Denver in July

Do you plan on spending the days in Denver? Because to find a cabin in (relatively) rural colorado outside of Denver will be a hike every day into Denver.

Estes park is a good suggestion but still 1-1.5 hours to get into actual Denver.

Check out the Nederland area. Closer to Denver than overcrowded Estes, but tucked away up against the Front Range Continental Divide peaks. The Indian Peaks Wilderness (IPW) is right there and has a ton of sweet hikes. Nederland is a cool little mountain town. Plus, Black Hawk and Central City (casino towns) are right there nearby.

It's on the Peak to Peak Highway, which runs from Black Hawk up to Estes. There's a boat load of cool places all along that highway, plenty of options to get a cabin as well.



If you're going to be up there on July 4th, you might as well hike the Fourth of July Trail in the IPW too.

Diamond Lake Trail is a sweet relatively easy and short hike too. That lake is awesome and a great place to pack a lunch to eat by and relax for a while at treeline before heading back. Or you can keep hiking up a little further.

If you end up doing some hiking in the IPW, you definitely want to purchase the National Geographic Trails Illustrated map for the area. Trails Illustrated maps are worth twice their weight in gold.