Estes Park dining
 

Our family will be staying at the YMCA of the Rockies this coming weekend. Have spent considerable time in Estes Park but not stayed at the YMCA before and never had a reason for dining in Estes. Since I'm not keen on cafeteria dining and don't want to cook, I am looking for good options in town. Any suggestions ? There will be six adults and three kids ages 8&9.

You don't really "dine" in Estes (well, there are a couple-few pricey places), but there are some options for decent meals.
On your side of the tracks, we've never had a bad meal at "The Other Side"; nice views, very pedestrian, family friendly (http://www.theothersideofestes.com/index.html). There are steakhouses, Italian, Mexican, brewpubs, even a McDonalds if the kids so desire. http://www.visitestespark.com/restaurants/
The restaurant in the Stanley hotel (Cascades)is good, but faces a fake waterfall instead of the awesome mountains (http://www.stanleyhotel.com/dining/cascades-restaurant: why did they close the main dining room with the big windows? I never found out. But they charge $8 for morning oatmeal, so forewarned...) But the hotel is worth a visit.
Note that although Estes is trumpeting that they are open and ready for tourists, some of the places on the list in town are in areas that were hit pretty hard by the floods, so you'll want to check and make sure they are open.

p.s. As I recall, the buffet breakfast is a pretty good deal at the YMCA ($7 adults/$5 kids?), but not lunch or dinner.

Thanks. I am certainly aware that fine dining does not exist in Estes Park simply looking for a good/decent place to eat. Thanks for info. on breakfast.

It could be an interesting weekend for you. The forecast is for up to 3' of snow by Tuesday for the Estes Park area. And more then higher you go. Bring your boots.

Snowshoes rather than hiking boots. Heard earlier ( 4:30) that Estes Park had 4" I'm sure they'll get more, but the weeks forecast is a slow warming spell. Kids in south Boulder said they didn't get any snow. Here in Hill Top we probably got a couple of inches.

Sat and Sunday next week supposed to be in the 70s; could be glorious. Could be horrible. You never know. But it will be scenic!

And if you're snowed in, there's swimming and a roller skate rink for the kids.

Another frequent contributor (Nelson?) recently recommended Nepal's Cafe. I have not tried it yet but intend to on my next visit to Estes Park/RMNP.

Enjoy your trip. I'm ready to get up there.