Colorado in the Summer

You can do all the above there. And if you can't, just drive an hour and you will be able to.

I would get on alltrails.com and do a little research. They'll have them ranked, give you distance, elevation gain/loss, and most of them will tell you whether or not to expect a crowd

I have nothing to add except for the fact that I am insanely jealous of your trip



Seriously though, the comments made are all you need. Estes is a great town to hang out for a few days in. Check out some craft breweries in the area too.

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Anybody have any experience with that area and things to do.

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yes. i have family in breckenridge and go there every summer. the whole area is an outdoor enthusiast's playground. not much prior planning is required. rafting is easily available w/o a reservation, hiking trails all over, tons of free and/or cheap public transportation to/from trail heads. there is a REALLY cool hike from frisco to breck that is a short drive from estes. you can also take a side trail from it and hit one of the "fourteeners" but !!!WATCH THE WEATHER!!! a lightning storm at 14,000' and above the tree line is NOT something to be experienced first hand (i'm damn lucky that i'm here typing this)

If you want to get away from the crowds, just ask any of the student park employees where they go on their days off. For instance, there is a trail leading up to a scenic view of Old Faithful that hardly anyone knows about, & that view is awe inspiring from up there. There is a river that is fed from the hot water runoffs from geysers in the surrounding area that you can actually swim or tube in. Very few tourists know of it. But to get the most of the park in the summer, try & avoid the peak tourists mths of late June or all of July. Traffic can become a parking lot in peak mths.

Colorado is awesome 365. Enjoy.

Colorado in the summer >>>>>>>> the winter



That goes for any of those western states. You can't top a summer in a place like Alaska, Colorado, Montana, etc.



If you're into the outdoors you're basically unlimited in what you can do there. I rafted the Arkansas river in Colorado, it was awesome. You go into Buena Vista and there's AVA rafting. For hiking, just research on trails.com there will be a ridiculous amount. For kayaking; basically the same.

Oskar Blues in Lyons is a must stop.

Long's Peak is always a lot of fun. Denver, Boulder, and Fort Collins are nice cities and not too far away.

RMNP is closer to the poudre than the other big rafting rivers (clear creek, arkansas, colorado). My experience is the rafting companies are all basically the same for the 1/2 day and day trips. they usually do a good job.

I would also say that I like summer better than winter. And I really don't care for estes park that much, the food is just flat out horrible there. But it is really gorgeous and lots of great hiking.