Bus Tour = Easy

Originating high in Rocky Mountain National Park’s Forest Canyon, the Big Thompson flows almost 75 miles before merging with the South Platte to provide not just news stories of high-water flooding, but also a resource for drinking, recreation and agriculture. We’ll walk beside the river as it flows gently along the boardwalk in Estes Park, making its jaunt through Lake Estes before cascading down Big Thompson Canyon. Join us to learn how this flow expands with water diverted under the Continental Divide as part of the Colorado–Big Thompson Project, and see all four branches of the river on its journey to the Gulf of Mexico. You’ll hear the stories of a “special friendship” between Mountain Jim and Isabella Bird that developed on the banks of the Little Thompson, and of the historic floods of 1976 and 2013 when prolonged rainfalls caused the river to swell beyond its capacity, creating a 20-foot wall of water that rushed at nearly 60 miles an hour. Includes bus transportation, all admissions and guides and a break for lunch on your own dime.