travellust

I am going to visit my son for Christmas. He hasn't lived there long. He lives in Broomfield and will be working quite a bit so I would like to know some day trips and great places to visit Dec. 21 - 29. We plan to go to Pikes Peak. I enjoy "old west" and rustic, as well as, small unique shops. I enjoy musical theatre, hiking, evening light shows etc. What is the weather like? I have no idea if parks are open etc. Anything you can offer is appreciated.

rockie

Enjoy your trip! I would suggest Estes Park as a nice day trip...a lot closer than Pikes Peak. Also, Pearl Street Mall in Boulder would give you some of the small, unique shops you enjoy. If you wanted to go into Denver (30 minutes), there is a beautiful light display at the Denver Botanic Gardens and you could also see the U.S. Mint during the day. Have a good time!

WhereAreWe

Definitely go up to Estes Park and see Rocky Mountain National Park. You might be able to walk around some of the lower elevation valleys, but would need snowshoes for most of the hiking trails higher up. I would assume you could still hike in the foothills outside Boulder.

Visit the Butterfly Pavilion in Westminster if the weather sucks one of those days. There are lots of things to visit in Denver (zoo, aquarium, many museums, etc.).

DalaiLlama

Get up early to drive to Estes Park. They do free shuttle buses around the park, all over - go to the website www.rmnp.com or one of the others.

The Denver Zoo is lit up for the season, go in the late afternoon when it looks real good.

Be sure to know about the cost and the temperatures of Pikes Peak, it gets awfully cold up there and you have to go in the right weather.

The Butterfly Pavilion (as already suggested) is a great idea.

Drive to Golden, the old part of town has preserved a bit of old-west charm.

Drive to the Rocky Mountain Arsenal Wildlife Refuge (in north-east Denver, at the northern end of Havana which runs into the reserve) - Visitor Access is Tues, Wed, Sat & Sun from 7am - 5 pm, check
www.fws.gov/rockymountainarsenal/ - they also do some tours, and you can hike along some trails and hope to see wildlife.

travellust

THANKS EVERYONE!!
I am getting very excited about the trip now and think we will wait until warmer weather for Pikes Peak.

I just emailed a list and websites to my son. Keep the ideas coming.

Thanks again.

WhereAreWe

"Get up early to drive to Estes Park. They do free shuttle buses around the park, all over"

Not in winter. Shuttles are June - September, even then they don't run all over, just the Bear Lake road area.

sylvia3

There's a great free gallery of western art(Leanin Tree) 1/4 mile from a very fun free tour (Celestial Seasonings tea factory; both have gift shops) a few miles from Boulder (Gunbarrel). In Boulder, the NCAR provides wonderful views, self-guided tours that are very intersting, and you can walk out the back door into the trails system if the weather's nice (you never know). The Boulder Dinner Theater is pretty good (but check for coupons before you buy).
If you do the Botanic Gardens or Zoo light shows in Denver, be sure to have dinner on the 16th Street Mall, after checking out the Courthouse lights. One block away, "LoDo" has older buildings that are also lighted for the season; very pretty.

fmpden

Several of the prior responses are not from residents so take some of the recs carefully. The weather and snow level will determine what is available in the mountains. We have had a lot of snow recently and more is expected. Most of the mountains received more snow in the first ten days of Dec than all of Oct and Nov.

Personally I would save Pike's Peak for the summer. It is toll road ($10/adult not per car) and all you are going to see is a lot of snow. The road is open year around -- weather permitting. The area around Estes Park would be fine but Trail Ridge Road is closed above Fall River Road and the town of Estes is a classic tourist trap -- pretty but still a trap.

I would focus on Denver. There are many Christmas/Holiday activities in and around Denver. A number of special lighting display are available at the Zoo, the Garden, and at Chatfield along with the lighting on the City/Cty buidling. Special exhibits at both the art and nature science museums. Several special performances at the Denver Center for Performing Arts. An "authentic" Christmas market from Germany is in Skyline Park next to the 16th St Mall. Cherry Creek shopping area will have a lot of small interesting shops and some good restaurants.

If you want a mountain experience hit Idaho Springs or another 30 mins further west on I-70 to Georgetown. Georgetown decks out nicely at Christmas.

DalaiLlama

My thanks to WhereAreWe for pointing out that the RMNP shuttles don't run in winter.

The official website is www.nps.gov, and specifically for winter this is it:

http://www.nps.gov/romo/planyourvisi...activities.htm

Note however that when the shuttle buses do run (from Memorial Day to the end of Sep), there are two routes:

The Bear Lake Route and the Moraine Park Route. Both routes are based at the Park & Ride shuttle bus parking area across from Glacier Basin Campground. The Bear Lake Route shuttle makes the round trip between the Park & Ride and Bear Lake; the Moraine Park Route shuttle makes the round trip between the Park & Ride and the Fern Lake Trailhead bus stop.

martym

Just a clarification--the Denver Botanic Gardens are not have the light display at the Main Gardens this year (due to the ongoing construction of a new parking garage) They are have a light display at their garden in the south Denver Metro area. http://www.botanicgardens.org/

fmpden

The "other garden" is Chatfield -- in SW Denver metro area at C-470 and Wadsworth.

jd_denver

You might check out Olde Town Arvada since you are in the north part of the city. The D-Note has great pizza and you never know what kind of music you will hear. http://historicarvada.org/visit/map.html

Also, there is a production of It's a Wonderful Life at the Arvada Center. http://arvadacenter.org/on-stage/a-wonderful-life

I think downtown Louisville is cute but I have not shopped there in a while. It is between Boulder and Broomfield. http://www.louisvilledba.com/

I love the The Melting Pot in Louisvile for fondue. The atmosphere is great. http://www.meltingpot.com/locations.aspx?z=&n=339165

The key to weather in Denver is "layers." It could be 60 degrees one day and 20 degrees the next. Mornings can be chilly but once the sun comes out it really warms up.

travellust

Wow, I am taking notes! Thanks so much to everyone, residents and non.

Different perspectives are always good. I am glad that I have a few days either side of Christmas day to spend time with my son and maybe do some exploring on my own.

I have a cousin in Colorado Springs and I have suggested meeting about half way for dinner or lunch etc. Any suggestions on that?

fmpden

Half might be hard. There is not much between CS and Denver. Try Castlerock. There are a number of decent restaurants for lunch.

DalaiLlama

Castle Rock would indeed be the location for a halfway meeting. But if there is the slightest chance of snowfall, don't go - there is this strange phenomenon that the area of Castle Rock gets clobbered more than the surrounding areas, and trying to make the hill when it snows is no picnic...