YMCA of the Rockies - Estes Park Family Resort and Cabins — Hotel in Estes Park

The YMCA grounds and activities were amazing. A great place to spend time and do fun activities with our extended family that included ages 4 to mid-80. But I had to give this place an overall 3 because the cabin we were in (Eastwood) needs a lot of work.

1. CLEAN THE CABIN PROPERLY - the amount of dust & dander under the sofas & beds & other furniture and on the ceiling fan in the living room was UNACCEPTABLE. I honestly do not think those areas had been cleaned for years. This gave the cabin a notably musty smell. We understand that this is a wilderness area but there is no excuse for not thoroughly cleaning the cabin.
2. Looks like the cabin has also not been updated for decades. Even just new carpet would be helpful. Judging from the lack of cleanliness describe above, we didn't want to walk barefoot on the carpets anywhere in the cabin.
3. The cabin is a 2-story. The upstairs was always hot during the day so we had to run the ceiling fan. We would have preferred not to to that since the fan blades were so dirty but the fan was too high up for us to reach the blades to clean them.
4. The downstairs was much cooler but it also had a distinct mildew/mold smell. Here again, proper & regular cleaning is important and perhaps an assessment of humidity level and using a small dehumidifier there would be a good idea as well.
5. The natural light in the living area during the day was plentiful. But overhead and lamp lighting during the evening and before sunrise is poor. Terrible for reading and doing puzzles after sundown when we spent the most time in our cabin.

Activities:

1. We did not get a chance to do activities in the crafts building since our days were so filled with outdoor activities (and we had 2 very young children in our group; I believe there is a minimum age for the craft building) but we did take a quick tour of the crafts building and it is phenomenal with so many different types of crafts/art to do and such a wide range of supplies available.
2. Archery - that was a lot of fun and the guide there was very friendly, polite, professional and safety-conscious. He did apologize for the equipment as we did notice that lots of the arrows had damaged or missing fletching. And we did have problems with a few of the bows but he had a good supply of replacement bows in the shed that he was quickly able to swap in.
3. The fenced in pony track was fun for our youngest rider but the track could use some work to level it since there are some large pot holes, large rocks and tree roots in the direct walking path of the pony and human leading the pony that are significant trip hazards.
4. The museum is a must-see for people interested in the history of the Estes Park area and the YMCA. Docent-led introduction by very pleasant and knowledgeable guides then you can explore on your own for as long as you want. There are an astounding range of antique items in this small house. Probably won't hold the attention of young campers long so older family members will enjoy a longer visit while the kids are occupied in other camp activities.
5. The kids loved the roller skating rink. Nice that "walkers" are available for the safety of both young and old who aren't so confident in their skating skills. We did see one girl who, unfortunately, fell and broke her wrist.
6. Rock climbing - we climbed on the indoor wall. Nice that they have climbing shoes. Booking reservations are required; that is helpful so you don't have to spend a lot of time waiting to climb.

Overall we had fun but the Eastwood Cabin definitely...

It was actually pretty revealing reading through all of the reviews especially the negative ones, so hopefully I can shed some light on the type of experience you’ll be getting here at the YMCA. -Do not expect a five star hotel. You’re not paying for one price wise, and you’re getting away into the mountains cabin style. It’s camping without camping 😄. The rooms are decent and comfortable. They do not have TVs, so if you want that kind of entertainment come prepared. They also don’t have a fridge. We bought a disposable ice chest and used the ice machine in the building to fill it up when needed. There is no AC (not really needed), but they do provide a fan in the room. The rooms were clean, and we had no other issues. There are a MILLION things to do here! It honestly felt like the outdoors version of Disneyland! There are educational classes (DOZENS all day long), swimming, volleyball, basketball, miniature golf, kids parks, open fields, several guided hikes into the park, horseshoes, tennis, board game rentals, hikes surrounding the YMCA, and more I can’t think of right now. And everything I just listed is FREE. Anyone saying you have to pay for everything is clueless. There are several activities you can pay for, but they are significantly cheaper than what you’d pay anywhere outside of the YMCA. We payed $10 a person for an hour of archery lessons. We paid for crafts in the crafts building (100 things to choose from there!). A guided horse ride was $60 a person for an hour. $10 for an hour on the indoor or outdoor climbing wall. We did both. There are far more activities they have listed but please try and compare what you’d pay at a local gym for these activities before criticizing their prices. Everyone we encountered was very nice. I had zero issues with any staff, and honestly for the crap they probably get from some people they were all extremely nice. Be patient, as they don’t always have enough staff for the amount of people staying there (normal for a lot of places due to Covid). Didn’t eat at the cafeteria as that was a common theme that made me avoid it all together. Fair warning, eating in town is expensive. They know how to rip you off for basic food since you’re from out of town.

