edge of Rocky Mountain National Park. The Ute people once called it Spirit Lake. The town of the same name lines a historic boardwalk along the shore, with shops and restaurants a few steps from the water.
The lake opens onto boating, sailing, and trout fishing, and anglers pull large lake trout from its depths. It lies near the headwaters of the Colorado River and connects by canal to Shadow Mountain Lake. The town is the western gateway to Rocky Mountain National Park, with the historic Grand Lake Lodge above the water.
McAllister, Montana
On the west shore of Ennis Lake, in the Madison Valley of southwest Montana, McAllister is a small community well off the main tourist routes. Ennis Lake spreads out below town for fishing, boating, and swimming, with the Madison Range on the skyline.
The reason most anglers come is the Madison River, a blue-ribbon trout stream often called the 60-mile riffle between Quake Lake and Ennis Lake. The town of Ennis, a few minutes south, supplies fly shops, guides, and places to eat. The Beaverhead-Deerlodge National Forest borders the valley on both sides.
Dubois, Wyoming
Dubois lies in a high valley between the Absaroka Mountains and the Wind River Range in western Wyoming. The National Bighorn Sheep Center, open since 1993, tells the story of the Whiskey Mountain herd, one of the largest groups of Rocky Mountain bighorn sheep in the country. The main street still carries wooden boardwalks from its ranching past.
Red badlands rise just outside town, dry and folded against the green of the Shoshone National Forest. The headwaters of the Wind River gather near Togwotee Pass to the west, on the road toward Jackson. In winter, dogsled teams cross the high country along the Continental Divide.
Three Days In The High Country
Three days is enough to settle into one of these places. A weekend at Estes Park can mean a morning on a high trail and an afternoon beside the water. Saratoga asks for little more than a soak and a fishing rod. Grand Lake puts a boat and a national park within the same view. Dubois trades the crowds for bighorn sheep and red badlands. The range is wide enough that each weekend turns out different, and a short trip reaches more of it than expected.
