Pho Palace

When you head up to Estes Park , you want the experience to be the best that it can be. You can eliminate some dining aggravation by knowing where to go ahead of time. Overlooking the park, the restaurant features contemporary décor, intimate copper-topped booths, and a lovely wraparound porch offering breathtaking views, and serves seasonal menus of market-driven fare prepared with locally-sourced ingredients and regional produce.

Conveniently located on Fall River Road, the restaurant features three airy, rustic dining rooms and a lovely outdoor deck for alfresco dining rooms where guests can tuck into signature plates of clam chowder, wild-caught Colorado trout, roasted prime rib in rock salt, and USDA sirloin steak.

What I thought was great about Bird and Jim is that they're conveniently located right next to the Alpine Trail Ridge Inn, almost directly across the street from the National Park Village South shopping mall and The Country Market of Estes Park grocery store.

This next place to eat in Estes Park, Big Horn Restaurant, is one that I went to after my friends and I got back from taking the Este Park inexpensive restaurants in Estes Park Aerial Tramway cable car all the way up to the summit of Prospect Mountain where we were treated with a picturesque view of the mountains.

Surrounded by dense pine forests on the side of Twin Sisters Mountain, the Inn's restaurant serves an expansive buffet of farm-to-table fare for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, featuring fresh seafood, prime meats and chicken, and fresh locally sourced salads and vegetables.