This is the first stop and Visitor Center when you enter the park. We checked with a Ranger who gave us a map and information about things to see. There is also a short movie about the park which we found very interesting. Don't miss it. read more

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Beaver Meadows Visitor Center is the main visitor center and park headquarters for Rocky Mountain National Park. This visitor center is a beautiful building and was designed by Taliesin Associated Architects. When I first arrived in Estes Park, I made a stop here to get a paper map and learn more about the park. There are park rangers on hand to answer any questions that you may have. There is also a bookstore and a gift shop. There is plenty of parking at this visitor center. They have a welcome sign out front if you want a photo in front of it. There are restrooms outside and a water refill station. The hiker express shuttle makes a stop out front. The entrance into Rocky Mountain National Park is just west of Beaver Meadows Visitor Center. The park requires timed entry permits for certain hours of the day, so plan ahead before you make your trip. Don't forget to stamp your national passport book while here. read more

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Cabin Beaver One of SEVEN visitor centers for Rocky Mountain National Park and is probably the main one most people access, as it's the first one you see when you drive in from Estes Park. The Good: *Huge parking lot *Great views of the Rockies and surrounding area *National Park Passport stamp *Purchase NP pass or pay entrance fee here *Outdated but nice 10min video on the area that's worth a watch. *Clean restrooms *Souvenir shop *Rangers to discuss *Water bottle filling station *Open year-round except for Christmas and Thanksgiving *Wifi The Meh: *Popular place with lots of visitors The Ugly: *Building and interior in general looks old and in dire need of an update. *Interior is much too small for the amount of people that it serves. If you're still living in 2020 and still a bit squeamish about crowds, then this place probably isn't for you. Conclusion: Decent VC that's ridiculously busy and needs an upgrade, but still worth a stop on your way into the park. read more

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While their are five visitor centers in Rocky Mountain National Park, Beaver Meadows Visitor Center is their main one. Located right by the main entrance from Estes Park, this visitor center is LARGE. So much information about the park, a good-sized bookstore, and - most important - clean, modern bathrooms. Big parking lot, had no issues finding a place to park. It's near the entrance to Bear Lake Road, so if that's what you're coming to explore, then this is the perfect visitor center to stop at first. Overall, a good choice for all your park planning, information gathering, and souvenir buying needs. read more

Love this visitor center at RMNP!! Every time I come here the staff is super knowledgeable and helpful, and the facilities are nice and clean. Their bathroom has AC/heating and hot water as well as water fill stations -- cannot emphasize enough how much that heating helps when you need to go to the bathroom in the winter! They have a nice big parking lot, and lots of resources for learning etc. read more

If you need to use the restroom other than the vault toilet, this is your last chance before entering the wilderness. Park your car and head toward the main building. Make a left and that's the restroom. The main building has no toilet in sight and no signs either. Facility itself needs updates and better cleaning. Yes, it is very busy weekend but can we at least schedule to clean more often? At least it is free to use and not having to pay $1 like Europe read more

I always go inside visitor centers to get some advice from rangers for trails and see what their shop has for sale. They had such helpful rangers who advised us with trails for the time we had and their shop had some really cute magnets and clothing. There is a movie downstairs that isn't very informative but nice to sit for a while. Bathrooms are separate from the main building and really well taken care of. read more

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Excellent start for your visit to Rocky Mountain National Park. Friendly volunteers in park workers. Nice little shop. Good information about the park. read more

It was the first stop for us, just entering the RMNP area, it gives an overview of the park. I would suggest stopping here. The park rangers are extremely helpful and knowledgeable and can help you decide which trails to hike, depending on your time and skill level. You can buy books and maps, and equipment like walking sticks or cleats. Ample parking spaces and restrooms are here. Time: Beaver Meadows Visitor Center is open year-round, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. read more

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A must stop before sightseeing and /or hiking in Rocky National Park. Park ranger was helpful with maps, and oral instruction on taking the shuttle. She also told us of the difficulty of parking at various park location. Restrooms were ok. read more

Everyone in the visitor center was so friendly and very helpful with lots of information about the park and road conditions.

