1. Little Thompson Observatory

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Berthoud, CO

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Little Thompson Observatory

5.0 (2 reviews)

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Estes Park Memorial Observatory - Observatory

Estes Park Memorial Observatory

4.4(7 reviews)
22.2 mi

For all my apparently inadequate museum pandering and planetarium viewings, I haven't learned so…read moremuch about astronomy as I did in two hours with Mike at the Estes Park Memorial Observatory. This former Lockheed Martin mechanical engineer (who worked on the heat shield of a Mars rover) was as knowledgeable as he was delightful. He deftly and pleasantly answered a question from a child (from left field) about the aurora borealis, and patiently guided children to the right answers. This dear elder is the grandpa we all wish we had. His children passed away in a motor accident and the observatory was built in their memory. The viewing is booked over the phone, but check their website for openings. Mike attentively checked the weather and texted updates up until an hour before the viewing. The evening starts off with awe-inspiring videos. Mike then leads us through an educational demonstration of the Earth's horizon/sun/astronomy relationships on a model. This is translated to the wall, where the demonstration is laid out in 2D and we follow the sun's trajectory around the Earth's equator, so to speak. The presentation is interactive and charming, and Mike is truly a gem, full of wisdom and wise-cracks. The last part of the night brings us to the dome where he explains the technology and directs the telescope to various sights. Depending on the time of the year, a litany of constellations are visible (not blocked by the sun or a full moon). In May/June, our party viewed Mars, the horse and rider, a nebula, and an exploding star through the telescope, and a few constellations with the naked eye. The viewing is free, personable, and a wholesome and wonderful way to spend your evenings. The observatory is donation funded, at https://www.angelsabove.org/donate/. The highlight of our trip to Estes Park- I highly recommend it!

This was such a cool stop during our visit to Estes Park. We failed to plan far enough ahead to get…read moreon the list but managed to attend the monthly open house. It was really neat!

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Estes Park Memorial Observatory - Star Maps

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Estes Park Memorial Observatory - Estes Park Memorial Observatory by Lizzy Rogers

Estes Park Memorial Observatory by Lizzy Rogers

Estes Park Memorial Observatory - Estes Park Memorial Observatory

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Estes Park Memorial Observatory

Boulder Fish Observatory

Boulder Fish Observatory

2.0(1 review)
21.9 mi

OK, sooooo our experience was higher than 2 stars BUT my reason for the 2 stars was because we are…read morenew to the area and have 4 kids so I enjoy searching for free or cheap things to entertain ourselves during the summer. I can across Boulder Fish Observatory which sounded like fun. Everyone gave it 1 star saying that the windows were filthy and you couldn't see the fish because of it etc. And that it was hard to find because it was behind a hotel. The description I kept reading about this place was suppose to be where you can go and watch these fish and feed them. Since the reviews were from a few years ago, we decided to go check it out because 1. they could have fixed it up since then and 2. we were in the area and had nothing else better to do. The reviewers were very correct. You could not see out the little windows at all. There is a bridge that you can walk on over the creek as well so we went up there and there was absolutely no fish to see either. BUT now comes for the higher stars... Since we were there I told the kids they could take off their shoes and socks and wade around in the water. They had a blast. The water was very shallow and clear so you could see all the way to the bottom. The water was rushing but they had a blast trying to walk through it. We ended up staying there for well over an hour. It was a very beautiful little area. Oh and for the directions.. It is not behind the hotel, it is actually on the side of it.

Little Thompson Observatory - observatories - Updated October 2026

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