5 days in Boulder, CO in June.
 

We'll rent a car. What would you suggest?

It would depend upon your age, interests and state of heath. Vail is about a 2-2/12 hour drive . It would be a nice day trip. Even if you just want to stroll around and have lunch or dinner you would enjoy it. About the same travel time is Breckenridge. It is more of a real town. If there are children they might enjoy the alpine slide.

An hour away is Estes Park, another real town but not as nice as the other two mentioned above. It is very touristy. It is next to the entrance to the Rocky Mountain National Park. You may want to drive around in the park and pick an area to hike.

Don't wate your time going to Denver. There is really nothing to see. or do other than a nice zoo.

For a closer to home drive you can drive from Canyon road to Nederland (fun for lunch). There are waterfall(s) along the way and lakes when you get near Ward. This is where the Lake Eldora (?) ski area is located.

Pleent of bike trails and hiking area close to Boulder.

Also, take a tour of the Coors brewery. it is interesting and they may sytill give free beer1

Chautauqua Park is a beautiful place to hike, and also has historic buildings which include a very nice restaurant (with porch seating and expansive views) and a music venue. You could Google it for the music schedule. It's up Baseline Road, very close to campus. You can drive up Flagstaff road for pretty views and to take a hike at the top. The Flagstaff House restaurant is up there-- very pricey, some people like it a lot.

I disagree about Denver not being worth the drive, since I live here. Depending on your interests, of course. LoDo (lower downtown) is full of restaurants and clubs, especially geared for the 20s and 30s crowd. Maybe catch a ballgame or a concert.

Lots of great restaurants in Boulder. Pearl Street mall is an outdoor pedestrian mall with shops and restaurants. For a unique experience, try the Tea House in Boulder. For a lively place where the menu is all good, try the Mediterranean. For more upscale, the Kitchen. Both near Pearl Street.

Also restaurants outside of Boulder, like the Red Lion Inn (I think it's still there), an historic place in Boulder Canyon. Another very good restaurant a ways out of town, is Gold Hill.

The CU campus is very pretty and is a nice place to take a walk.

You could drive into Rocky Mtn. Natl Park and go up Trail Ridge Road, to get above tree line and see some beautiful scenery. Even go down to Grand Lake, but that's more than a day-trip.

What are your special interests?
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what about the Celestial Tea company? I don't drink tea but I really enjoyed their tour.

I would suggest starting your morning with breakfast at the Dushanbe Tea House (very unique as previously mentioned) and then head to Rocky Mountain National Park for a few hours of hiking or just to enjoy the scenery. I would skip Estes Park and head directly into RMNP.

www.boulderteahouse.com

I also enjoy the restaurant at Chatauqua for brunch before a morning hike.

I'll second the recommendation for a tour of the Celestial Seasonings Tea Factory. The tour is well done and worth the time.

http://www.celestialseasonings.com/c.../visit-us.html

I also disagree about Denver not being worth your time. As previously stated, it really depends on your interests.

I'm the original poster. We're 50+ women. We've been to Vail, Breckenridge and Beaver Creek, so probably would go somewhere new. Love beautiful walks (not ambitious hikes, we're wimps). Love concerts and tiny art galleries....and good food! I'm a little scared on the switchback mountain roads. Did that a few years ago.

I just got back from Boulder, Co., I am 50 plus and did a trail walk in Chataugua Park - it was well worth it, not strenous, just enough to enjoy the views of the mountains, streams, and great views of Boulder. Also, the Dushambe Tea House - wonderful food, the Celestial Tea Tour was great fun, just walking downtown Boulder on Pearl Street is a great place to people watch. We did go to Denver (we took the bus for $2.25 one way )for a day, visited their Capitol Building, the library is enormous and wonderful, the pedestrian mall with the free bus is great - take it down all the way and then walk back. We also shopped at Whole Foods in Boulder, that is an experience in itself with all the samples. I recommend Boulder Breadworks for their wonderful soups and gelato. You can't get bored with Boulder - just looking out the window at the scenery is enough !

A nice day trip could be to go up to the Park, drive through and then come down the other side to Silverthorne for a bit of outlet shopping.
Denver is well worth a day trip. The botanical garden is very nice. Whole Foods is indeed wonderful--go to the one on Arapahoe (is that right, Denver folk--the new one?). And if you love book stores, go to the Tattered Cover in Cherry Creek. Have lunch at Little Ollie's.

mrt,Maureen, etc: As you know, I don't know much abt the area (have asked for help on this forum recently), BUT: Last time we were out that way, one of our very favorite things was visiting that wonderful butterfly pavillion. Was it just outside of Denver? I really do think it was one of the loveliest things of its kind I've ever seen. For folks who happen to enjoy that sort of thing, I'd recommend it most highly.

