16 Days in Utah and Colorado with Our 2 Young Boys!
 

Hi! It is always with great anticipation (ie. a racing heart) when I come onto Fodors Forums to post a first draft of a trip itinerary!!! It’s because I know just how much wonderful, vital information we always get back from fodorites and how the trip is truly about to take shape! A bit of background… We are from Toronto, Canada and we love to travel (I’ve written various trip reports from the trips that my hubbie and I took pre-kids, including about our trip to Tanzania (hence my username!) about 12 years ago). We now have 2 young sons (aged 5 and 7) and have traveled with them on some wonderful adventures in the US (California and Oregon were our biggies and I’m so happy to see that a lot of the same posters from those forums are here on the Utah one as well!). We’ve always wanted to travel in Utah and have decided on a 16-day trip in May! We’re going to fly into Las Vegas and spend a few days there. Might seem a weird choice to stay in town with the kids, but it’s not so much to spend time in the city, as to have a few days of “resort feel” in the heat (we’ve had a mighty cold winter!). We figure that the kids will love getting to spend a few days by the pools, before we get into the serious hiking of the rest of the trip : ) After some research, we decided that there’s plenty we’d like to see in Colorado as well and so we’re going to fly back to Toronto from Denver (rather than looping back to Las Vegas).

I’ve written out our draft itinerary below (including places that we plan on staying). Any and all feedback is welcome — can’t wait! We need to hurry to book our flights and accommodations and so I’m focusing on the overall trip right now — haven’t had a chance to really delve into any information about specific hikes (which makes it a little tough to know how long we want/need to spend in each place). As always, I’m interested to know if you guys think that we’re trying to fit in too much or too little. Also, where you would spend extra time (there is one day extra it seems and I’m not sure which park would be worthy of adding onto the most). I’d also love to hear any advice about what kids our age would like to do most/what worked well. Our boys love hiking, but I know that it's unrealistic to think that they'll want to hike constantly for 2 weeks : ) You’ll see that we’re much more organized with regard to the Utah portion and haven’t given much thought yet to the Colorado portion. Any tips would be great!

One final thing… and this is a biggie for me. Our youngest son has a severe allergy to tree nuts. It’s something that is fairly recent for us and so it’s been a big adjustment (since the allergy, I’ve had a fear that we wouldn’t be able to comfortably travel anymore and so this is me facing that fear). This is the first major trip that we’ll be taking since he had that very severe reaction about 1.5 years ago. I know that some of these areas in Utah are quite remote, but if anyone somewhat local could answer a few questions for me (these are just-in-case-an-emergency-happens questions). Are hospitals generally accessible from the smaller towns in these areas? Is there an emergency service (e.g. 911/ambulance) available and how fast can it be? (we’ll have lots of epipens with us, but still need emergency services just in case). Has anyone traveled in any of these areas with a nut allergy and can you share any information about restaurants, advice about where to go/avoid, etc. I would really appreciate it.

Okay, without further ado (sorry for the novel of an email -- I just always find that it's better to provide a lot of the background information up front)…!


DAY 1
- depart Toronto; arrive in Las Vegas at 1:20pm
- stay in a 1BR suite at the Signature MGM
- sushi dinner (requested by DS#1)
- enjoy the heat and swimming in the MGM pools

DAY 2
- stay in Las Vegas (1BR suite at Signature MGM)
- enjoy the heat and swimming in the MGM pools
- explore the Strip
- 7pm Cirque du Soleil Love (Beatles) or a magic show

DAY 3
- leave Las Vegas in the morning
- drive through St. George and have lunch at the Painted Pony
- afternoon & sunset in Zion NP
- overnight in Springdale - at Cable Mountain Lodge (suite)

DAY 4
- spent the day in Zion National Park (and once tired, swimming in the lodge pool)
- overnight in Springdale - at Cable Mountain Lodge (suite)

DAY 5
- explore Bryce Canyon NP
- overnight at Bryce Canyon Pines (Full Kitchen Deluxe Room)

DAY 6
- Explore Bryce and/or Grand Staircase
- drive scenic Hwy 12
- overnight in Torrey - Capital Reef Resort (super dbl queen room a/v)

DAY 7
- explore Capitol Reef NP
- head to Moab and check in to Moab under Canvas (Deluxe Tent)

DAY 8
- explore Arches NP (5-10 min. from campsite)
- while in Moab, visit the Mill Canyon Dinosaur Trail for an up-close look at dinosaur bones exposed in the rocks
- stay in VRBO resort rental just outside of Moab

DAY 9
- explore Canyonlands NP
- stay in VRBO resort rental just outside of Moab

DAY 10
- explore Canyonlands NP
- stay in VRBO resort rental just outside of Moab

DAY 11
- this seems to be a free day and could be added in anywhere above to add extra time onto one of Utah’s National Parks (or to the Colorado portion for that matter). The question is — which one is most deserving of the extra time?