There is a lot more to say but I’m exhausted from playing all day and having a blast here. It is our first time, and it has been a family friendly, exciting, exhausting, fun filled time. We couldn’t have expected to have enjoyed it this much but it was fantastic. Come with the right mindset and you’ll absolutely love it!

Edit: I still give it five stars! We ve been the last 3/4 summers and it has now become our annual family trip! It continues to be an amazing place for kids to get out and have fun. We stayed in a cabin this time around it it was ABSOLUTELY worth it! You have plenty of space for 5-6 people with a two bedroom, and it comes with a full kitchen (cost savings and not have to eat out all the time!) This year most things were the same but they did have a new in the trees obstacle course that my boy loved! I also tried some guided hikes and it’s amazing having someone guide you through and hours long hike into the park and it costs NOTHING. Imagine the cost to privately hire a guide for a hike. It’s included here and there are a bunch to choose from! We continue to love the Y and want everyone to experience how...

We just spent 4 days and 3 nights having a family reunion at the YMCA. We had low expectations going in which I think helps! We stayed at the Windrivers Lodge. Definitely one of the most run-down basic rooms we’ve ever stayed in, but better than camping. It had working plumbing and hot water, the beds were decently comfortable (not luxurious), and we lucked out and had a working mini-fridge in our room. We also had a balcony and a nice view of the mountains. No TV, no A/C, but we had a box fan that we kept running with the door open during the day and cracked the window at night and we stayed cool enough. One thing I wanted to see more reviews about was the food. We had most of our meals at the Aspen Dining Hall and one breakfast at the Rustic Cafe grab-and-go inside the administration building. They had nothing for me to eat at Rustic Cafe (WFPB and vegan), and only drip coffee. They did have plant milk for my coffee but I did not have any breakfast that day. The Aspen Dining Hall was always either packed full of people or running out of food. Show up early if you want a good selection, but you’ll deal with large crowds (mostly summer camp kids and teenagers who don’t use manners). If you come towards the end of meal service it will be much less crowded but many food items will have run out. It’s a cafeteria, so again manage your expectations. I was pleased to find they usually had a decent salad bar with fresh vegetables and usually one type of beans to top your salad with. I was able to find enough food for myself and of course my husband and kids were all able to find plenty to eat (my kids ate so much mac and cheese every day that they came home sick of it). Two of our six meals at Aspen had labels on the sneeze guards indicating if the food was gluten-free, etc. However, they had a sauce labeled “marinara” which I loaded on top of steamed veggies only to discover when I sat down and looked closer that there was ground meat in it. So they still need to work on the food labeling because that was very misleading (Marinara is a tomato and vegetable based sauce; they had set out bolognese or could have labeled it “meat sauce”). My parents footed the bill for our entire family on this trip as it was a family reunion, but I was appalled at the food prices at about $20/adult per meal after tax. Kids were a little cheaper but not much. We definitely discussed going into Estes Park for a meal or two to get better food for our money, but ultimately didn’t have time for that. We really loved the outdoor climbing wall and my young daughters especially loved painting ceramic items in the craft building. Our kids also spent a lot of time at the outdoor playground. We only had one day we were able to make it to the pool while it was open because it had very limited hours. The mountain scenery was beautiful and we loved seeing ground squirrels, chipmunks, bunnies, and birds everywhere. Edited to add: I don’t know how I forgot to mention how crowded the entire place was with summer camp teenagers. We were taken aback upon arrival when there seemed to be swarms of them everywhere. They covered the huge field in front of the admin building and had loud music playing. The dining hall was usually packed (full of kids/teenagers) and very loud and hard to move around in. So my 3-star review reflects that...