sydneyhome

Hi all

I, mum and 13 y.o. daughter traveling from Sydney to Dallas 25 June and departing Dallas 15 July. Don't plan to stay in TX at all ( I think I've had enough of hot, humid weather in Sydney). Happened to get cheap flight from Australia to Dallas and I'm so happy that we get to bypass LAX).

I think we wish to spend all out time in Colorado. Have been to Colorado only twice before and that was winter to ski at Snowmass (11 days each time). The beauty of the place in Winter has enticed me back to see Colorado in Summer. We are unlikely to get back to Colorado again in Summer, so we wish to see the best that we can in our 19 days.

All suggestions on planning our trip would be greatly appreciated. I will hire a car and/or fly into Colorado somewhere. One option is to drive from DFW ( about 14hrs?) into southern Colorado and drop car off at Denver to fly back to Dallas or we fly both ways into ASE or Denver and pick up hire car from one of these locations. Currently I'm keeping a watch on airline prices and car prices.

Now we love the outdoors and wish to do lots of hiking, biking and rafting. Mostly we will do this independently (will buy book of trail maps) as guided activities are a bit too expensive for us. May do an organised rafting trip.

Do not want to travel in the car every 2 days would rather base ourselves in places for 4/5 days, and do day trips to where we could hike. This would mean 4 to 5 stops for accommodation. Would like to spend about 5 days in the Basalt/Snowmass /Aspen area. Other areas I thought we could spend time are Telluride , (Crested Butte - the 12 ml hike over to Aspen sounds good - only if we can get back to the car somehow). Other than that we are open to your suggestions. We have driven the route from Snowmass back to DIA before, only stopping at Glenwood Springs for a swim and Frisco overnight. Should we be trying to spend time in the Steamboat Springs area and the National Park area east of this area? Or are we going to be kept busy in the SW and W parts of Colorado and run out of time.

Thank you in advance for any advice you can give on our trip.

emalloy

Mesa Verde NP is in the SW part of the state and in very interesting with some nice hiking opportunities too.

Rocky Mountain NP is great too.

If you do decide on the SW part of the state, look for flights into Albuquerque. New Mexico also. These are sometimes less expensive, and car rental might be also. We had sticker shock renting a car in Denver.

DebitNM

I also suggest flying from Dallas to Albuquerque, using Southwest. You would have to change airports, since most SW flights are out of Love Field. But, the fares are often quite love.

Pick up a car in ABQ and you should consider a few days in ABQ/Santa Fe area for some insights into our culture here. Too many people shortchange ABQ for Santa Fe, and I think that is a mistake. Since you have a good deal of time, consider this.

Drive up to Durango CO and use that as your base for Southwest CO. It is much more family oriented and less money than Telluride. Lots of fun adventures to be had there [jeep tours, narrow gauge railroad, rafting, Mesa Verde NP, zipline,] and a much bigger selection of lower priced accomodations and food/restaurants.

Also worth a stop is Chaco Canyon - it is about midpoint between ABQ and Durango.

Driving up to Durango, [about 4 hours, easy drive from ABQ] you might want to stop make a slight detour and see Tent Rocks.

You can still drive up to Telluride [drive the Million Dollar Highway] and have a spectacular day doing so.

You could stop in Ouray and do Box Canyon Falls, while driving Million Dollar Highway.. Really nice.

I have homes in ABQ area and Durango area, so feel free to ask questions on hotels, restaurants, trips etc.

I will let others answer about other areas of Colorado.

williamscb13

NO! No! No! American has a flight from DFW to Santa Fe. Granted that bypasses you through Albuqueque, but that may be just fine. Spend a few days in Santa Fe, there are some great hikes there.

I've never done Durango and DebitNM is a big proponent of the area. But I want to put my plug in for Crested Butte. It's about a 5 hour drive from Santa Fe. but don't speed through Saguache, pronounced kind of like Swatch.

Crested Butte is beautiful during the summer, and if you want to see a great hometown parade on the 4th of July, it's the place to be. the hikes around town are fantastic. I may even be there for the 4th or thereabouts and would have you over for drinks!

I would also second the suggestion for skipping Telluride, it's not my favorite place.

One thing you should know is that the hike from Crested Butte to Aspen depends totally on the snow melt. It's an easy but long hike and the view of the Maroon bells is fantastic on the aspen side. We tried to do it last year around the 4th, but the water levels in the streams, you have to cross over was still too high. So I'm not sure I'd plan that into your trip just because it totally depends upon the year. Also there are two ways to get back to Crested Butte. Driving using a shuttle bus from the Alpine Express. You can find out more information by googling their name or I think there's plane that flies from Aspen directly back to the tiny little landing strip in Crested Butte. Last I heard, it was about 75 dollars per person. You have to spend the night in Aspen and fly back in the morning to avoid afternoon thunderstorms.

Really, I think you can't go wrong with any choice. I find Colorado to be so wonderful in the summer, that any place is great. One thing to look for though is air conditioning, some hotels may be in town and not get great breezes and then you have a stuffy room, which defeats the whole purpose of being in Colorado.

