re: Colorado in Summer - Need Suggestions (Updated)

Sky Pond isn't an easy hike. But there are lots of different ones.

St. Mary's Glacier is fun. It's a short and easy hike. Bring trash bags and you can climb up the glacier and slide down it like sledding. There should still be snow. Both times I've been there was snow.

Definitely white water rafting. So fun. There are plenty places you could do that. Ouray might be a good place to do a jeep tour. Corkscrew Pass sounds fun.

Thank y'all so much! Definitely going to take a day and attempt this! Looks like there are a number of lakes and great vantage points on the way up so it won't be a wasted trip if we have to turn around.

Skip the fly fishing if you have never done it. Will spend most of the time just learning how. Take a lake fishing trip to catch lake trout. Kids and wife did it this summer when we went to winter park and had a good time.

Definitely check the forecast before you go. I bet Lily and Bear will be clear, but Quandary might still have snow around that time. And afternoon thunderstorms can happen.

But the views and hikes are so worth it.

We did a Very similar Trip in June of 2018. As suggested I would add rafting in Buena vista and on your drive from there to Ouray stop off in crested butte. Definitely set aside a day to rent side by sizes in Ouray. Besides telluride that was one of my families favorite parts of trip.

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It sounds like Estes Park and the RMNP will be a lot of fun. Are there any specific hikes/activities/restaurants that we must see/do/eat at while we are there?

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We just had our wedding in Estes a month ago.

Get a cinnamon roll from Cinnamon’s Bakery. Sells out every morning so plan accordingly.

Seasoned, Clairs, Dunraven, and Bird and Jim are good lunch/dinner spots.

Of course cocktails at the whiskey bar in the Stanley should happen. Wheel bar and The Barrel are good stops too.

Disagree on the 14er, maybe a more difficult class 3/4 peak would surely be too difficult for the vast majority of people from out of state, but Quandary sees a ton of people who are not in amazing shape from sea level who complete relatively easily. We completed with my brother after a couple days of sleeping in Breck, and met several others in similar situations. I’d say most people in decent shape with a couple of days of sleeping at elevation can do Quandary.

That said if you’re looking for an easy Sunday waltz, a 14er isn’t great. But that’s applicable to even those who live at elevation.

My wife will get very excited when I tell her about Cinnamon's Bakery.
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This is what she has to look forward to. You tell them how much frosting(?) you want on your bun. We went with the least amount.

We went to RMNP for the first time last year. We drove in from the west and stayed one night in Grand Lake and then drove Trail Ridge Road to EP.
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Stopped at the Alpine visitor Center to walk to the top.
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The top is 12,000 feet; my wife shopped.

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This is where we stayed in GL. GL is much smaller than EP and I think all the hotels are small ones. I think it had just changed ownership and they were still remodeling the common area. The room was comfortable, bathroom was a little small but I would stay there again. The main part of GL is only about 3 or 4 blocks by 6 or 8. We walked around it twice the evening we were there.

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A lot of people hike to these 4 lakes from Bear Lake. Bear Lake is on the east side near EP.
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This is Nymph Lake.

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A list of trails that was posted at Bear Lake showing distance and elevation change.

Dream Lake is even more beautiful. It's not a hard hike, but it is uphill all one way and down the other. You'll probably stop a ton of times to take pics.

Make sure to make your park reservations as soon as the site is open to make them. Make sure you know all the pandemic info. We did this hike in Oct a few years ago. We got to the parking lot around 7:30 am. Get there as early as possible. Later in the day parking will not be available and who knows with the pandemic.

Thanks Lady, noted on checking the parking and COVID situation beforehand.

Thanks Geaux, I looked at there reviews and website and it looks like they are very well respected. The tours also could be something we look into. I'm a history nerd and I'd love to hear the history of the mining camps/area as we're going.