DAY 12
- head into Colorado, Mesa Verde NP (2.5 hour drive)
- stay in Cortez (lodging TBD)

DAY 13
- explore Mesa Verde NP
- spend another night in Cortez OR start our slow drive towards Denver...? (7.5 hour drive from Mesa Verde)

DAY 14
- heading towards Denver - what should we do in Colorado? Ideally, we’d like to do something quite different than we’ll have seen in Utah
- visit Bishop Castle in San Isobel National Forest

DAY 15
— continue to explore Colorado
— overnight in Denver

DAY 16
- half-day in Denver
- late afternoon flight from Denver to Toronto

Can’t wait to hear back from you!

Thanks SO MUCH in advance…

Jenn

I would do another Cirque de Soliel, rather than the Beatles. It isn't one of their better shows.

TRY to get reservations at Far View Lodge in Mesa Verde. Although Cortez is a 10 minute drive away that is from the ENTRANCE, not from up top. That adds on another 45 minutes at least.

Day 13 - stay in Durango instead of Cortez as it will put you a bit closer to Denver.

Day 12- in Cortez, I would choose Holiday Inn Express as #1 choice, then the Best Western as #2

For Mesa Verde, get lodging in the park, at least for the middle night. The ride up the mesa is long and curvy, and you need to watch for animals on the road (mostly deer). I would not want to do the back and forth from Cortez. and as DebitNM said after Mesa Verde, if you stay the night in Durango if you don't stay in the park.

My DGS is allergic to peanuts, but has outgrown the other nut allergies, so I can sympathize with your concern. He is great about asking if there are peanuts, peanut oil, etc in the food or its preparation but you need to be very proactive and make sure that they didn't get fancy and put nuts in a salad, or use nut oils in another dish.

One of your Canyonlands days could be in the Needles district, south of Moab. Go to the Cowboy Camp/Cave spring area, climb the ladders to the trail back to the parking lot. For Island in the sky, head for Mesa view arch and Grandview, hang onto their hands.

Day 7 detour over to Goblin Valley State Park to see the HooDoos between Capitol Reef and I-70.
About 22 miles N of Moab is a place that I saw dinosaur track in stone (Copper Ridge).
It looks like you have a good plan. Can you get a rental car from LV and drop off in Denver without a hefty drop off fee?

I would add Great Sand Dunes Nat'l Park in Colorado, it's between Durango and Denver.

For children your ages I would recommend a day with the dinosaurs somewhere. The place in Colorado I'd recommend is Woodland Park, just outside Colorado Springs. But you may find some in Utah in the areas you are visiting there.

Hi all!

Thanks - these are great suggestions. Tom, I do hope that the return fee for the car isn't too high, but since we really have our hearts set on traveling up through Colorado, it's a chance we're taking. I suppose I should look into reserving the car shortly! And we will definitely plan to head over to Goblin Valley!

I greatly appreciate the advice about the Far View Lodge vs. Cortez. I didn't have any idea of the distances! I've checked and the lodge does have a room available on that night, so we're going to book it for sure.

Tom_mn, THANKS for the reminder about the Great Sand Dunes! I had tentatively penciled it in the itinerary, but it must have gotten lost somehow. It's now back on. We went to the sand dunes in California 7 years ago and loved every minute. I think both boys will love it. Where is a good lodging base for exploring the Sand Dunes?

Emalloy, I had read about the Cowboy Camp and am glad to hear you think it would be good for all the ages in our family. I've marked it down!

Any other suggestions? Still no word about where we should spend that "extra day"... given our existing itinerary, which Utah park is in need of more time? Or somewhere in Colorado? From looking over the itinerary again, I do feel like we've allotted a decent amount of time to the NPs in Utah, so maybe the time should be spent in Colorado, which would help take some of the driving pressure off reaching Denver in time.

