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Started By
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Colorado, One Week with kids itenerary (flying in)
Posted on 1/29/24 at 11:14 am
Posted on 1/29/24 at 11:14 am
Have twin 11 year olds who haven't been west of Texas. If we flew to Denver rented a car for a week what route would you suggest. I was thinking head south to Pikes Peak and Garden of the Gods, then down to Mesa Verde and Durango. Maybe take an alternate route back to Denver.
This would be early Summer, Beginning of JUNE
This would be early Summer, Beginning of JUNE
This post was edited on 1/29/24 at 11:26 am
Posted on 1/29/24 at 11:23 am to nolaks
What month you go has a lot of weight in this discussion.
Posted on 1/29/24 at 11:49 am to nolaks
quote:
Maybe take an alternate route back to Denver.
If those places are set, then definitely take the other way back by going north to 70 and going past vail, frisco, etc.
June is a little early for summer activities in the ski resort towns though, could do a day of skiing at Arapahoe basin if they are able to stay open that late.
Posted on 1/29/24 at 11:54 am to nolaks
I wouldn’t go all the way to Durango on your first trip out here. That’s a lot of driving there and back. From CS head over to Salida/BV area and raft Browns Canyon. Drive over Independence Pass into Aspen and see some of the Roaring Fork Valley, hit the amusement park in Glenwood and stay the night. Drive through Vail on the way to a Breckenridge for a day. From there I’d go through Winter Park and drive through RMNP. The RMNP day will be the longest day in the car but the park will make it seem short.
Posted on 1/29/24 at 11:58 am to nolaks
quote:
Pikes Peak and Garden of the Gods, then down to Mesa Verde and Durango. Maybe take an alternate route back to Denver.
I'll get hate for it, but skip Pike's Peak and Garden of the Gods - they were beautiful, but you'll see the same driving around that area.
When in Durango, take the train to Silverton through the mountains. That's a lifetime memory.
Posted on 1/29/24 at 12:01 pm to Shexter
quote:
but skip Pike's Peak and Garden of the Gods
I can agree with skipping pikes peak, but with 11 year olds they will like walking through garden of the gods and climbing through all the different areas.
Posted on 1/29/24 at 12:02 pm to nolaks
It's a heavy snow year.
I've always loved RMNP and Estes Park, but I think that your trip sounds better.
I'm going to Southcentral Colorado then to RMNP for two weeks this summer.
I've always loved RMNP and Estes Park, but I think that your trip sounds better.
I'm going to Southcentral Colorado then to RMNP for two weeks this summer.
Posted on 1/29/24 at 2:41 pm to nolaks
June is peak rafting season. Include Chaffee County in your plans. Here's the best map of the area.
LINK
Fly into Colorado Springs, hit Royal Gorge on your way up the canyon to Salida. Tons to do in Chaffee County if you set base in Salida, or even Buena Vista. From there, you can head west to Black Canyon of the Gunnison or south to Great Sand Dunes NP.
You could try and time your stay in/near Salida for their annual FIBArk Whitewater Festival, which is an awesome time. You'll want to book your lodging now though.
LINK
Fly into Colorado Springs, hit Royal Gorge on your way up the canyon to Salida. Tons to do in Chaffee County if you set base in Salida, or even Buena Vista. From there, you can head west to Black Canyon of the Gunnison or south to Great Sand Dunes NP.
You could try and time your stay in/near Salida for their annual FIBArk Whitewater Festival, which is an awesome time. You'll want to book your lodging now though.
This post was edited on 1/29/24 at 2:47 pm
Posted on 1/29/24 at 2:51 pm to nolaks
We did a route a few years ago, before the real crackdown before covid.
Denver - Rocky Mountain NP - Black Canyon of the Gunnison - Mesa Verde - Great Sand Dunes NP - Pikes Peak - Denver
We looped through Breckenridge and stayed one night in Telluride just to see what those places were all about. (Middle of summer... Black Canyon was very hot)
Denver - Rocky Mountain NP - Black Canyon of the Gunnison - Mesa Verde - Great Sand Dunes NP - Pikes Peak - Denver
We looped through Breckenridge and stayed one night in Telluride just to see what those places were all about. (Middle of summer... Black Canyon was very hot)
This post was edited on 1/29/24 at 3:02 pm
Posted on 1/29/24 at 3:45 pm to RaginCajunz
quote:
Black Canyon of the Gunnison
That place is so underrated.
Posted on 1/29/24 at 10:47 pm to nolaks
You have to drive to Glenwood Springs. There’s an awesome view at every turn.
Posted on 1/30/24 at 7:06 am to nolaks
I'll be doing an similar trip June 3-10 so I'll be watching this thread
Posted on 1/30/24 at 7:09 am to RealityTiger
Man I seen a bunch of pictures man it's beautiful out there
Posted on 1/30/24 at 7:49 am to MintBerry Crunch
quote:
It's a heavy snow year.
It is? Coulda fooled me.
Posted on 1/30/24 at 8:41 am to RaginCajunz
quote:
We looped through Breckenridge and stayed one night in Telluride just to see what those places were all about. (Middle of summer... Black Canyon was very hot)
I'm looking for exactly this. How long did ya'll spend in Colorado? Any thing you would cross off, or any areas you'd spend more time in?
Posted on 1/30/24 at 9:44 am to nolaks
If you can, fly via Colorado Springs rather than Denver. It's a more convenient and peaceful airport. Cheyenne Mountain Zoo just west of the city is a
great smaller zoo. If you do loop through Denver the Natl History Museum is kid friendly, and there is a big zoo.