NativeNewYorker, it sure would be polite to describe your prior likes and dislake so we don't waste a lot of time recommending things that you don't want to do or cannot do.

The Butterfly P is on north side of 36 (the four lane road to Denver} a little over half way to Denver. It is clearly mark and an interesting visit. There is an art district on S Santa Fe in Denver. An antique row on S. Broadway.

MaureenB comments are very good. If you don't want to drive there is good bus service to Denver and the bus station is in the heart of downtown Denver and two blocks from the Denver Center for Performing Arts. There will be a couple productions being offered. See---- www.denvercenter.org/event_calendar/

And if you are into art, you really need to see the new Daniel Libeskind's addition to the Denver Art Museum. Or the Denver public library next door. Even if you don't go inside, the buildings are worth a visit. I could go on. Don't believe mrt, he obviously doesn't live here. Lots of great things to see and do in Denver But, then maybe you have seen it all.

Poss, yes, the butterfly pavilion is situated outside of Denver, in the direction of Boulder. I went there years ago with a school group, but haven't been back since, so I'm not sure of its exact location.
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I too disagree with the statement that Denver isn't worth seeing. (We live in the Denver suburbs). Check out the lobby of The Brown Palace--the grande dame of Denver hotels. Visit the Denver Pavilions, then take the free shuttle to LoDo. The Tattered Cover is no longer in Cherry Creek but there is one in LoDo by Union Station. Wonderful places to eatdown there. (McCormicks for fish and seafood--in The Oxford, a lovely old hotel, Bistro Vendome on Larimer Square, another must-see block. Gumbos if you like New Orleans-style food, Red Square Bistro for russian food). Cherry Creek north has a European feel- with boutiques, art galleries and restaurants.

I also love Estes Park--I think it's no more touristy and just as pretty as Vail and Breckenridge. You'll drive through it on the way to RMNP and if you like the looks of it, stop for a bite to eat or to shop.

In the park, the Bear Lake trail isn't strenuous-it's even handicapped accessible. But the parking lot can get full in summer if you aren't there early enough. There are shuttles that'll take you from Estes Park.

If you don't like switchbacks, I wouldn't go up Flagstaff Mountain (or Mt Evans)! Boulder Canyon would be nice. And Chautauqua. We love to eat at The Kitchen in Boulder, though we thought breakfast and lunch were better than dinner. Mateo is another. Our daughter thinks Khow Thai has the best Thai food around. And I've heard good things about Aji on the Pearl Street pedestrain mall.

Sue

REALLY--the Tattered Cover closed in Cherry Creek?
And the butterfly pavilion is wonderful. Glad it was mentioned--we'll take the granddaughters back in May when we are there.

Yes Gretchen, the Tattered Cover is no longer in Cherry Creek. It has moved to a new location on Colfax near East High School. I really have no desire to visit that location or the one in Highlands Ranch. It has been years since I was at the LoDo store and it really didn't impress me. The Cherry Creek store was my favorite!!!

If anyone has visited the new location, I'd be interested to know your opinion.

Re: Butterfly Pavilion. It's located in Westminster, off Hwy 36 between Denver and Boulder. http://www.butterflies.org/planyourvisit.cfm

Re: Tattered Cover Bookstore. I visited their new location on Colfax last month for the first time. It's disappointingly small compared to the Cherry Creek location. Nevetheless, it's all about the books and I tend to block out everything around me when I start to browse. The surrounding neighborhood is really starting to perk up - lots of new stores and restaurants. Don't let the Colfax location scare you away. Free parking too.

Each to their own opinion, but I think the LoDo store is terrific. Slightly smaller than Cherry Creek but much the same feeling and look. The Highland Ranch is smaller and has the look and feel of the typical suburban book store. Doesn't have the character of LoDo or CCreek. And new store on Colfax is nice and worth a visit. The problem is that all book stores,Borders, etc., have having a lot of problems. Amazon is killing them all. And an independant bookseller has every greater challenges. The recent increased popularity of CCreek is driving up rents and the small local shops are being driven out. Tattered Cover was one of the last to go.

Another good restaurant on the 16th Street mall is The Rialto Cafe.

Sue

I like the LoDo store and I think the Colfax location is probably near where our son had his first house--near Park Hill area? Well, parking for the CC store was difficult--I HATE decks!! But what a neat concept it was.
Thanks for the updates.

The new Tattered Cover on Colfax is right by East High, not in Park Hill.
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Thanks for the feedback on the new Tattered Cover. I want to try Cafe Star so I'm sure I'll stop at TC on the same trip and check it out.

I would never tell anyone not to visit the LoDo location. I grew up with the TC in Cherry Creek so that contributes to my bias. I understand the challenges facing independent bookstores and increasing rents, but it is still unfortunate that TC had to move.