Welcome from Buck Timber

Howdy, neighbors. Buck Timber here, with a flashlight in one hand, a steaming mug of coffee in the other, and one eye on the shutters, because October's got that particular bite to it in Estes Park. The kind of chill that makes you wonder what else might be wandering these mountains after dark.

This week, Halloween's knocking on the door (literally Friday), and our little town is about to fill Elkhorn Avenue with pirates, princesses, and goblins, the living kind. But if you're curious about the other kind of spirits that call Estes home, well, stick around. We've got stories that'll make your skin crawl colder than a November snowpack.

Mo Pass stopped by the cabin yesterday convinced he'd seen something "unusual" near Bear Lake. He swore it was seven feet tall, covered in dark fur, and moving between the pines like it knew exactly where it was going. I told him the Park gets all kinds of visitors this time of year. Bears preparing for hibernation, elk moving down from higher elevations, maybe even a mountain lion passing through. Mo wasn't convinced. "That wasn't any bear, Buck," he said. "I've lived here over thirty years. I know what I saw." And then he left without finishing his coffee, which meant he was genuinely spooked. In the Park, you never quite know what you're going to run into when the shadows get long and October settles in.

Which famous author spent one fateful winter night at a local hotel, dreamed of fire hoses strangling his young son, and turned that nightmare into one of the most terrifying novels ever written?

If this old clip below looks familiar, that’s because it was filmed back when the place still went by its old name. These days, we know it as The 7 Keys Lodge — same mountains, same charm, just a few more stories hanging from the rafters.

The Keepers of Seven Keys Lodge: A Story That Won't Leave

High in the mountains above Estes Park sits Seven Keys Lodge, named after Earl Derr Biggers' 1913 mystery novel "Seven Keys to Baldpate." In 1917, Gordon and Ethel Mace built the inn and started a tradition: each guest received a key, so they'd hold "the only key" to the lodge. But metal grew expensive during World War I, so the tradition shifted. Guests were asked to leave their keys behind instead. Thousands did. Then tens of thousands. Today, over 30,000 keys hang from the rafters of the Key Room, each one a story. Keys from Buckingham Palace. The U.S. Capitol. A submarine. Mozart's wine cellar. Most are ordinary: a baby's first keys from Oklahoma, a family's first house key from Minnesota. Each one matters because someone brought it there on purpose.

Gordon and Ethel poured their hearts into that lodge. They welcomed travelers through mountain winters and summers, watching guests arrive with keys and leave with memories. And apparently, they loved it so much that neither one could bear to leave, not even in death. Today, staff and guests report the same thing: Ethel appears in her favorite rocker, Bible in hand, or watches drinks mysteriously spill from empty air. Gordon roams the hallways enforcing the no-smoking rule with the same iron will he had in life, crushing cigarettes and stealing packs from guests who dare light up inside his lodge. Some say he's still the most formidable manager the place has ever had. The keys in that famous room remain, each one unlocking a memory. But Gordon and Ethel? They've never checked out. They're still welcoming guests to Seven Keys Lodge, just like they always have. And on quiet nights, you might hear the soft jingle of keys moving on their own, as if someone's checking the collection one more time, making sure every single story is safe.

Elkhorn Avenue Takeover: Friday, October 31

For more than four decades, Estes Park has celebrated Halloween the right way: by closing Elkhorn Avenue to traffic and letting the town belong to the kids.

Street Closure: 4:15 p.m. on Oct. 31 (East Riverside Drive to Spruce Drive) Trick-or-Treating Begins: 5:00 p.m.

Pirates and princesses, ghosts and goblins will flood the downtown core. The businesses stay open, the candy flows, and for one evening, Estes feels like a small town again. The kind where neighbors actually know each other.

Paint Your Own Trick-or-Treat Bag

Creativity Cabin: October 29, 3:00–4:00 p.m. 342 W. Riverside Dr Phone: (970) 591-2559

Before the big night, bring the kids by Creativity Cabin to paint custom trick-or-treat bags. Nothing says "Estes Park Halloween" like a hand-painted canvas bag headed down Elkhorn Avenue.

Haunted Events Around Town

The Séance at The Stanley (If you're brave...) Recurring nightly (Sun–Sat) at 7:00 p.m., 9:00 p.m., 11:00 p.m. Aiden Sinclair's Underground at The Stanley Hotel Phone: (970) 290-2361 | $95

Step into the underground rooms of The Stanley and join a séance led by paranormal investigators. They'll tell you the hotel's real stories. The ones the front desk won't mention. Not for the faint of heart.

All Hallows Eve-Eve Costume Party (October 30, 6:00–8:00 p.m.) Avant Garde Aleworks | 920 Dunraven Street | FREE Phone: (970) 591-2700

Dress up and get the party started a night early. Local craft beers, costumes, and the kind of loose, friendly energy that makes small-town Halloween special.

Halloween Party with High Plains Connection (October 31, 3:00–9:00 p.m.) American Legion Post 119 | 850 N St. Vrain | FREE Phone: (970) 586-6118

Live music, free festivities, and the community spirit that makes Estes tick. Bring the family, bring your neighbors, bring your appetite.

Day of the Dead Celebration with Tahosa! (November 1, 3:00–9:00 p.m.) American Legion Post 119 | FREE

For those who want to honor the departed a little longer, Día de Muertos brings color, music, and remembrance to Estes. Tahosa brings live music and the town brings the marigolds.

Did You Know? Mountain Mysteries & Local Lore

• The Stanley was the first hotel west of the Mississippi to be fully electric. Electricity and paranormal activity go hand in hand, some say. Coincidence?
• Room 217 was changed to Room 237 in Kubrick's film to protect the hotel's reputation. It backfired spectacularly. People still ask for Room 217, hoping for a haunting.
• Elizabeth Wilson worked at The Stanley for 40+ years after nearly being killed by the explosion. She died in 1950. The hauntings in Room 217 began almost immediately after.
• F.O. Stanley provided free street lighting to Estes Park and charged residents only for the lightbulbs they used, not metered electricity. A man who gives light to darkness, even in death, apparently won't leave his beloved hotel.
• Rocky Mountain Jim and Lord Dunraven, two figures who fought over Estes Park's land in the 1870s, both haunt The Stanley. Even death couldn't settle their disputes.

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Buck's Joke Of The Day

What do you call a skeleton who won't leave the mountain lodge? 

Lazy bones. 💀

(He's been there since 1911 and shows no signs of checking out.)

Stephen King. The author checked into The Stanley Hotel in October 1974, stayed in Room 217, and dreamed that fateful nightmare about a fire hose. That dream, combined with the hotel's haunted energy and the Estes Park landscape, became "The Shining."