Oh and any local knowledge at all about hospitals and emergency services would really help set my mind at ease...

Thanks : )

The hospital in Cortez is ok and would work for emergency. Durango has a really good hospital.

http://swhealth.org/

http://www.mercydurango.org/mdu/home/

BTW - Denver is full of great hospitals.

I would spend that extra day in Mesa Verde--it really is a great 2 day park.

As for hospitals--there are not many/any where you are going. The only real hospitals in the area are in St. George and Grand Junction, Colorado. There is also a hospital in Price. There is a clinic in Moab and one in Bicknell (near Capital Reef). But that's it. I work in healthcare in Salt Lake City and we get people all the time from those small towns. A friend of mine, who is a pediatric surgeon, volunteered to start a "sub task force" on treatment of peds patients who can't get to the hospital within an hour--since most protocols assume 1 hour access and we just don't have that in many areas of Utah. If your son is in dire distress, you can get a helicopter out of St. George, but even that takes time. Just pay special attention to food and have those epi pens at the ready. Take comfort in knowing that LOTS of kids have nut allergies and travel just fine.

As for stuff to do with kids--if you click on my user name, you will see many trip reports on all of our trips to Southern Utah with our kids--Zion, Bryce, Moab, Arches, Canyonlands, Kanab, Capital Reef, Escalante. We just got back from Canyonlands and Moab last weekend and had a blast! (did the Cave Springs/Cowboy camp trail emalloy referenced as well as some other great stops--I posted a trip report on that trip)

Check out the Moab tourism site--they have lots of downloadable pamphlets--there is a fun list of rock art you can drive to see. The Mill Canyon Dinosaur trail is AMAZING. There is also a great rock shop in Moab--I highly recommend it. You will really like Cable Mountain Lodge near Zion--great family place.

Definitely an extra day in Mesa Verde--it is a world wonder, IMO.
You really are "Utah heavy" but good things.
I know you are concerned with the allergy, but as someone said, a LOT of people manage well by being prepared--and vigilant with their eating. DGD has a tree nut allergy--and it just sort of cropped up at maybe 10 years old.

Lodging is extremely limited in the Great Sand Dunes, there is onsite camping but no reservations. There is one hotel nearby, can't remember the name. That's it.

For exploring Grand Staircase, Willis Canyon is wonderful, at most a 2 hour detour depending upon how much of the canyon you hike, and not that far off the route to Hwy 12 from Bryce, however the road (just 20 minute drive) is in extremely poor condition, not for the timid.
https://www.google.com/search?q=will...Q&ved=0CDoQsAQ

Thanks to all of you for your kind words. StantonHyde, thanks for all of that information. We are extremely diligent about keeping epipens with us at all times and about what he eats. For the trip, we're trying to stay in a lot of suites, so that we'll often have our own kitchen for making meals where it'd make us feel more comfortable. But no matter what, we're at the mercy of the restaurants we eat at. And I guess my concern is whether we're being reckless taking him somewhere that if a mistake happens, we've got virtually no access to emergency care... I was hoping that there were more hospitals around then that!

I know that it's something that I just have to become comfortable with. It's so funny because I thought that because of the allergy, we'd start taking only "less remote" vacations, so that we were always close to a hospital, and here we are already, heading out into the wilderness... We've always liked to be remote and so I guess it makes it hard for us to resist : )

Gretchen, I loved your suggestion about Woodland Park Dinosaur Museum! It looks fantastic and is on the drive from Great Sand Dunes to Denver, so that works out perfectly.

StantonHyde, as for your trip reports, I've definitely already read some of them and will keep going... I LOVE trip reports : )

I was up researching late into the night last night and I'm having trouble finding decent places to stay once we leave Mesa Verde and start heading towards Denver. Any suggestions?

This is the only lodging at Sand Dunes, http://www.gsdlodge.com

Some of the ruins at Mesa Verde may not be appropriate for young children due to ladders, but we did it with a 5 year old. It's just guided tours to ruins there so a couple of tours is probably all the boys will handle, so 1 day is enough.

Bring sledding equipment for the sand dunes on a plane?

alwaysafrica,

I don't see where you say exactly what dates in May. Just remember Memorial Day weekend in the Natl Parks is extremely crowded (especially Zion) and lodging may be hard to get at this late date.

