Recommendations for vacation spots in Colorado

[Fijimn]

Looks like we are going go road tripping this year. Breck immediately comes to mind and we have spent some time there and loved it. But trying to expand our options. Looking for decent hiking and a little not-to-serious fishing.

Also, looking at Santa Fe, NM. Never been?

 

[DooBi]

Pot shop

 

[Fijimn]

Pot shop

those places are intimidating, especially for a kid that couldn’t afford more than shake

 

[Hawkeye_311]

Looks like we are going go road tripping this year. Breck immediately comes to mind and we have spent some time there and loved it. But trying to expand our options. Looking for decent hiking and a little not-to-serious fishing.

Also, looking at Santa Fe, NM. Never been?

Coworker goes to Beaver Creek each year and love it. They are a little older however with kids out of college.

 

[FAUlty Gator]

I hear the mountains are nice.

 

[LuteHawk]

Rocky Mountain National Park and
the Estes Park, Colorado entrance.
Great hiking and a majestic scenic
view as you go on your trails.

 

[goldmom]

When we lived in Dallas we went to CO in the summers almost every year. I think half of Texas escapes there. We liked the area around Keystone/Breckenridge/Lake Dillon. Keystone has a nice little golf course. Lots of nice condos for weekly rentals.
We also went to Aspen, which is fun in the summer and livelier than you might think. Least favorite area was Vail. My husband called it "instant Bavaria".

One year we did Colorado Springs/Pikes Peak. That was nice, but we thought it was sort of a one-and-done once you did the Peak. Also Boulder. The amount of aging hippies in old VW vans (this was in the late 90's) was hilarious. CU campus is really beautiful, though.

You'll enjoy it - leaving the Texas heat, for sure.

 

[goldmom]

Rocky Mountain National Park and
the Estes Park, Colorado entrance.
Great hiking and a majestic scenic
view as you go on your trails.

Rocky Mountain National Park and
the Estes Park, Colorado entrance.
Great hiking and a majestic scenic
view as you go on your trails.

Estes Park and RMNP is spectacular. You have to visit the Stanley Hotel while in EP.

 

[Fijimn]

When we lived in Dallas we went to CO in the summers almost every year. I think half of Texas escapes there. We liked the area around Keystone/Breckenridge/Lake Dillon. Keystone has a nice little golf course. Lots of nice condos for weekly rentals.
We also went to Aspen, which is fun in the summer and livelier than you might think. Least favorite area was Vail. My husband called it "instant Bavaria".

One year we did Colorado Springs/Pikes Peak. That was nice, but we thought it was sort of a one-and-done once you did the Peak. Also Boulder. The amount of aging hippies in old VW vans (this was in the late 90's) was hilarious. CU campus is really beautiful, though.

You'll enjoy it - leaving the Texas heat, for sure.

Thanks. Didn’t think of Aspen. Ya, getting out of Texas. Getting a place near the Frio River in New Braunfels isn’t off the table yet

 

[THE_DEVIL]

CSB that has nothing to do with your question, but anywho
Went to Aspen as an 18 yo for the summer to play in the Sr. Babe Ruth World Series and if I remember correctly I don’ think I saw one female wearing a bra the entire time. Good times.

 

[Sooner-Be-Dead]

So many options. Buena Vista is a good family town with fishing and rafting. Day trip over Cottonwood Pass to Crested Butte.

Telluride is my favorite mountain town but it’s a long drive even from Denver. Ouray and Durango are daytrips from there.

If you’re coming from the east, you could cruise through Estes and RMNP on the way to somewhere else. It’s great for a day.

 

[chosen.one]

Pagosa Springs is a nice area. As a bonus you wouldn't be too far from NM.

 

[claykenny]

Aspen/Snowmass and Estes Park are my favorites. If you go to Aspen, spend a day in Glenwood Springs. Hanging Lake hike is a good one, but I think you may need reservations to do it now.

Esit to say that I don’t enjoy Estes Park or Glenwood Springs proper as they are tourist trap hellholes in the summer, but they are good jumping off points to start from.

 

[h-hawk]

Especially if you are going south anyway, Great Sand Dunes National Park is worth a stop.

 

[goldmom]

Aspen/Snowmass and Estes Park are my favorites. If you go to Aspen, spend a day in Glenwood Springs. Hanging Lake hike is a good one, but I think you may need reservations to do it now.

And while in Glenwood, take the short hike up to Doc Holliday's grave. He was a patient at the sanitarium that's still there.

