5 Days near Denver
Jul 25th, 2017, 07:52 PM
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5 Days near Denver
My 18 year old son and I are traveling to Evergreen (west of Denver). Evergreen will be our home base.
Want action packed use of our time start tomorrow and leave Monday the 31st. Here is our itinerary:
Wed arrive, hike Red Rocks, concert at Red Rocks
Thurs relax - SUP at Evergreen Lake, short hike or drive to views? ______
Fri - Breckenridge for mountain biking? or another locale for rafting/kayaking? explore the area? any ideas ______
Sat - Hike or Zipline, Raft? _________ need to back to Evergreen by 5:00
Sun - check out of Evergreen - head to Ft Collins or Colorado Springs for horseback riding? _______ sleep there
Mon - airport by 1:00 Go into denver for breakfast, early morning segway tour?
My goal is to show my son a great mountain view, breath some mountain air and exert some energy.
When I asked him to put some activities in order, he said:
Horseback Riding, Rafting/Kayaking, Ziplining, Mountain Biking, Hiking.
I would love some ideas especially where I have _______. I know Mt Beirstadt is probably over my head, but would it make any sense to do it if only part of it? Would we get some views? What other hikes for great views.
Thanks for any ideas.
Want action packed use of our time start tomorrow and leave Monday the 31st. Here is our itinerary:
Wed arrive, hike Red Rocks, concert at Red Rocks
Thurs relax - SUP at Evergreen Lake, short hike or drive to views? ______
Fri - Breckenridge for mountain biking? or another locale for rafting/kayaking? explore the area? any ideas ______
Sat - Hike or Zipline, Raft? _________ need to back to Evergreen by 5:00
Sun - check out of Evergreen - head to Ft Collins or Colorado Springs for horseback riding? _______ sleep there
Mon - airport by 1:00 Go into denver for breakfast, early morning segway tour?
My goal is to show my son a great mountain view, breath some mountain air and exert some energy.
When I asked him to put some activities in order, he said:
Horseback Riding, Rafting/Kayaking, Ziplining, Mountain Biking, Hiking.
I would love some ideas especially where I have _______. I know Mt Beirstadt is probably over my head, but would it make any sense to do it if only part of it? Would we get some views? What other hikes for great views.
Thanks for any ideas.
Jul 26th, 2017, 04:35 AM
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We went to CO last year. I had never been there in the summer. It was beautiful! There are so many places to hike and do the other activities you mentioned. We loved the Garden of the Gods and we hiked there. It's not too far from CO Springs. Take a walk around the Air Force Academy if you want. The chapel is closed on the inside, but it's still a great piece of architecture. In Breck we just hiked up one of the ski trails. It was enough for us to see some magnificent views and we were already in a great place for lunch. My only warning is that the cool places are far apart from each other, so there will be a lot of driving. Remember the airport is about one hour from Denver proper. Give yourself plenty of time to get from place to place. The driving is a great time for you and your son to chat. Enjoy your trip!
Jul 26th, 2017, 05:09 AM
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" My only warning is that the cool places are far apart from each other, so there will be a lot of driving. "
I'm not sure I agree with this. Breckinridge is about an hour and a half from Denver--Vail is 3 hours. Aspen an hour and a half past Vail. And the scenery in between is awesome.
As for Denver airport--allow yourself at least 2 hours to get to your gate, IMO. And it is about 40 minutes from Denver so the OP's morning in Denver is quite problematic to me.
I'd ask if there is horseback riding in Rocky Mountain National Park.
I'm not sure I agree with this. Breckinridge is about an hour and a half from Denver--Vail is 3 hours. Aspen an hour and a half past Vail. And the scenery in between is awesome.
As for Denver airport--allow yourself at least 2 hours to get to your gate, IMO. And it is about 40 minutes from Denver so the OP's morning in Denver is quite problematic to me.
I'd ask if there is horseback riding in Rocky Mountain National Park.
Jul 26th, 2017, 09:51 AM
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You have some serious timing issues. First, why Ft. Collins or Colorado Springs for horseback riding ?? -- that doesn't make any sense at all. Need a little further explanation for either choice.
Don't understand the "cool places are far apart" phrase either.
With a 11 am departure and dropping a car means that you should be dropping the car at 8.30 to 9.00 am. Unfortunately the I-25 corridor, either north or south and especially from Ft. Collins, is jammed every morning with commuters. Throw in an accident or two (frequent) and it is a slow day. You can avoid some of this using the E470 (toll road) but getting to the toll road can still be a serious problem. I would stay in the Denver area the night before your departure.