I think you are rushing through all these amazing places, but that's OK. Once there you will realize you have barely scratched the surface and MUST return for more, especially if you are big hikers.

Have fun!

I know you will have to become comfortable with this allergy but it is easier to avoid than peanuts, IMO, where there is the possibility of cross contamination. I just went to a luncheon meeting about allergy. You have the epi-pens but be very clear about the proper use.
There is also the fact that National Parks will be covered by some sort of emergency services/even fire department-first responders.
I would hope that by being careful in your eating out you will be able to reassure your youngster that he can also manage his allergy in the future.
We went to the Sand Dunes sort of as a "drive by" on the way to Durango which is another possibility for you--in reverse. They are fun, but don't really take a lot of time.

alwaysafrica--think of all the people who live in those remote places--their kids have peanut allergies too--so you are NOT being reckless at all. Chances are that nothing will happen. It is worse to sit around being 100% safe than taking a small risk and letting your family see this amazing world! I have a friend who has a vacation house near Capital Reef. Both of her kids have allergies and asthma etc. She did have one event where her son got RSV and they drove the 4 hours back up to SLC in the middle of the night, but that's once in 7 or 8 years. Odd are, your kiddo will be just fine!

Definitely make lodging reservations ASAP if you haven't done so already. You are planning a really fun vacation and you will love it!! I am with you on staying in places with a kitchen etc. I hate going out to restaurants at the end of the day when everybody is exhausted. I would much rather eat in the room and relax.

Speaking of suites etc--Austin's Chuckwagon Lodge has cabins with kitchens, I believe. Even better is the 3 bedroom apartment over the store that they rent out. I stayed there with a girlfriend and her kids--it was awesome and cheap!

Hit send to soon--Austin's is in Torrey, not sure your hotel there has a kitchen.

alwaysafrica, If you do find that there is a large drop off fee, consider a huge loop starting and ending at the SLC airport.
It's about 4.5 hours from SLC to St. George. It's about 2 more hours from St. George to Las Vegas on I-15.
Another treat in the Las Vegas area is visiting Hoover dam.
I once swam from a rented boat on Lake Meade. The rental dock is on the Nevada side of the lake. Remember to pack lots of sunscreen as I did get sunburned that day.
If you are headed back to Zion and Bryce instead of the South Rim of the GC, you can go up the west side of Lake Meade and through Valley of Fire State Park to get back to I-15.
In Las Vegas I remember a very good buffet at the Golden Nugget. Pay before 3PM and it's a bit cheaper. I sat near a window eating while watching kids sliding down through a shark tank into the GN's pool.
On display at the Golden Nugget is the world's largest gold nugget on public display 62+ lb.
Outside the GN is the Fremont St. Experience which has a zip line and a large nightly light display over the pedestrian street.

This fodorite community never ceases to amaze me. Thanks to all of you for all of these trip suggestions (and even more, for all of your reassurances about my son's allergy). When my son had his severe reaction 1.5 years ago, I had a bit of a hard time initially, but since then, life has normalized again. I know that it will be the same with travel - it's just a matter of gaining that experience. Last Spring, right afterwards, we decided to take a "safe" trip to Florida and spent time at Disney. Disney is so unbelievable for people with allergies that it was easier being on vacation than being at home : ) I know this won't be that way, but I also trust in us that we can be diligent enough to make it happen. We are all SO excited about this trip!

I'm going to read through everything again to take it all in and I'll write out again with further questions or at the least with an updated itinerary.

If anyone else with young kids has suggestions about good hikes in any of the parks we're visiting, they'd be great. We just watched a Youtube video of someone doing the Angel's Landing hike - it looked so phenomenal that we'll be jealous we can't do it this trip, but it reminded us how important it is to take the right hikes so as not to end up in overly scary situations with the kids. We were in Lake Placid last summer and both boys did some amazing hikes with some large scrambles, but the drop-offs that I've seen as being in the Utah NPs are something else!

Jenn

Oh and our dates are actually start near the beginning of May, which will avoid most of the issues surrounding Memorial Day weekend. We were actually thinking of maybe bringing the trip back a week, to the end of April (looks like it may be easier and cheaper for lodging) - does anyone see any potential benefits or disadvantages of doing that? How about weather - will it make much/any difference?