 

[BubsFinn]

Summer in Vail is fantastic. You aren't too far from fly fishing, rafting, golf, mountain biking, hike and bike trails, terrific (although very expensive) restaurants, and a weekly farmer's market. Like many mountain towns, you'll see the occasional afternoon shower, but it won't last too long.
You can ride the gondola up the mountain and bike back down, or stay and go horseback riding, zip lining, and other activities.

 

[luvmyhawks]

When we lived in Dallas we went to CO in the summers almost every year. I think half of Texas escapes there. We liked the area around Keystone/Breckenridge/Lake Dillon. Keystone has a nice little golf course. Lots of nice condos for weekly rentals.
We also went to Aspen, which is fun in the summer and livelier than you might think. Least favorite area was Vail. My husband called it "instant Bavaria".

One year we did Colorado Springs/Pikes Peak. That was nice, but we thought it was sort of a one-and-done once you did the Peak. Also Boulder. The amount of aging hippies in old VW vans (this was in the late 90's) was hilarious. CU campus is really beautiful, though.

You'll enjoy it - leaving the Texas heat, for sure.

You Texans are everywhere. Go home already!!

vail is so incredibly overrated. I don’t get it. Great back bowls for skiing, but I can find that anywhere in Colorado. Some of it, free. I also think aspen is overrated, but much better than vail.

My personal favorite resort towns us telluride and crested butte. Maybe not the best for fishing, but incredible hiking and biking. Scenery in both is amazing.

Breck area is nice. Lake Dillon is excellent. Estes park is also a great spot.

As someone else said, Buena vista for rafting down browns canyon. But you can find good rafting elsewhere. My favorite rafting is in the poudre canyon. However, not sure if you have kids or if you are a thrill seeker, but rafting is somewhat ho hum by mid July. Prime time for rafting is June when the river is running hot.

 

[luvmyhawks]

Aspen/Snowmass and Estes Park are my favorites. If you go to Aspen, spend a day in Glenwood Springs. Hanging Lake hike is a good one, but I think you may need reservations to do it now.

You are correct that it is reservation only. You have to reserve pretty far out. It’s closed right now, but I believe reopening in a couple weeks.

 

[im4hawks50595]

I lived in Colorado Springs for three years while stationed at Ft. carson. Besides Pikes Peak their is Garden of the Gods and if your into to Hiking do the trek up to Pikes peak on foot as its tough but incredible scenery.

 

[luvmyhawks]

I second Buena Vista's rafting, scenery and mostly because we stumbled into this awesome rental on the Arkansas River. The Collegiate Peaks are great for hiking and The Roadhouse Inn at Twin Lakes is a cool spot for a beer, coffee and rolls. Zip lines and canoe retals available close by. Mt Elbert is highest point in Colorado. Again we loved this VRBO house on the river...
https://www.vrbo.com/360628?noDates=true

that place looks awesome!! You liked?

 

[darylhawk]

i lived in the Breck and Vail areas for almost 10 years after college and both are great spots that are close to Denver. That said SW Colorado is my favorite. Telluride, Ouray, Durango etc would be my choice as the San Juans are amazing! Same stuff to do as anywhere else (fly fishing, hiking/biking, rafting etc) just in a more beautiful setting. You could also do Santa Fe and Taos on the way to or from Telluride fairly easily. A little more driving but definitely worth it

 

[jamesvanderwulf]

that place looks awesome!! You liked?

Very much so. Two bedrooms and at the time rented for like 215/ night . I think some of the chain motels in BV were 175/night at the time, so yeah a bargain in my mind. It's a 10 minute drive north or NW of BV. Eddyline Brewing says they are reopening too. The 50' deck above the the river with a hot tub was awesome. If you happen to catch a full moon night it's indescribable...
https://eddylinebrewing.com/beers/

 

[blhawk]

Stay home

 

[blhawk]

When we lived in Dallas we went to CO in the summers almost every year. I think half of Texas escapes there. We liked the area around Keystone/Breckenridge/Lake Dillon. Keystone has a nice little golf course. Lots of nice condos for weekly rentals.
We also went to Aspen, which is fun in the summer and livelier than you might think. Least favorite area was Vail. My husband called it "instant Bavaria".

One year we did Colorado Springs/Pikes Peak. That was nice, but we thought it was sort of a one-and-done once you did the Peak. Also Boulder. The amount of aging hippies in old VW vans (this was in the late 90's) was hilarious. CU campus is really beautiful, though.

You'll enjoy it - leaving the Texas heat, for sure.

One of the few drawbacks of living in CO....southerner infestation in summer

 

[FSUTribe76]

Looks like we are going go road tripping this year. Breck immediately comes to mind and we have spent some time there and loved it. But trying to expand our options. Looking for decent hiking and a little not-to-serious fishing.

Also, looking at Santa Fe, NM. Never been?