If you are staying in Evergreen you have a lot of places with an hour or two of Evergreen -- Idaho Springs, Georgetown, Georgetown loop railroad, silver mines, Leadville and the Mineral Belt trail in Leadville, Boulder and Boulder canyon, Glenwood canyon and springs, etc., etc.
Don't understand the "cool places are far apart" phrase either.
With a 11 am departure and dropping a car means that you should be dropping the car at 8.30 to 9.00 am. Unfortunately the I-25 corridor, either north or south and especially from Ft. Collins, is jammed every morning with commuters. Throw in an accident or two (frequent) and it is a slow day. You can avoid some of this using the E470 (toll road) but getting to the toll road can still be a serious problem. I would stay in the Denver area the night before your departure.
If you are staying in Evergreen you have a lot of places with an hour or two of Evergreen -- Idaho Springs, Georgetown, Georgetown loop railroad, silver mines, Leadville and the Mineral Belt trail in Leadville, Boulder and Boulder canyon, Glenwood canyon and springs, etc., etc.
Jul 26th, 2017, 10:10 AM
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Couple more thoughts -- I would go from Evergreen to Denver and stay downtown on Sunday night. Dump the car downtown and save a days rental. Lots in the downtown area, great restaurants, etc., you could have a nice breakfast in the AM and take the A-line to the airport. Far, far easier than trying to drive from either F Collins or C Springs.
Jul 27th, 2017, 03:16 AM
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Ok, thx all. The rain and thunderstorms predicted are challenging my planning. Monsoon rained us out of Red Rocks last night.
Here are my current thoughts:
HB Ride - Rusty Spurr bc it looks like sun and fair weather for next few days and rides into mtn. I had looked at Co Spr bc of Garden of Gods and Ft Collins bc a friend lives there.
Airport - I had time wrong and will drop car at 4. I like the staying in Denver idea for the night before.
Mtn Biking - was looking at Breckinridge resort for ski lift assist, descent and new mountain area/views.
Mostly wondering what we will do during rain. Hard to plan bc I'm unsure of timing.
Thx for further ideas.
Here are my current thoughts:
HB Ride - Rusty Spurr bc it looks like sun and fair weather for next few days and rides into mtn. I had looked at Co Spr bc of Garden of Gods and Ft Collins bc a friend lives there.
Airport - I had time wrong and will drop car at 4. I like the staying in Denver idea for the night before.
Mtn Biking - was looking at Breckinridge resort for ski lift assist, descent and new mountain area/views.
Mostly wondering what we will do during rain. Hard to plan bc I'm unsure of timing.
Thx for further ideas.
Jul 27th, 2017, 03:22 AM
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For rain you might look at Woodward at Copper Mountain. It is a big foam "park" where the trick skiiers train and kids LOVE it. And I think Breckenridge has a big indoor recreational area.
Does OP have any interest in fly fishing--could get a guide in Silverthorne for a day trip.
Does OP have any interest in fly fishing--could get a guide in Silverthorne for a day trip.
Jul 27th, 2017, 08:08 AM
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Concur with suggestion to consider a visit to USAF Academy is a good thing for teenaged young lads. Tell them he is interested in applying even if he is not. Grounds are spectacular. Just north of the Academy reservation are the small towns of Monument and Palmer Lake which have very nice lunch spots.
Jul 27th, 2017, 08:13 AM
#10
There is no horseback riding that I know of in Fort Collins, but there is rafting on the Poudre River. I just checked a random outfitter and it looks like they have same day booking available.
http://www.shoprma.com/poudre_river_rafting.htm
Yep, looks like we are in a monsoonal pattern the next few days. I'm not a rafter, but I suppose it doesn't matter too much if it's raining! Good luck.
http://www.shoprma.com/poudre_river_rafting.htm
Yep, looks like we are in a monsoonal pattern the next few days. I'm not a rafter, but I suppose it doesn't matter too much if it's raining! Good luck.
Jul 27th, 2017, 06:44 PM
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We just did a rafting trip in Ft Collins area and were very happy. Class 3/4 for a decent part of trip.
Saw another possible trip for rafting which would have all class fours for the most part at coloradorafting.com when we were in the golden area outside of Denver
We stayed in Ft Collins and can give some recs if interested and did some hikes in Estes Park area
Saw another possible trip for rafting which would have all class fours for the most part at coloradorafting.com when we were in the golden area outside of Denver
We stayed in Ft Collins and can give some recs if interested and did some hikes in Estes Park area
