Meet Dave Lively

The Most Engaging Guided Tours into Rocky Mountain National Park

Lively Tours and Talks LLC (known as Lively Tours and Talks) is owned and operated by Dave Lively and specializes in providing the most engaging guided tours into Rocky Mountain National Park.

Established in 2016, Lively Tours and Talks has been providing History Programs,  “Sisters of Courage”, “Rocky’s West Side Stories”, “Lost Lodges of Rocky”, and “Who Was the Sculptor in Buckskin?”, at locations such as libraries, senior/adult centers, museums, and learning institutes around the state of Colorado and will continue into the future. In 2018 more than 40 History Programs were presented to over 950 audience members.

In the fall of 2016 Step-On Tour Guide was begun to provide tour buses/motor coaches with a local guide through Rocky Mountain National Park and the surrounding areas. In 2018 a number of organizations, including History Colorado, several senior/adult centers, receptive operators and DMOs hired Lively Tours and Talks to provide Dave Lively as their tour guide through and around Rocky Mountain National Park, including a four-day tour for History Colorado.

In 2018 Lively Tours and Talks announced an expansion to begin offering Guided Tours in Rocky Mountain National Park for very small groups. The minimum size is one person and the maximum size group will be four guests. Three distinct, four-hour, guided tours are offered, “Sisters of Courage”, “Rocky’s West Side Stories”, and “Lost Lodges of Rocky” with each tour offering walking to historic sites and additional travel by pickup truck to view areas offering many opportunities for stunning photos and possible wildlife viewing.

Your unique experience in Rocky Mountain National Park begins with Dave Lively as your Chief Experience Officer. He will share with you sights and wildlife, and engage you with stories of the pioneer days like no one else can.

Dave Lively is a dynamic speaker who specializes in shining light on hidden narratives.

He creates programs and conducts tours highlighting local history for groups large and small. His knowledge and passion for the West side of Rocky Mountain National Park and the stories he shares of remarkable characters from the past bring deeper understanding and appreciation for where we are today.

He lives less than ½ mile from where his family homesteaded what is now the entrance to Rocky Mountain National Park.

Dave is a well-known local historian, Certified Interpretive Guide, and Certified Tour Guide with unsurpassed knowledge and passion for the region and is committed to the highest standards of professionalism and ethics. He appears in “The Living Dream: 100 Years of Rocky Mountain National Park” a documentary on PBS stations nationwide.

He is Past President of the Grand Lake Area Historic Society and Grand County Historical Association and Past Vice Chair/West Slope Representative of Colorado Preservation Inc.

Dave has volunteered at Rocky Mountain National Park for 12 years conducting Ranger-Led history walking tours.

Dave can be found on Facebook at Dave Lively Storyteller of History