Why not both? You can easily fly into one spot, drive around to the cool spots and fly back from another. And if you haven't been to Santa Fe that means you probably haven't been to the rest of New Mexico either. And other than Hawaii and Utah, New Mexico tops my list of best state for road trips and hiking. Plus it's probably my favorite state/regional cuisine after Cajun and New Orleans Creole, even ahead of Florribean, Low Country and Californian.

If you drive in to New Mexico, you can hike the dunes of White Sands

Hike around Valley of Fires

Hike the Slot Canyons and plateaus of Tent Rocks

Hike the Sandia Crest which looms over Albuquerque

Go to Taos to see the oldest occupied building in America several thousands of years old plus hike, hunt and fish

Do hikes throughout Carlsbad Caverns which is the best cave system in the US, much more scenic than Mammoth in Kentucky and far bigger than Luray in Virginia, it's almost on par with Jenolan in Australia or Waitomo Glowworm Caverns in New Zealand

Also in addition to the spots in New Mexico (those I mentioned plus other things like Shiprock and/or Roswell you can easily stop off at on a driving trip), there's a fair amount in Southern Colorado to do that most people flying into Denver to do the Rockies never see.

I HIGHLY recommend Great Sand Dune National Park and Durango

I'd suggest flying into El Paso and then flying back from Colorado Springs (and no I'm not suggesting a full Tribe trip, last time I did New Mexico, I started in Biloxi went through New Orleans and Cajun country then into Houston, dipped down to Big Bend National Park then up through Marfa through to Roswell, Carlsbad and White Sands, then up through Albuquerque, Santa Fe and Taos then all over Southern Colorado before exiting out of Colorado Springs, then darting across Kansas to KC then down to Fort Smith Arkansas to visit my in-laws then across Little Rock to Memphis and then down through Birmingham to get back to Tally. We did that over two weeks, so you could easily do the NM and Southern Colorado portion in a week.

 

[slapchop]

Durango & surrounding area

 

[alaskanseminole]

Looks like we are going go road tripping this year. Breck immediately comes to mind and we have spent some time there and loved it. But trying to expand our options. Looking for decent hiking and a little not-to-serious fishing.

Also, looking at Santa Fe, NM. Never been?

We're considering CO this year too, since Disney is looking like a bust.

 

[BubsFinn]

One of the few drawbacks of living in CO....southerner infestation in summer

I too am part of that infestation, but only because of my job. I get to spend summer in the Springs every year. This summer makes #17. Every year we seem to stay a little later, and I can really tell when the rest of the Texans go home. I feel your pain.

 

[Fijimn]

Why not both? You can easily fly into one spot, drive around to the cool spots and fly back from another. And if you haven't been to Santa Fe that means you probably haven't been to the rest of New Mexico either. And other than Hawaii and Utah, New Mexico tops my list of best state for road trips and hiking. Plus it's probably my favorite state/regional cuisine after Cajun and New Orleans Creole, even ahead of Florribean, Low Country and Californian.

If you drive in to New Mexico, you can hike the dunes of White Sands

Hike around Valley of Fires

Hike the Slot Canyons and plateaus of Tent Rocks

Hike the Sandia Crest which looms over Albuquerque

Go to Taos to see the oldest occupied building in America several thousands of years old plus hike, hunt and fish

Do hikes throughout Carlsbad Caverns which is the best cave system in the US, much more scenic than Mammoth in Kentucky and far bigger than Luray in Virginia, it's almost on par with Jenolan in Australia or Waitomo Glowworm Caverns in New Zealand

Also in addition to the spots in New Mexico (those I mentioned plus other things like Shiprock and/or Roswell you can easily stop off at on a driving trip), there's a fair amount in Southern Colorado to do that most people flying into Denver to do the Rockies never see.

I HIGHLY recommend Great Sand Dune National Park and Durango

I'd suggest flying into El Paso and then flying back from Colorado Springs (and no I'm not suggesting a full Tribe trip, last time I did New Mexico, I started in Biloxi went through New Orleans and Cajun country then into Houston, dipped down to Big Bend National Park then up through Marfa through to Roswell, Carlsbad and White Sands, then up through Albuquerque, Santa Fe and Taos then all over Southern Colorado before exiting out of Colorado Springs, then darting across Kansas to KC then down to Fort Smith Arkansas to visit my in-laws then across Little Rock to Memphis and then down through Birmingham to get back to Tally. We did that over two weeks, so you could easily do the NM and Southern Colorado portion in a week.

Thanks. That puts Santa Fe up there. We are driving this round to avoid the Rona. It's about 15 hours to Santa Fe and 17 to Breck. If we go to Colorado, we might drop down and go through Albuquerque on the way home.