DebitNM

Flights to Santa Fe via AA are limited and usually costly, especially for 2 people. Renting a car there will also cost more. You are only saving an hour's drive, I don't see the need to fly to SF. My 2 cents.

Barblab

It sounds like you like the feel of Colorado ski towns, the beauty of staying right in the middle of the mountains with access to a small picturesque town. I would use RMNP, Aspen, Telluride and Crested Butte for my bases. You will have spectacular scenery, and endless hiking, biking and rafting options. In addition they are all connected by scenic byways with interesting stops along the way. You can use VRBO.com to rent one of the 1,000's of ski condos that are reasonablly priced in the summer. Seriously you cannot make a wrong choice when it comes to Colorado, I was just thinking those options make a nice circle trip. Have fun!

williamscb13

DebitNM is right, it probable is cheaper to fly into Albuquerque than Santa Fe.

You might want to think about flying to Colorado Springs and see Pikes Peak and the Air Force Academy, Garden of the gods or the Broadmoor. and then continue on your drive to Crested Butte and on.

sydneyhome

Thanks everyone, you have given me some good ideas. May have to do circle trip as Car rentals seem to have large drop off fees ( e.g. pick up in ABQ and drop off in either DIA or COS to fly back to DFW. Does anyone have any promo or discount vouchers for car rental they would like to share? Crested Butte sounds great for the Parade - it would be nice experience for my daughter to see. How soon do you think I should book airfares? Am I taking a risk to see what last minute flights there are, which my be cheaper than prices now?

emalloy

Here is a possible loop route that would provide for an interesting trip through northern New Mexico and mid Colorado.

Take route 550 north from Albuquerque, NM to Durango, CO. about 4 hours. Spend some time there, visit Mesa Verde, maybe take the railroad to Silverton.

Continue north to Crested Butte a bit more than 4 hours. Spend some time there.

Go south to Santa Fe, about 5 hours, spend some time there.

Back to Albuquerque, a bit over one hour.

This takes you through some diverse and interesting countryside, with plenty of interesting things to see, do along the way. Your choice to stay for several days in the destination places or to do shorter legs and stay along the way. It also provides a loop if you want to avoid the dreaded drop off charges.

williamscb13

I woke up this morning and was going to offer the same suggestion as emalloy except I was going to do it in the reverse route so you would end up in Crested Butte over the 4th and do Santa Fe first.

Since you are going to be in Dallas anyway, and depending on your schedule, I wouldn't overlook it entirely or maybe just a day to see the 6th Floor Museum about the assassination of JFK. That was a pivotal event in American history, the museum is well-done and since you're there already, I'd at least put it on the list of potential things to do.

Lastly, you may want to shop in Dallas if your 13 year old is into shopping. Dallas has fantastic shopping and everything is air-conditioned.

But otherwise, get out and get to Santa Fe and on to Colorado!

emalloy

good call, williamscb, of course you can do a loop in either direction, depending on your time frame and where you want to be first. I'm sure many will suggest some time in Albuquerque are too.

DebitNM

I absolutely recommend time in ABQ - lots of great cultural, historical and just plain fun stuff to do [see my original post].
Happy to help with info.

Summer is busy season here, if you are going to use Southwest, sign up for their DING! program which alerts you to special deals. Also, sign up for their emails too. I wouldn't wait for too long to book.

http://www.southwest.com/html/genera...neral_faq.html

Barblab

Sydneyhome, if your original plan was to return to Colorado based on your two winter visits to Snowmass, I think you need to do a google search on pictures of Albuquerque and other high desert locations to make sure this is an area that interests you before booking your trip. You will avoid the humidity you wish to escape, but will not have the cool mountain days I think you are shooting for. The American Indian culture and desert landscapes are really interesting, but way different than the trip you first described.

Any one of the Colorado ski towns, as well as many other towns in Colorado, have miles of muiltipurpose offroad trails. The trails you saw people crosscountry skiing on in winter are fabulous for biking on in the summer. As for rafting, whatever your level there is a river that will fit the bill in Colorado. And hiking - crazy endless choices through beautiful forests, crossing streams, ending at high mountain lakes, and for some, patches of snow.

starrs

I completely agree with Barb. I love the Alb/Santa Fe/ Durango combination but it's the polar opposite of what you first described. It's great - but not Colorado mountains.

I adore Colorado and always thought I'd live there. I had the chance to move with a job a few years ago but passed due to family issues. I do LOVE a loop drive in Colorado and have taken a week or so to do it several times. Here's what I'd do, based on your OP.

If you do have to drive from Dallas -
Dallas to Amarillo - 364 miles - 6 hours 21 mins (according to Google maps). Spend the night in Amarillo. This day's drive will be pretty boring - driving across Texas.

Day 2 - Drive to Alamosa and stop to visit Great Sand Dunes -
http://www.nps.gov/grsa/index.htm
another 344 miles and 6 hours 18 minutes.

