Indigenous Connections
Exploring Estes Park
For the Ute, Arapaho, Cheyenne and other Native American tribes, this land is more than just a beautiful landscape, it is part of who they are. In 1914, a group of Arapaho elders joined a pack trip to record the names of local landmarks. Today, the spirit of that trip is being expanded with a new project called Indigenous Connections, which seeks to improve visitor education about native history and modern uses of the area, and reshape our understanding of what national parks are and should be.
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Myths and Mysteries
Exploring Estes Park
Myths are more than just tale tales. They're part of living history; part of the fabric of a place passed from campfire to campfire, woven through the land in the invisible threads of our imagination. And by following those threads, we’ll not only have some fun, but we’ll also see a side to these Rocky Mountains that most people don’t even know exists. Let's explore the myths and mysteries of Estes Park.
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Call of the Mountains
Exploring Estes Park
This episode we're going to do some hiking. There are 124 named peaks in Rocky Mountain National Park with 118 over 10,000 feet. There are few things more exhilarating in life than standing on a summit and for many of us it’s why we come here.
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Living Lab
Exploring Estes Park
This episode we'll discover a side to Rocky Mountain National Park that most people don’t even know exists. Beyond the beautiful trails and mountains, the park is a Living Laboratory of science. There are about a hundred individual scientific research projects going on in the park at any one time, some of the most cutting edge ecology, biology and conservation in the world is done right here. That work is helping to protect the Estes Park region today and into the future. Rocky Mountain National Park may feel isolated from the cities and industry of the plains, but it’s not. It’s part...
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Dark Skies
Exploring Estes Park
This episode we’re looking above Estes Park’s peaks to the dark skies above. Rocky Mountain National Park isn’t just a haven for beautiful landscapes and wildlife, it’s also an oasis of stars.
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Bird & Jim
Exploring Estes Park
Our first episode chronicles the adventures of Isabella Bird, an explorer who ascended Longs Peak in 1873 with Jim Nugent.
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Introducing: Exploring Estes Park
Exploring Estes Park
Welcome to Estes Park, Colorado’s Original Playground and the Basecamp to the Rocky Mountains.
info_outlineThis episode we are going to get our boots on and do some hiking. There are 124 named peaks in Rocky Mountain National Park with 118 over 10,000-feet. When you stand on the summit of one and look out, a sea of peaks surrounds you on all sides. There are few things more exhilarating in life. And for many of us, it’s why we come here.
But it hasn’t always been that way. For thousands of years mountains were the abode of Gods and monsters, places to be feared and avoided. They became challenges, a piece of indomitable nature that the bravest of us would dare to tame. Now, perhaps, they are transforming again, from something to subdue to somewhere to escape from the confines of our modern world.
Today, we’re going to climb a mountain that very few visitors ever do. It’s called Estes Cone. It’s 11,006 feet tall. But this story is about more than just getting our boots in the dirt. It’s about learning to see these Rocky summits with fresh eyes, whether you’re climbing to the top or enjoying the view from afar. John Muir famously said “The Mountains are calling and I must go.” We’re going to heed those words, reach for that summit, and listen for the Call of the Mountains.