Normally, I would caution about possible snow at the end of April but sadly, this year, snow has been a rare event.

The wildflowers in Zion start blooming about mid May. With the very warm winter, they might be earlier this year.

The only area in Utah with over normal snowpack are the mountains that feed the Virgin River in Zion. So hiking the Narrows in late April will be iffy.

You will have plenty of easy hikes for the kids in all the parks. Just stop at the Visitor's Center, take the map and ask questions. Most all the hikes are beautiful!

Check out the parks on nps.gov. You can actually view the park newsletter for each park. The newsletters list all of the good hikes, times for restaurants or snack bars, shuttle schedules, and ranger talks. You can also download/print the junior ranger books for each park--helps create some excitement and gives them something to do in the car. There is also info about the animals and plants in the park etc. Lots of great info!!

Good for you vacationing as a family. Many years ago we traveled each summer with our three youngsters exploring different sites, e.g., traveling for some weeks through Colorado or Black Hills or Kentucky or New England. However, we had a tent and then camper and then trailer and preferred state or national parks. So our fun was campfires and hiking and historic sites. We shunned Las Vegas and Disney World. OK did stop at Six Flags. Over the years we've enjoyed places mentioned like Zion and Arches.

Now then, I suspect sons 5 and 7 are going to be worn out as well as entertained. Keep in mind you are driving considerable distances. So I would shift from what to see to consider what they might enjoy. What strikes me is splashing in a motel pool and video games and kid's fun parks and maybe collecting pine cones or just digging in dirt (like one of our boys). Of course I should mention ice cream stores. So this does shift the emphasis from just what to see.

Las Vegas - If you enjoy the gangster era when LV was the-the safest city in the US, visit Mob Museum. It is down town.
http://themobmuseum.org/ Have lunch at near by Main Street Casino. They have the original furniture of the past train era. Not many people know there is an upstairs. MUST go up (hidden elevator) and see their gorgeous 1800s classic billiard tables.

Dinosaurs. I was not that impressed with Mill Canyon Dino trail. Hard to impossible to find a bone. There is an abandoned copper mine in that area.

There is one area, essentially across the road from Mill, where two different Dino tracks are frozen in stone. The interesting aspect is that they make a turn - ask at Moab visitor center. Entry is off highway 191 at MP 148.7 driving east. High clearance is probably required.

There is another set of dino tracks at Poison Spider Mesa at Mile 9.4 off highway 279, Potash Road. Drive up the road to the park lot and look behind you to the upper right for a white flat rock. Tracks are visible from the parking lot. Walk up there where there are very good petroglphs

Suggest visiting this real dino museum at Exit 10 off I-15 east about 4 miles of St. George, Ut.:
http://www.utah.com/stgeorge/johnson_farm.htm

Vaga

Hi all - thanks for all of your replies over the weekend! These are all really great suggestions about things to do with the kids. I've started to look on the NP websites for ideas. And as for simple things like swimming, we definitely hope to provide them with a decent amount of downtime at the places we're staying. We're staying almost exclusively at places with pools so as to allow them a lot of swimming and relaxation!

We did a bit of planning this weekend and now have our lodging secured for our first 4 nights. Our first two nights are going to be in Vegas at the Tahiti Village. Funny enough, before we booked the lodging that we wanted on the strip in Vegas, some big Mayweather boxing match got announced for that particular weekend and all of the lodging prices skyrocketed! Seriously -- about 2.5 times what they were last week. It shocked us and needless to say, it didn't seem worth it to spend that much. We've booked a suite at the Tahiti Village and it looks great. Lots of pools and even a little beach. And shuttles to the strip several times a day.

We also booked our two nights in Springdale at the Cable Mountain Lodge in a Classic Suite with Wall Bed (perfect - separate beds for the boys makes for better sleeping all around : ).

We've actually made major changes to the Colorado portion of the trip. Once I talked to my hubbie, he had some thoughts about what he wanted to see in Colorado and I think it makes for a great route. That said, it's all different now and so we'd love any opinions.

Here's the changes:

DAY 11
- We decided not to add any more time to the Utah NPs and to head straight to Mesa Verde on this day (2.5 hour drive).
- Afternoon and evening in Mesa Verde. Overnight at the Far View Lodge.

