3 days in Colorado in late October
 

Hello there!

My husband and I (mid-20's) will be traveling from Chicago to Denver from October 20-23rd. We are arriving early morning on the 20th and departing early morning on the 23rd. I need some advice on our itinerary!

We are definitely staying in Boulder- that is already reserved. We are flying into Denver and renting a car. I have us spending most of that first day exploring attractions and breweries around LoDo. Then we will drive to Boulder, check-in, and get settled/have dinner. The other two days (Fri/Sat) I was planning on spending 1 day doing hikes around Boulder and exploring Boulder breweries and Pearl Street. The other I was hoping to drive up to RMNP and do a day hike. We love hiking and nature, but I am concerned it might not be worth the early drive given our limited time and potential weather conditions in RMNP. We had hoped to do Flattop Trail to Hallett Peak. Is that doable in late October?

The alternative is spending a second day doing hikes in Boulder and driving to the Red Rocks and exploring that area/possibly spending more time in Denver.

Opinions? Thanks so much!

At least you picked a non-football weekend but you probably knew that. No way to answer you questions/concern about weather. If we have early snow, you activities could be very limited especially in RMNP. Even with limited snow Estes Park could be packed, especially the roads with the fall Elk rut. If the Elk are active the roads become impassable because of the vehicles. You may have to be very flexible with your plans.

Thanks for the input! Would the snow majorly impact hikes in the Boulder area? Like the Flatirons?

Not taking the weather into consideration, does it make more sense to stay in the Denver/Boulder area given our limited time? I don't want to feel like we're driving our whole trip but I also don't want to regret not seeing RMNP.

Go up to Summit County and explore.

Summit County instead of RMNP?

The great attraction to RMNP is Trail Ridge Road the goes over the spine of the mountains. Highest continuous road in the US. It is a magnificent drive but my late October the road could be closed because of snow and it might not. Early snows are very unpredictable. I have seen times when we have had snow in Denver in September. But the area around Estes Park is not any different than most of the other mountain towns set in the woods. That is why Gretchen suggested Summit Cty (Frisco, Breckenridge). Little easier to access via I-80 or the back road in through US285. That is a pretty drive by itself.