Restaurants in Rocky Mountain National Park

There are no dining facilities inside the park.

Estes Park Area (East Side of the National Park)

I like Bob & Tony's Pizza, 124 W. Elkhorn Ave. (tel. 970/586-2044), a busy pizza joint with redbrick walls covered with chalk signatures.

Grand Lake Area (West Side of the National Park)

Grand Lake Lodge also has an excellent restaurant with the best view on this side of the park. Open for three meals a day in peak season, the menu offers sandwiches and entrees like buffalo burgers, rainbow trout, and honey pepper salmon ($10-$24). In town, the Backstreet Steakhouse serves dinner nightly in summer and around Christmas and Thursday through Sunday in other seasons. The house specialty, Jack Daniel's pork chops (breaded, baked, and served with a creamy Jack Daniel's mushroom sauce), has been featured in Bon Appétit magazine. Also on the menu (main courses are $9-$31) are steaks, burgers, pasta, chicken, and fish dishes, plus slow-roasted prime rib and children's items.

Picnic & Camping Supplies

The Country Supermarket, 900 Moraine Ave., Estes Park (tel. 970/586-2702), is less than a mile from the Beaver Meadows entrance to the park in a small shopping center. Outside the Fall River Entrance Station, adjacent to the Fall River Visitor Center, Rocky Mountain Gateway, 3450 Fall River Rd. (tel. 970/577-0043; www.rockymountaingateway.net), has a large gift shop and a convenience store with groceries, camping supplies, and clothing. Below the Stanley Hotel, Safeway, 451 E. Wonderview (tel. 970/586-4447), has the largest selection and best prices.

Those looking for top-quality camping and outdoor sports equipment should stop at Outdoor World, downtown at 156 E. Elkhorn Ave. (tel. 800/679-3600 or 970/586-2114; www.rmconnection.com), or Estes Park Mountain Shop, 2050 Big Thompson Ave. (tel. 866/303-6548 or 970/586-6548; www.estesparkmountainshop.com), which also has a rental department.

In Grand Lake, on the park's west side, the Mountain Food Market, 400 Grand Ave. (tel. 970/627-3470), and the Circle D, 701 Grand Ave. (tel. 970/627-3210), have good selections of groceries and picnic supplies.