Photo Credit: Castle Mountain Lodge
Pet Friendly Hotels in Estes Park
Many Estes Park Hotels are pet friendly, and we’ll show you how to find them and share a couple of great examples in this post.
Roughly 90 million dogs are in the US, and 68% of households have at least one pet! It’s not surprising that Estes Park vacationers are looking for hotels, restaurants, and hiking trails that allow dogs.
When lodge owners are dog owners themselves, they understand why you’d want to bring your dog along on vacation. They also expect responsible dog-ownership from their guests and have a Pet Policy to be aware of.
“Are you human friendly? I’d like to bring my owner.”
Overheard at the Castle Mountain Lodge Front Check In Desk
Hotel Pet Policies
Hotel Pet Policies typically include a nightly add-on charge per dog, with a maximum number of dogs in select cabins.
Additional nightly charges are added because more cleaning is required, and the room is subject to more “normal wear and tear”. Any damages caused by your pet might also incur an additional cleaning/repair fee on top of the nightly room charge.
Pets other than dogs are normally not permitted.
One of peoples’ favorite things about visiting Estes Park and Rocky Mountain National Park is the abundant wildlife that roams freely through hotel grounds. We don’t just mean elk, but wild turkeys, deer, rocky mountain sheep, fox, raccoons, and even bears.
These new animals can be pretty exciting to your dogs, so keeping your dog on leash is important when the chase instinct kicks in!
Barking at and scaring the wild animals won’t be appreciated by the other guests who came to watch wildlife, so you might be the one getting yelled at when your dog gets away!
How to Find Pet Friendly Hotel Options
You can use the Pet-Friendly Icon on our Lodging pages to narrow your search to only dog friendly accommodations. Here’s how that screen works – click on the icon to highlight it, and your search will automatically be refined.
Once you highlight the Pet-Friendly Icon, you will see a total of 13 pet friendly hotels listed that provide online availability. When bringing a dog(s), it’s always best to phone to book your reservation.
To broaden your search and find specific kinds of lodging or to search in more than one lodging category, click the check boxes for all the categories you are interested in.
Then click on the “Apply Filters” bar at the bottom.
Rocky Mountain National Park Rules for Dogs
Tip: The National Park does enforce their rules to protect wildlife!
- Leashed pets can go with you only along established roads or parking areas, or in established campgrounds and picnic areas. Dogs are not allowed in Visitor Centers.
- Leashes should be no longer than 6 feet.
- Pet owners must pick up after their animals and dispose their poop in trash receptacles.
- Pets are prohibited on ALL Park trails, tundra, and meadows. This means that you are not allowed to hike with your dog in Rocky Mountain National Park.
- You can’t leave your pet in your car because of possible overheating, or leave them tied up.
- Service animals are allowed in the Park, but Emotional Support or Therapy animals are not considered Service animals and are not allowed in Visitor Centers, on trails, or in other non-motorized areas.
Estes Park Dog Park
For some off leash running time, visit the Estes Park Dog Park.
While your dog explores, find a bench and enjoy the beautiful backdrop of Lake Estes and the mountains.
The dog park is located at 690 Big Thompson Ave., and it’s fully fenced with a swim area for water loving dogs.
See https://www.colorado.gov/pacific/evrpd/dogpark for a complete list of guidelines.
Hike with Your Dog
Even though dogs are not allowed on trails in Rocky Mountain National Park, there are lots of hiking options around Estes Park if you’re looking to get your dog out on the trails.
Check out this great blog post with 5 Favorite Hikes with Dogs.
Pet Day Care while you’re out exploring
If you want to give your dog some supervised play time while you’re hiking in the Park, here are a couple of pet day care options:
Estes Park Pet Lodge – 970-586-9282 – http://www.estesparkpetlodge.com/
Animal House of the Rockies – 970-586-4703 – http://www.estesparkpetvet.com/pet-boarding-in-estes-park/
In almost all cases, dogs are not allowed to be left in your hotel room while you’re out for the day, unless crated.
Even then, if your dog is prone to barking at strange noises, a day care visit is recommended so they don’t disturb other hotel guests and get you kicked out!
Estes Park Pet Businesses
Local Estes Park businesses can provide everything from dog food to grooming and veterinarian care. You’ll find a list of Pet Services here.