Driving to Rocky Mountain RYLA in Estes Park

Standard Driving Directions to Estes Park Center from Denver:

§ Head north on I-25

§ Exit at #243 on CO-66 going west toward Lyons/Longmont (left)

§ Follow signs for 36 West through Lyons

§ Enjoy the view coming down into Estes Park!

§ Turn left on Elkhorn Ave

§ Turn left on Moraine Ave

§ Turn right at stop sign (by Big Slide and Doughnut House)

§ Drive straight through Marys Lake Rd. Intersection and stay in the left lane (bear left while yielding)

§ US-36 becomes CO-66

§ Look for signs after about 2 miles - Estes Park Center entrance on your right side

Here is how to get there while AVOIDING the town of Estes Park!!!!

(slightly complex, but well worth the effort)

You want to stay away from the red oval on the map.

Link to the Map (start with the yellow line on the right, which is east)

Smaller Map

If you have a GPS, go to the Estes Park Medical Center on Moccasin Circle Drive and keep going around the left side of it.

THEN head for "YMCA of the Rockies" (zip code 80517).

High-level directions:

When approaching Estes Park from Lyons and Highway 36:

§ Go left just after the fairgrounds.

§ Wind your way to the Medical Center (hospital).

§ Continue round the Medical Center, up over the hill and down the other side.

§ Go left at the bottom, or cross the bridge and go left. Either way you have missed the congested part of Estes Park.

§ Stay on CO-66 (Moraine Ave, then Tunnel Road) until you get to the YMCA road on the right.

In more detail:

After crossing the lake, immediately past the fairgrounds on the left, go left on 4th Street.

§ If you miss 4th, take the next street. Don't miss one of these tiny streets!

§ Cross St Vrain Ave, swinging slightly to the right to continue on Comanche St.

§ Swing left on Stanley Ave to an immediate right on Prospect Ave (toward the hospital).

§ Continue around the hospital on Moccasin Circle Drive, over the hill.

§ Now you have two choices:

1) Major road (yellow on the map): cross the bridge over the Big Thompson river and turn left on Morraine Ave. There may be some traffic to contend with.

or

2) Minor road (blue on the map): Go left on Riverside Drive at the bottom of the hill.

Continue to wind along Riverside Drive until it ends at Mary's Lake Road.

Go right on Mary's Lake Road.

Go left at the stop light onto Moraine Ave.

Then:

§ Morraine is CO-66 - you want to stay on 66.

§ Go left at the bizarre intersection just after the road middle-divider starts (YMCA sign here).

§ Continue just under 2 miles to the YMCA signs on the right.

In the YMCA, turn left in front of Hyde Chapel, and we stay in one of the four large dorm buildings on the left (or look for the RYLA signs)!