History
The Estes Park Trail began as a seasonal weekly magazine catering to the tourists who flocked to the Rockies from June through September. John Y. Munson, a retired farmer who lived in Berthoud, Colorado (perhaps a summer resident of Estes Park), was the first publisher (U.S. census, Berthoud, Larimer Co, Colorado, 1910, household 188). In 1912, he made suggestions for improvements such as village beautification, waste cans on Elkhorn Avenue and daily street cleaning (J.Y. Munson, "Editorial," Estes Park Trail vol. 1 no. 13, p. 1). Those suggestions branded the publication as a community newspaper from its inception.
By 1914, the Estes Park Trail had grown to 42 illustrated pages of travel articles, poetry, area news, columns about visitors, the occasional pithy editorial (often about the Business Men's Association), and advertisements. The Trail chronicled the early twentieth-century development of Estes Park, providing insights into early Colorado tourism and Rocky Mountain National Park.
In 1921, with the backing of businessmen who wanted a job printer in Estes Park, Arthur B. Harris became the editor and publisher of the Estes Park Trail, which was thereafter produced locally. He published the weekly paper from April into December, and remained the editor as late as 1930 (U.S. census, Estes Park, Larimer Co, Colorado, 1910, household 52).
Thus the early seasonal tourist magazine evolved into a year-round community newspaper which became today's Trail-Gazette.
Some issues of the Estes Park Trail for 1914-1924 are preserved in the digital collections of Colorado Historic Newspapers online.
Larimer County is a county located in the U.S. state of Colorado. As of the 2020 census, the population was 359,066. The county seat and most populous city is Fort Collins. The county was named for William Larimer, Jr., the founder of Denver.
Berthoud is a statutory town located in Larimer and Weld counties, Colorado, United States. The town population was 10,332 at the 2020 United States Census with 10,071 residing in Larimer County and 261 residing in Weld County. Berthoud is situated north of the Little Thompson River, 21 miles (34 km) south of Fort Collins and 43 miles (69 km) north of Denver in the Front Range Urban Corridor.
Estes Park is a statutory town in Larimer County, Colorado, United States. The town population was 5,904 at the 2020 United States Census. Estes Park is a part of the Fort Collins, CO Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Front Range Urban Corridor. A popular summer resort and the location of the headquarters for Rocky Mountain National Park, Estes Park lies along the Big Thompson River. Landmarks include The Stanley Hotel and The Baldpate Inn. The town overlooks Lake Estes and Olympus Dam.
Loveland is the home rule municipality that is the second most populous municipality in Larimer County, Colorado, United States. Loveland is situated 46 miles (74 km) north of the Colorado State Capitol in Denver and is the 14th most populous city in Colorado. As of the 2020 census the population of Loveland was 76,378. The city forms part of the Fort Collins-Loveland Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Front Range Urban Corridor. The city's public schools are part of the Thompson R2-J School District.
Trail Ridge Road is the name for the 48-mile (77 km) stretch of U.S. Highway 34 that traverses Rocky Mountain National Park from Estes Park, Colorado in the east to Grand Lake, Colorado in the west. Together with the connecting 6.9-mile (11 km) Beaver Meadow Road, Trail Ridge Road forms the 55-mile (89 km) Trail Ridge Road/Beaver Meadow National Scenic Byway, an All-American Road. With a high point at 12,183 feet (3,713 m) elevation, Trail Ridge Road is the highest continuous paved road in North America. The higher portion of Trail Ridge Road is closed from October to May.
The Stanley Hotel is a 140-room Colonial Revival hotel in Estes Park, Colorado, United States, about five miles from the entrance to Rocky Mountain National Park. It was built by Freelan Oscar Stanley, co-founder of the Stanley Motor Carriage Company, and opened on July 4, 1909, as a resort for upper-class Easterners and a health retreat for sufferers of pulmonary tuberculosis. The hotel and its surrounding structures are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Today, the hotel includes a restaurant, spa, and bed-and-breakfast; with panoramic views of Lake Estes, the Rockies, and Longs Peak.
Middle Park is a high basin in the Rocky Mountains of north-central Colorado in the United States. It is located in Grand County, on the southwest slope of Rocky Mountain National Park, approximately 50 miles (80 km) west of Boulder.