You might want to hold off on the 10,000 ft mountain tops for a couple of days while you get used to the higher altitudes. In June the mountains will still be cold.
great smaller zoo. If you do loop through Denver the Natl History Museum is kid friendly, and there is a big zoo.
You might want to hold off on the 10,000 ft mountain tops for a couple of days while you get used to the higher altitudes. In June the mountains will still be cold.
Posted on 1/30/24 at 10:56 am to nolaks
My kids are 3 & 5 but we stayed in Colorado Springs last summer and they enjoyed it. We did Pikes Peak railway, the Cheyenne Zoo, Garden of the gods, the royal gorge and several hikes in the area. I would think it would be even more enjoyable for your older kids.
Posted on 1/31/24 at 11:00 am to nolaks
two 11 year olds would absolutely love Great Sand Dunes National Park in early June. Make sure to stop at the visitor center to get your boards to surf down the dunes. The river will be running through the Dunes then as well, and it's just an incredible place to be at that time. YOu can easily spend all day there.
Mesa Verde is cool to see, but not necessary. YOu need to make reservations ahead of time if you actually want to get close to it.
Raft in Buena Vista on the Ar-Kansas river. It's going to be a lot funner rafting than anywhere else.
Drive from Durango to Ouray. It is breathtakingly beautiful. There's several waterfalls in Ouray you can go visit (Box Canon is the main one), and there's a city pool with hot spring water you can visit that the kids would love as well. The Durango train ride is ok, but the kids are going to get bored on it, especially on the way back, and you'll see beautiful scenery driving anyway. We stopped at a lake along the way to fish, right before Silverton, and stopped several other times on our way to Ouray for pictures and what not. It's just an unbelieveable drive that first time you do it.
If you have time stop in one of the tourist ski towns and do the mountain coasters.
If you can take the pass to Aspen that's also an awesome drive, and seeing Maroon Bells is an easy hike.
So you could land in Denver, do Breckenridge first, drive down to Buena Vista next, then Great Sand Dunes, go west to Durango/Mesa Verde, up to Ouray, then up to Aspen.
Not sure if you can even do that in a week though, and it would be a lot of driving.
Mesa Verde is cool to see, but not necessary. YOu need to make reservations ahead of time if you actually want to get close to it.
Raft in Buena Vista on the Ar-Kansas river. It's going to be a lot funner rafting than anywhere else.
Drive from Durango to Ouray. It is breathtakingly beautiful. There's several waterfalls in Ouray you can go visit (Box Canon is the main one), and there's a city pool with hot spring water you can visit that the kids would love as well. The Durango train ride is ok, but the kids are going to get bored on it, especially on the way back, and you'll see beautiful scenery driving anyway. We stopped at a lake along the way to fish, right before Silverton, and stopped several other times on our way to Ouray for pictures and what not. It's just an unbelieveable drive that first time you do it.
If you have time stop in one of the tourist ski towns and do the mountain coasters.
If you can take the pass to Aspen that's also an awesome drive, and seeing Maroon Bells is an easy hike.
So you could land in Denver, do Breckenridge first, drive down to Buena Vista next, then Great Sand Dunes, go west to Durango/Mesa Verde, up to Ouray, then up to Aspen.
Not sure if you can even do that in a week though, and it would be a lot of driving.
Posted on 1/31/24 at 11:21 am to nolaks
quote:
We looped through Breckenridge and stayed one night in Telluride just to see what those places were all about. (Middle of summer... Black Canyon was very hot)
I'm looking for exactly this. How long did ya'll spend in Colorado? Any thing you would cross off, or any areas you'd spend more time in?
We flew into Denver on a Friday around noon. We flew out of Denver the next Saturday. So 7-8 days depending on how you slice it.
I realized Telluride was cool to see, but pricey. We pretty much road the gondolas walked around and ate dinner/breakfast. It's an expensive area for sure, and was not that impressive compared to the other scenery.
Breckenridge we stopped for a few hours. Lunch and a walk-about. Much more touristy. I'd never been to any of the Colorado ski towns, so I wanted to see them. They were the weak spot on our trip, but Telluride made sense due to location anyway.
It depends on what you like to do. I really enjoyed seeing Mesa Verde. They had shut down the tours that go into the cave dewellings due to Covid, but we were able to get to all of the overlooks and take some cool hikes. Surreal being out there at night (stayed in the park at the hotel)
Sand Dunes were cool. (well they were HOT really) Rented a board for a day to sled. Awesome experience.
Not much I'd do differently other than less ski resort viewing. I like hiking and nature. My kids were too little to do any sort of rafting stuff at that stage.
Posted on 1/31/24 at 11:47 am to RaginCajunz
If you want to do Pikes Peak, Garden of the Gods, Royal Gorge rafting or Buena Vista rafting, the Broadmoor Hotel then the best bet would be to stay around Colorado Springs.
From Denver the other really good option is to go to RMNP and kayak or pontoon boat Lake Estes, visit Ski resorts and Vail has an awesome summer adventure park for kids that age, and you could drive up to Mount Evans with plenty of little stops on the way.
From Denver the other really good option is to go to RMNP and kayak or pontoon boat Lake Estes, visit Ski resorts and Vail has an awesome summer adventure park for kids that age, and you could drive up to Mount Evans with plenty of little stops on the way.
This post was edited on 1/31/24 at 11:48 am
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