 

[C/Seahawk]

Rocky Mountain National Park and
the Estes Park, Colorado entrance.
Great hiking and a majestic scenic
view as you go on your trails.

I've never understood the appeal and interest in Estes Park. If you like tourist traps that have streets lined of shops offering the same junk, taffy and ice cream and its packed with tourists, by all means, have fun in Estes Park. You'd be much better off going to Grand Lake instead, opposite side of the Continental Divide.

After being in Colorado for a little over 20 years, a couple years ago decided to spend a day and drive over to Estes Park, partially out of pure curiosity of what all the fuss was about as I'd never been there. Drove through Grand Lake to get there, landed in Estes Park and it was miserable. We lasted about 15 minutes and elected to get back in the car, head back over Trailridge Road to our home in Grand County.

Estes Park might be the most overrated place I know of.

 

[Fijimn]

We're considering CO this year too, since Disney is looking like a bust.

There are some really reasonable placed on Airbnb and Vrbo. My wife is still looking at places in the hill country and Uvalde County.

 

[goldmom]

I've spent time in NM as well. Love that place, and it sometimes gets overshadowed by AZ and CO.

Been to Carlsbad Caverns - put it on your bucket list!
One of the best summer spots is Ruidoso. Great summer getaway, ghost towns, Billy the Kid, Apache Res, lava beds, all day trips. We were there one year over the Fourth and the tribe had an all day sing, sold lots of food and fry bread, etc. I still remember my Dad just so wide eyed and saying you know this is REALLY America.

Loved Santa Fe too, it can be touristy but stiil such a great place to visit. We also did Ski Santa Fe one year - Taos one day for skiing is very doable. You'll come home with a tan!

There are still miles of Route 66 in northern NM that parallel I-40, worth checking out, and Gallup is a popular town for local Native Americans to come in and do shopping, etc. one of the best steaks I ever had in my entire life was at a cafe along the main drag in Gallup.

 

[goldmom]

I've never understood the appeal and interest in Estes Park. If you like tourist traps that have streets lined of shops offering the same junk, taffy and ice cream and its packed with tourists, by all means, have fun in Estes Park. You'd be much better off going to Grand Lake instead, opposite side of the Continental Divide.

After being in Colorado for a little over 20 years, a couple years ago decided to spend a day and drive over to Estes Park, partially out of pure curiosity of what all the fuss was about as I'd never been there. Drove through Grand Lake to get there, landed in Estes Park and it was miserable. We lasted about 15 minutes and elected to get back in the car, head back over Trailridge Road to our home in Grand County.

Estes Park might be the most overrated place I know of.

I see your point, but a first timer will love the mountain views that surround the town. I never go anywhere for taffy! Heck, Vail is full of those fudge shops.

 

[punkrun]

I lived in Colorado Springs for three years while stationed at Ft. carson. Besides Pikes Peak their is Garden of the Gods and if your into to Hiking do the trek up to Pikes peak on foot as its tough but incredible scenery.

My sister loved Carson and so badly wants to go back.

Absolutely loved Garden of the Gods.

Estes Park was phenomenal. Bear Lake was probably the most beautiful place I’ve ever been.

 

[RunRonnieRun]

Anyone who doesn’t answer Crested Butte or Telluride hasn’t been to either.

Anyone who says Colorado Springs should be forced to drink their own urine for a year.

 

[goldmom]

Anyone who doesn’t answer Crested Butte or Telluride hasn’t been to either.

Anyone who says Colorado Springs should be forced to drink their own urine for a year.

I have not been to CB or Telluride but I know people who agree with you. I need to check them out.

 

[SpyderHawk]

Anyone who doesn’t answer Crested Butte or Telluride hasn’t been to either.

Anyone who says Colorado Springs should be forced to drink their own urine for a year.

Almost died at Crested Butte learning how to ski. I got brave and went to a level I shouldn't have. Got lost and almost fell off the mountain. Besides that and how sore I was from all the crashing it was a great time.

 

[LuteHawk]

Estes Park is not the main attraction.
Rocky Mountain National Park is.
If you are driving there from Iowa, the
obvious point of entry from the east is
Estes Park. Trail Ridge Road is the
most scenic drive you can take in your
car.

 

[Kinnick.At.Night]

With the way 2020 is going, you may want to consider the Cheyenne Mountain Complex.

 

[F4Gary]

I'd head for the Durango area. You can go through Sante Fe and head for Chama NM and ride the train trip there. Then head up to Pagosa Springs and over to Durango. Durango also has a train ride plus you are close to Mesa Verde. You can make the drive to Silverton. You can drive up to Telluride. Love the Durango area.