The Great Estes Park Duck Race

DO NOT CLICK VOLUNTEER ABOVE!  We absolutely want volunteers and participants… Go to our Great Estes Park Rotary Duck Race website to learn all about it and how to adopt a duck until 12:55 pm on May 2nd.  Follow the LINK to WWW.EPDUCKRACE.ORG  

The Great Estes Park Rotary Duck Race is held annually on the first Saturday in May. The Annual Duck Race continues a tradition started in 1989, which has returned more than $3 million (and counting) to local charities and groups! 

In the 2026 Duck Race, each charity receives $23 of the money collected from each $25 adoption. This is a truly impressive return ratio that reflects the Rotary Club’s efforts to minimize the Duck Race costs and return the maximum amount of money to the charities.

Each year, dozens of local Estes Valley nonprofits and community groups are selected to be Participating Organizations in the Duck Race. The Rotary Club of Estes Park organizes the Duck Race and handles all the administrative, operational, and financial aspects of the event. During the Duck Race season, people may “adopt” little yellow ducks for the Duck Race and designate the Participating Organization of their choice to receive the proceeds of their adoptions. The adopted ducks will be released to float down the Fall River in Estes Park on Race Day. Volunteers at the Finish Line collect the ducks and Prizes are awarded to the adopters of the ducks that cross the finish line first. After the race, the collected funds are distributed to Participating Organizations and Charities on the basis of the number of adoptions credited to each benefitting group.

Duck Adoptions are open NOW until 12:55 pm May 2nd. Why the Duck Race? Rut Miller of EVICS says: “Every duck adopted is more than a donation – it’s childcare, safety, and support for local families.”