Spend the night near there or continue on to Durango -

*** 149 miles, 2 hours 48 minutes = but it's one of the prettiest drives in Colorado. You are also going to get the first taste of the Colorado mountains you remember.

Durango base for 2-4 days -
It's a beautiful corner of CO but very different from the mountainous part of the state. Definitely go see Mesa Verde NM (one of my favorite parks). Definitely take the Durango-Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad trip - an absolutely gorgeous route along the Animas river. Do some hikes in the area. Enjoy the drive to Ouray = "Little Switzerland".

Then move on to a base in the mountains. There are a lot of options. Go back to Aspen, beautiful in summer.
Durango to Aspen = 246 miles, about 5 hours

Rocky Mountain National Park/ Estes Park CO -
I'd definitely spend a few days here for the next base for a few days. AMAZING scenery, hikes, etc. Just gorgeous.
Aspen to Estes Park = 238 miles, about 5 hours

Denver area base - RMNP to Denver = 63 miles, about 1.5 hours
A lot to see around here. Go to Pike's Peak. Check out Colorado Springs. I enjoyed visiting a gold mine in Cripple Creek. Garden of the Gods in very interesting. See if there's a concert you want to see at Red Rocks -
http://www.redrocksonline.com/

It's about 800 miles/ 14 hours back to Dallas.

If you think you want more of the high desert and/or see Santa Fe, you could go that way "home".
Denver to Alb = 447 miles, about 7 hours
Alb to Dallas = 651 miles, about 11 hours
I'd definitely stay in Santa Fe. LOVE it and the area.

My thoughts were the same as Barb. You said you want to get back to Colorado. If you drive, you're going to have 2 days of pretty boring Texas driving. If you start your trip with a visit to Santa Fe and then Durango, it's going to be several days into your trip before you see real CO mountains.

One option would be to reverse the above loop, head to Estes Park first, then Aspen, then down to Durango and "home" via Santa Fe, etc. That would give you lots of mountains first and then high desert. ALL of it is beautiful - it's just what you want to see first.

Enjoy! The trip should be fabulous

Gretchen

Rocky Mountain Park is a must see. Don't overlook Denver--art museum with wonderful Native American exhibits.
Mesa Verde would be a must see also. I'm not sure why Crested Butte or even Steamboat--fun mountain ski towns,scenery and hiking I suppose, but there might be enough connecting the dots in the lower part of Colorado. You have a great amount of time. Enjoy.

williamscb13

I'd take Crested Butte over Denver any day in the summer. Denver is a city. Crested Butte is a funky wonderful old ski town. I can't answer as I've never been to the Rocky Mountain National Park but the mountain around Crested Butte are wonderful in the summer and it is the wildflower capital and all the wildflowers will be in bloom in July when you are there.

I don't think there's a reason to drive all the way to denver. Several people have suggested lots of driving. I'd go with DebitNM's advice to do the Southwest ding airfare emails and use Southwest to get out of Dodge and not drive. 14 hours of driving just cuts into your time too much.

Barblab

With the amount of money you probably already have invested in the tickets from Austrailia to Dallas I think you really should fly to your starting point in Colorado. The distances from Dallas to what you want to see are huge and just not worth your valuable vacation time. With the cost of gas going up and the miles so many you may find it a wash money wise flying into Colorado as opposed to driving.

Barblab

I just had a thought for you on your car rental. Since you are going for 3 weeks it would probably be cheaper for you to rent at a car location not at the airport but close by. The cost of the cab to and from the rental office to the airport should be a lot less than paying the higher airport fees. I have saved several hundred dollars doing this in other US cities for longer rentals. It's a little more of a hassle than getting one at the airport, but DEN is so far out from the city center and really seems so far out from where the rental car center at the airport is, it can't be that much more of a hassle.

sydneyhome

Hi Everyone,

So much information and help - no time to digest tonight as I've had 6 people for dinner tonight. Too much white wine with our lovely baked Tasmanian Salmon!

I think majority of the time is going to be in Colorado - not so much of the hot desert landscapes - even though these areas sound really nice. Will have to leave these to another trip.

On one of our trips to Snowmass, we had one week with good friends who live in Phoenix and we had a day trip to Sedona. I thought the scenery at Sedona was stunning and could easily go back to that area again.... But we can't do it all! I just have to wait till my daughter finishes high school and then maybe I can come back for a longer period outside school holidays.

I think what we will do is a circular trip around colorado - pick up and drop off car at same location. Still deciding on internal flight or driving from Dallas. For 2 of us it's going to be about $800 return. One option I'm looking at is flying to Amarillo and car hire from there - saving $400 this way....but still all in the planning stages. Have to revisit the budget I think.

Thanks to all of you - I appreciate all your thoughts and suggestions and I will keep you posted. I'm on the Ding alerts.
The issue with the airfares at the moment is that the sale prices at the moment seem to stop early June.

Nelson

Since you mention hiking, if you decide to go to Rocky Mountain National Park then I can help out with many suggestions at all ability levels.

There is a recent thread here for starters:
http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...ocky-mt-np.cfm