Glen Haven is an unincorporated community and a U.S. Post Office in Larimer County, Colorado, United States. The Glen Haven Post Office has the ZIP Code 80532.
The Trail Ridge Road/Beaver Meadow National Scenic Byway is a 55-mile (89 km) All-American Road and Colorado Scenic and Historic Byway located in Rocky Mountain National Park in Larimer and Grand counties, Colorado, USA. The byway consists of the 48-mile (77 km) Trail Ridge Road and the connecting 6.9-mile (11 km) Beaver Meadow Road. With a high point at 12,183 feet (3,713 m) elevation, Trail Ridge Road is the highest continuous paved road in North America. The higher portion of Trail Ridge Road is closed from October to May. The Rocky Mountain National Park Administration Building is a National Historic Landmark.
Prairie Mountain Media is an American publishing company owned by Digital First Media. It owns a series of newspapers most notably The Denver Post. Digital First Media is owned by Alden Global Capital which has sharply cut costs by reducing the number of journalists working on many of its newspapers.
The Old Fall River Road, sometimes referred to as "The Old Road" by park staff in Rocky Mountain National Park, was the first automobile road to penetrate the interior of the park. The road linked the east side of the park near Estes Park with Grand Lake on the west side. Work began in 1913 but was interrupted in 1914 by World War I with final work being completed between 1918 and 1920.
The William Allen White Cabins are chiefly associated with newspaper editor William Allen White, who adopted what would become Rocky Mountain National Park as his summer residence from 1912 to his death in 1944. White had visited Estes Park, Colorado while in college, and had previously summered in Colorado Springs. In 1912, White and his wife Sallie purchased an 1887 cabin near Estes Park. The Whites expanded it the next year and built a privy, studio, and two guest cabins.
Enos Abijah Mills was an American naturalist, author and homesteader. He was the main figure behind the creation of Rocky Mountain National Park.
Mount Chiquita is a mountain summit in the Mummy Range of the Rocky Mountains of North America. The 13,075-foot (3,985 m) thirteener is located in Rocky Mountain National Park, 9.8 miles (15.7 km) northwest by west of the Town of Estes Park in Larimer County, Colorado, United States.
Bierstadt Lake is located in Larimer County, Colorado and within the Rocky Mountain National Park. Near McHenrys Peak and Longs Peak, there are "spectacular views" of the Continental Divide at the lake. The Bierstadt Lake Trailhead is located about 6.5 miles (10.5 km) from the turn-off at U.S. Route 36 into the Rocky Mountain National Park. During the summer, shuttle buses provide transportation to the trailhead.
History of Rocky Mountain National Park began when Paleo-Indians traveled along what is now Trail Ridge Road to hunt and forage for food. Ute and Arapaho people subsequently hunted and camped in the area. In 1820, the Long Expedition, led by Stephen H. Long for whom Longs Peak was named, approached the Rockies via the Platte River. Settlers began arriving in the mid-1800s, displacing the Native Americans who mostly left the area voluntarily by 1860, while others were removed to reservations by 1878.
Sprague Mountain is a 12,713-foot-elevation (3,875-meter) mountain summit on the boundary shared by Grand County and Larimer County, in Colorado, United States. It is set on the Continental Divide in the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains, and 12.5 miles (20.1 km) west of the community of Estes Park. Precipitation runoff from the mountain's east side drains into tributaries of the Big Thompson River and the west slope drains into headwaters of Tonahutu Creek which flows to Grand Lake. Topographic relief is significant as the summit rises over 1,900 feet above Tonahutu Creek in one mile. The peak is visible from Trail Ridge Road.
Anna Wolfrom was a pioneer homesteader, teacher, writer, and businesswoman in Estes Park, Colorado. She was an alumnus of Columbia University and Oxford University. She also spent summers and studied in Paris. Her published works include Sacajawea, the Indian princess. She established five businesses in and around Estes Park and another in New Orleans, Louisiana. She was the "first successful female entrepreneur in the Estes Park area." Her success inspired five women to homestead in or near Estes Park by 1917.
Abner E. Sprague, born in Illinois, was a pioneer of Larimer County, Colorado, arriving in the Colorado Territory at the age of 14. He grew up in the Big Thompson Valley and settled in Estes Park and Loveland. He was an explorer, surveyor, mountaineer, civil engineer, innkeeper, rancher, and author.
