May’s kick-off to the Estes Park summer season proved to be lucrative to the town’s coffers.
On Thursday, the town’s finance department reported sales tax receipts for the month exceeded those received in May 2025 by 11.27%, bringing the town’s year-to-date receipts 5.51% higher than last year.
The tax that was disbursed by the Colorado Department of Revenue on July 9 reflects sales generated in May, remitted by businesses to the state in June, and then distributed to the town. Specific contributions from the business sector will be released by the town later this month. That report also includes an evaluation of the extent to which delinquent payments may have affected the tax receipts.
May 2026 sales tax collections totaled $1,945,858.21, compared to $1,748,823.92 collected in May 2025.
The increase in sales tax receipts reflects upticks in other indicators the town generally uses to gauge the overall economic health of the local economy, including Visitor Center traffic, shuttle ridership, traffic counts, national park visitation, the number of business licenses, water usage, and sewage flow.
While visitors to the Visitor Center in May increased just 1.51% over 2025, tallies show 4.75% more individuals used the center through the Memorial Day weekend.
The free Peak shuttle service served 3,707 rides in May, a 27.96% increase over May 2025. Year-to-date, 764 more riders have accessed the system.
Traffic counts provided by the Colorado Department of Transportation on vehicles entering and exiting the town on U.S. Hwy. 34 and U.S. Hwy. 36 were up 3.82% over 2025, even though vehicle counters buried under the roadway were not operational in May on U.S. Highway 34 for six days and one day on U.S. Hwy 34. The annual increase included monthly decreases of 1.32% on U.S. 34, and 2.4% on U.S. Hwy 36. By the end of May, 1,548,358 traveled the primary access points to the town.
According to official Rocky Mountain National Park reports, park visitation was up 1.19% in May, and to date, 4.71% higher than in 2025. A total of 892,865 vehicles were reported by the Park and included in the town’s economic dashboard.
Business licenses issued by the town have increased from 65 in 2025 to 102 in 2026. Water use decreased 9.3% year-to-date, while sewage flow increased 5.34% in May, resulting in a 1.5% increase from January through May 2025.