DAY 12
- half day at Mesa Verde NP (maybe a ranger-led hike).
- head out of Mesa Verde through Durango
- should we stay in Durango on this night or should we continue on our drive up the "Million Dollar Highway" to Ouray or Telluride?
- if you recommend driving the highway, would you stay in Ouray or Telluride?

DAY 13
(depending on far we drove on Day 13...)
- explore Telluride or Ouray/entire area - hiking, etc.
- do people actually recommend Jeep Tours with kids? How does it work with their car/booster seats? Do you think this is safe?

DAY 14
- explore Telluride or Ouray/entire area - hiking, etc.
- should we stay in the area one more night, or move along to get us somewhere closer to Woodland Park (see Day 15)?

DAY 15
— stop at the Woodland Park Dinosaur Museum on the way to Denver
- what is there to see on the drive from Ouray area towards Woodland Park?
— overnight in Denver

DAY 16
- half-day in Denver
- late afternoon flight from Denver to Toronto

Day 12 - 14.
Where to stay Day 12 depends when you leave MVNP. Also, if you aren't used to mountain driving, The Million Dollar highway is best done during daylight,Box Canyon Falls.

If it's late, stay in Durango; if early enough, drive to Ouray. Be sure to see the Falls there - they are just as you enter town, on the left.

Telluride is a pretty decent drive away from the Million Dollar Highway. Telluride is typically WAY more expensive than Ouray.

When you say hiking, how much of a hike vs. a walk are you talking about? 5 and 7 years of age is pretty young for most Telluride/ouray hikes. I would look to see if the are kid friendly walks. Also, are you coming from sea level? Telluride is pretty high up, altitude should be respected. Read up on Altitude Sickness.

As far as the Jeep rides - I see that they take any age. I have done some and they are pretty scary and I was not a newbie on them. Not sure, but doubt car seats will be allowed.

If you do a tour, I would suggest a half day only. And Yankee Boy Basin would most likely be the least scary.

Whatever you do, DO NOT rent a Jeep on your own. Not a good idea at all.

This is a popular vendor. http://soajeep.com/

Just my opinion but you have really short changed Colorado all around. A day in Mesa Verde is truly penny wise and pound foolish. There is much there that is totally captivating to youngsters, let alone adults. It is a wonder of the world--a lost civilization preserved.
Denver also has much more to offer than a day and especially for youngsters.
I would add to MV and then just head to Denver--via Woodland Park if you want.
Telluride and Ouray are fun and beautiful--you will have spent over a week in Utah in National Parks.

DebitNM -- we absolutely will be careful of altitude sickness, thank you for the reminder. Pre-kids, my husband and I did a lot of mountain hiking (including Kili's sister mountain - Mount Meru - a 4-day climb in Tanzania, where we watched many a couple race past us, only to get sick before reaching the summit). Our boys have summited with us before (nothing terribly strenuous, but we were surprised and impressed nonetheless), but we will be very mindful of which hikes we choose. I'm glad that you mentioned how tough the hikes are in the area (particularly because it sounds like a lot of hikes in the Utah parks are kid-doable, and so I wouldn't want to start assuming...). And thanks also for your thoughts about the Jeep Tours. I know nothing at all about them yet, but they automatically made me uncomfortable thinking of doing one with the kids. And now I can absolutely tell the hubbie that we will not be renting our own jeep either : ) Using our two feet will have to be good enough!

Gretchen, I can totally see where you're coming from. That said, we're planning a 16-day trip - 2 days are being spent in Nevada, 8 days in Utah and then 6 days in Colorado. Although it may seem uneven at the outset, I don't think it's too terrible (at one point, we had an extra day and I thought we'd add it to Utah, but then we decided to add it to Colorado). I will definitely re-think on giving Mesa Verda more time - my husband and I are very excited about visiting there and don't want to shortchange it. As for Denver, we're just not going to have time to do much more than the half-day we have allotted this time around. I'll admit that we tend to shortchange cities on our trips. Some people don't understand it, but we live in a big city ourselves and so taking the kids to a zoo and a museum, etc. (no matter how great they are), when we have world-class ones in our own city just doesn't take priority for us over the national parks etc. With unlimited time, yes. But when we're having to make choices, no.

