Colorado, One Week with kids itenerary (flying in)

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.

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.

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.

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)

I'll be doing an similar trip June 3-10 so I'll be watching this thread

quote:

---

It's a heavy snow year.

---

It is? Coulda fooled me.

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.

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.

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.