Came here as our first stop before entering the park this morning. Small visitor center but got crowded and we bought a magnet and some expensive stickers. There's a video downstairs in auditorium with history of the park, cool to view for a couple minutes. Rangers were helpful with identifying trails to hike on 4/11/2022 when it's still considered winter weather. read more

A good place to get souvenirs. This location is located off the Moraine Park entrance. There is a parking lot with about 50 spaces. The restrooms were in a separate building from the main building but were functional. The main building did not appear to be open but there was a Park Ranger under a tent by the entrance. The gift shop is a modular building set up in the parking lot. It is small and can only fit about 5 customers at a time. The staff was very friendly and helpful. If you want to get some souvenirs then this is a good place to look. read more

The Beaver Meadows Visitors Center (closest to Estes Park) was designed by the Taliesin Associated Architects (students of Frank Lloyd Wright), & built in 1967. I'm a long-time fan of FLW. I was there @ Dusk & also the next morning when the Sun precluded taking clear photos, or seeing clearly, for that matter. The structure is so in harmony with its surroundings that it is hard to make out even in the internet photos. The interior is very nice & well laid out. Watch the short video about the Park, view the exhibits, then ask ?s of the Rangers. I spent 1 hour here. A number of Reviewers expressed dissatisfaction with this Center, citing the small gift shop & "underutilized space" ~ perhaps not realizing that a large part of the space is designated as the Rocky Mountain National Park Administration Building. It's not like this office could be relocated up on the mountain! Sounds like a number of these Reviewers post their comments & ratings before they discover the other larger Visitor Centers (if they do at all). & 80% of last year's 4.5 Million Visitors entered the 414 sq. mi. Park on this (Eastern) side. Can you say "bottleneck?" read more

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Not only a gift shop but also a plethora of information about the park. Informational pages on what to avoid, a map of the park, activities in the park, what it takes to be a ranger, and more. Security cameras surrounding the bathrooms. 10 stalls -- much more spacious than the campsites :) CLEAN and welcoming. read more

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Nice visitor center, helpful rangers, but I was stopping mostly to buy a park pass. They don't sell them here. You buy them at a toll booth sort of area a mile down the road. Probably not worth a stop for most people coming to RMNP. read more

I liked stopping at this visitor's center as we got all of our items from the gift shop in the beginning of the day rather than at the end when we were tired. We found a nice selection of t-shirts, books, hoodies, etc. It was hard to not spend a ton of money but I'm sitting here right now in my RMNP hoodie all comfy and warm. The counter staff was really friendly and carefully packaged our fragile items which I really appreciated. I wish I wouldn't have gotten the really nice waterproof map as they give you one once you enter the park, but I didn't know that, LOL read more

This was a good stop in driving through the park. Didn't much fun to do for kiddos, but it does have the park stamp if you're collecting them in a National Park Passport. Bathrooms are nice, and there's a gift shop as well. There's a video to see, but we didn't have time to stay. We stopped at the Alpine Visitor's Center in the park as well. Little cold up that high, but a great view, another gift shop and cafe, and a good display of information as well. read more

The visitor center is closed. There is a little trailer with mugs and keychains and not worth your stop . If you don't have a res to get into the park they will tell you to not show up before 5 (bs) when it opens to non res peeps. We got here at ten till 5 and are about a mile or a mile and a half away in gridlock. Get here at 4:30 or earlier and park on the side if you have to... or earlier. read more

Tiny gift shop, unhelpful rangers, AND you can't buy a park pass here. Do not bother stopping.

Highly recommend to always make a stop here. Rangers are very helpful and knowledgeable. One ranger suggested to not take the trail in our plan because it's too icy. He recommended taking another one trail instead. We enjoyed the trail at his recommendation. read more

Small by comparison to other national park visitor centers, it has a large theater that shows a 20 minute or so film on the Rocky Mountain National Park. The film is OK, covers the basis but nothing real special. The visitor center has decent facilities like bathrooms and some exhibits, and a relatively large parking lot though I'm sure it gets full during the summer months. The hiker's shuttle departs from here during peak season and useful if you want to hike the Bear Lake region without having to worry about parking spots during peak season. read more