About Grand Lake, Colorado
The Town of Grand Lake is a Statutory Town located in Grand County, Colorado, United States. The population was 447 at the 2000 census.

Established in 1881, Grand Lake sits at an elevation of 8369 feet (2551 m). It derives its name from the lake on whose shores it is situated: Grand Lake, the most extensive natural body of water in Colorado. The Town of Grand Lake was originally an outfitting and supply point for the mining settlements of Lulu City, Teller City, and Gaskill, but today is a tourist destination adjacent to the western entrance to Rocky Mountain National Park which also surrounds the lake and the town on three sides. Grand Lake was the Grand County seat of government from 1882-1888. It was incorporated on June 23, 1944.

Grand Lake is located at 40°15′2″N 105°49′28″W (40.250493, -105.824323).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 0.9 square miles (2.3 km2), all of it land. (the town does not encircle the lake).

The town of Grand Lake serves as the western portal to Rocky Mountain National Park.

Grand Lake is Colorado’s largest and deepest natural lake, and is part of the headwaters of the Colorado River. The Lake became a component in the Colorado-Big Thompson Project (C-BT) in 1937, when it was recruited as a conduit for C-BT project water. The C-BT project diverts water from the Colorado River Basin east via the Alva B. Adams Tunnel under the Continental Divide and Rocky Mountain National Park to the Platte River and ultimately the Mississippi River basin.

Grand Lake Yacht Club serves the people of Grand Lake as a private club hosting sailing races on the Lake, and there are also publicly and privately operated marinas, a public boat ramp, and public boat docks on the lake.

Grand Lake is home to the Rocky Mountain Repertory Theatre. This summer stock theatre company produces three Broadway musicals from June through August and one musical in September. In the Spring of 2010, a new 12,000-square-foot (1,100 m2) theatre complex was built for RMRT in Grand Lake.

About Estes Park and Rocky Mountain National Park
Estes Park is a town in Larimer County, Colorado, United States. A popular summer resort and the location of the headquarters for Rocky Mountain National Park, Estes Park lies along the Big Thompson River. Estes Park had a population of 5,858 at the 2010 census. Estes Park sits at an elevation of 7,522 feet (2,293 m) on the front range of the Rocky Mountains at the eastern entrance of the Rocky Mountain National Park. Its location is 40°22?22?N 105°31?09?W. Its north, south and east extremities border the Roosevelt National Forest. Lumpy Ridge lies immediately north of Estes Park.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 5.9 square miles (15 km2), of which 5.8 square miles (15 km2) is land and 0.1 square miles (0.26 km2) (0.85%) is water.

Three million tourists visit Rocky Mountain National Park each year; most use Estes Park as their base.

Rocky Mountain National Park is a national park located in the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains, in the north-central region of the U.S. state of Colorado. It features majestic mountain views, mountain lakes, a variety of wildlife, varied climates and environments—from wooded forests to mountain tundra—and easy access to back-country trails and campsites. The park is located northwest of Boulder, Colorado, and includes the Continental Divide and the headwaters of the Colorado River.

The park has five visitor centers. The park headquarters, Beaver Meadows Visitor Center, is a National Historic Landmark, designed by the Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture at Taliesin West.

The park may be accessed by three roads: U.S. Highway 34, 36, and State Highway 7. Highway 7 enters the park for less than a mile, where it provides access to the Lily Lake Visitor Center which is closed indefinitely. Farther south, spurs from route 7 lead to campgrounds and trail heads around Longs Peak and Wild Basin. Highway 36 enters the park on the east side, where it terminates after a few miles at Highway 34. Highway 34, known as Trail Ridge Road through the park, runs from the town of Estes Park on the east to Grand Lake on the southwest. The road reaches an elevation of 12,183 feet (3,713 m), and is closed by snow in winter.

The California Zephyr serves Granby (near the west entrance of the park) by rail from Denver, crossing the Continental Divide through the Moffat Tunnel well south of the park. The park’s website suggests Granby as an appropriate rail terminus for visitors, although it lies about sixteen miles from the park without public transportation connections.

The park is surrounded by Roosevelt National Forest on the north and east, Routt National Forest on the northwest, and Arapaho National Forest on the southwest.

This webcam is owned and maintained by the National Park Service.