Any more thoughts about our Colorado portion? Where to stay, hikes/drives, etc?

I think the trip has lost a little focus. You can visit cities and alpine scenery in Canada. I liked the previous scheme of a full day (9 hours at least to get in 2 tours) at Mesa Verde and then on to the Sand Dunes which are great fun for children, and also one of the fabulous sights of the SW.

Tom, have you been to MV?
OP, please add at least a day there. The Sand Dunes are wonderful but....
And you are entirely correct about your access at home to your museums. The Denver Art Museum however has an incredible Native American collection, as an example of what might be different when you go to another country/city.
But I also find that young children may not be as caught up in scenery day after day as adults can be, and want "different" things along the way. Just a thought.
with discovering that the jeep and hikes are difficult, maybe re-allocating those days to MV and beyond will work out.

Depending on spring run-off and your dates, Medano Creek at the Sand Dunes may be flowing. If conditions are right, your kids will love playing in the creek and running up and down the dunes.

www.nps.gov/grsa/planyourvisit/medano-creek.htm

Monte Vista and Alamosa are also options for an overnight near the Sand Dunes. Both have a variety of lodging. It has been many years since I've stayed there, but your kids might get a kick out of the Best Western Movie Manor in Monte Vista. The hotel is part of a drive-in movie theater. The screen is visible from the rooms with the sound piped in. There is a hospital in Alamosa.

I'm not sure if there are age restrictions, but look into the Fiery Furnace tour at Arches.

alwaysafrica, I am not chiming in here actually to offer advice. Rather, I did want to comment on how much I have enjoyed and benefited from reading this thread. Your efforts to work out a framework and thoughtful comments have allowed some of our best posters to respond in kind.

So, thanks, and I am so looking forward to hearing your experiences. No doubt this will be a memorable trip.

The kids might enjoy the Durango-Silverton train trip ... I think that is still a big attraction in that area.

Agree, edjim, a real highlight of one of our recent trips.

One thing to consider - take the train up and the bus back (or vice versa). The train journey is wonderful, but takes awhile and might be a bit too much for the kids. Besides, the bus gives you a different (and quicker) perspective.

As we went along, we saw people at every road crossing, waiting to see the train and take pictures. Really nice to be IN the train then. :-D

You'll have a couple of hours to eat, visit the shops, and wander Silverton before leaving. When we were there in September, there was a sudden quick snow storm in Silverton that blew open all the doors - yes, I bought a warm hoodie..

Might want to take the tour to see the round house in Durango as well - that's where they turn the train engines around.

I took the Silverton train ride for DH and *I* was bored. Lots of sitting. Lots of looking, but lots of sitting. Not fun for anybody active. If you do it, absolutely take the bus back!

The train would entertain the kids for 10 minutes. I agree with Stanton to a degree ; it's pretty scenery and fun to ride (except for the soot, don't wear white) but after the first dozen "oohs and ahhh" that's about it.

Hi all! Sorry for my delay in writing back.. but we were furiously trip planning : ) The trip is now official -- we have booked our flights! We also booked quite a few of our accommodations and our rental car (we've booked a Jeep Grand Cherokee - hopefully that will give us the high clearance that we hear is often required for driving in the area?). Here's what we have booked:

Las Vegas: Tahiti Village (1BR Suite)
Springdale: Cable Mountain Lodge
Capitol Reef: Austin's Chuckwagon Motel (2BR cabin) (thank you for the suggestion Stanton Hyde - the place looks great)
Mesa Verde: Far View Lodge (although I didn't realize that when you check availability, the site is not actually confirming availability! Once I confirmed our reservation, it then said that they will request our reservation and get back to us in the next 48 hours... so we now wait and see)
We're going to continue booking the rest of our lodgings.

Thanks to all once again for all of the opinions. Gretchen, we've decided to add that second night onto Mesa Verde, so that at the very least, we have a day and a half there (or more, if we'd like). As for all of the other comments, now that we've booked our flights and some lodging, we're going to be giving the Colorado portion of our trip alot more thought. I appreciate all of the insight and I'll keep you all posted : )

Sludick, thanks for the words. As I said at the very beginning, trip planning on these forums is always SO darn exciting for me... I love the idea that people take the time out of their lives to think about my trip and pass along advice. It really is amazing. And yes, I promise to write a detailed trip report when we get back...!