Are there any places in Colorado to compare with Switzerland?
 

We have been to Switzerland and loved the beautiful mountain scenery. I realize that the Rocky Mountains are MUCH higher and more rugged, but are there any towns in the mountains that are more pastural, grassy, with wild flowers, and lakes? I was wondering specifically about Beaver Creek, Aspen, or Vail. Have never been to Breckenridge, Steamboat Springs, or similar skiing towns. We would be visiting in August and want to mostly enjoy beautiful vistas. (Of course, we will include RMNP and the very scenic Trail Ridge Road.
Will have about 10 - 12 days in the mountains. We are seniors so will not be able to do any
strenuous hiking.
I realize that it is difficult to compare these two mountain ranges, but could anyone "give it a try"?
Thank you all!

First off, wild flowers generally only bloom in the spring so by August the flowering gone.

Second, places like Beaver Creek, Aspen, Vail, Breckenridge, Steamboat are all ski resorts with lots of condos and development so probably not what you are looking for.

However, it you get off I-70 and hit some of the more rural areas - Independent Pass, Leadville, B Vista, Salida, Gunnison, Glenwood Canyon and Spring (I know, they are on I-70) you will find more of what you are looking for. The SW around Telluride to Durango is more like Switzerland with the granite mountains. Just stick to the off main roads and you will see lots of scenery.

The are not a lot lakes in CO. A bunch of dams but natural lake are as common as Switzerland.

Ouray is called Little Switzerland
http://www.ouraycolorado.com/
http://soajeep.com/

No - the mountains are completely different.

And the Rockies aren't filled with charming farm villages hundreds of years old.

No.

Thanks everyone. Starrs -- like the sound of Ouray and will enjoy the pretty ride getting there.
The Rockies will surely show us their own charm.

Colorado - and Utah and Montana, Oregon and Wyoming and Idaho etc - have some great places that are very scenic - even if you don't have the idyllic Swiss Chalets all over. :)

Ouray and Telluride are also special.

Uno Mas - the area in Northern Idaho - Schweitzer - is often called Little Switzerland.

And Oregon has a "little Switzerland" by Joseph, Oregon - NE corner.

Been to both. I so wish we had ways to get up in the mountains and stay like I did in the B.O.

Ouray/Silverton/Telluride/Lake City/Creede
Rocky Mountain National Park
Cottonwood Pass--between Buena Vista and Gunnison (part is rock but it is a very good road)
Independence Pass between Aspen and N. of Buena Vista

You didn't specifically say Colorado, so here are more:
Glacier National Park
Beartooth Highway---has a lot of what you want (between NE entrance of Yellowstone and Red Lodge MT)
Tetons
Sierra Nevada range
Alaska

I found a blog a long time ago called Travelling with Ed and Julie. Most of the information was on Switzerland and Italy but they had a section on Ouray.

Unfortunately, that blog has been discontinued but it has been archived. Ed and Julie loved Switzerland and Ed thought that Ouray was the closest thing he could find to Switzerland here in the US. We loved that area and the San Juan Mountains. The scenery was spectacular and the hiking was great.

One correction: the Rockies are not much higher than the Alps. In fact the highest mountains of the Alps are higher than the highest of the Rockies. Perhaps the Rockies have a higher average altitude, but individual summits are not higher.

You shouldn't be looking for Switzerland, but you should be favorably impressed with the scenery around Telluride, Ouray, Aspen, as well as many other parts of Colorado.

Aspen does have lots of condo developments, but it's also a charming town with older, historic homes and buildings. There's a guided stroll that takes you through neighborhoods of beautiful Victorian houses; I wish I could remember the details of how to sign up for that, but I'm sure if you search, Google will help.

We also enjoyed the Aspen music tent--there, too, if you Google, you should be able to find the performance schedule.

In Colorado, Ouray is spectacular! One of my favorite all-time hikes is out of that area, just outside of Ridgeway, Colorado, to Blue Lakes in the Uncompahgre National Forest:

http://www.rockymountainhikingtrails.com/blue-lakes.htm

Ouray is a great little town with quaint restaurants, shops and lodging.

Thank you all for the information. Seems like Ouray is quite a distance from Rocky Mountain National Park which we will definitely visit. How long is the drive from RMNP to OUray? They seem
in oposite directions. We will be visiting from the St. Louis, Mo area.

From Grand Lake (west side of RMNP) to Ouray is probably about a 6 hour drive.

Yes, Ouray and RMNP are on opposite corners of the state. It's doable but it depends on how much time you like to spend in the car. My wife and I don't mind long driving days getting <i>to</i> someplace, but once there we back off to only a couple hours per day in the car. Personal preference.

If you need to return to Denver then that's another long day from Ouray.

For my taste I'd go to the Aspen area, about a 4 hour drive from the west side of RMNP, and about the same to DIA.

They are all beautiful places, depends on your driving tolerance. Have a great trip whatever you decide.

Six hours to drive from Grand Lake to Ouray would be unrealistic, especially for sightseers who want to take a minute for the views.

I always recommend Aspen for your preferences. It is more wide-open country than Vail and Breckenridge, with beautiful vistas, a wild west heritage, and plenty to do. You could skip RMNP and Trail Ridge Road. Drive Independence Pass instead. It is narrow and winding, but beautiful. Go through Glenwood Canyon for its scenery, too.

If you have more specific questions about Aspen, you might want to post another thread about it.

You say you have 10-12 days. That is plenty of time to see lots of Colorado.

It may be in your budget but just be aware Aspen is very "high rent". We do enjoy driving through as we do Independence Pass. If tiny, twisty mountain roads with no shoulder scare you, you might not enjoy it.

Aspen is sounding good, but only as a day trip. I want to SLEEP at lower elevations because of altitude sickness so would it work to stay a couple days in Glenwood Springs ((5761') and just visit Aspen and Glenwood Canyon from that base?
The altitude at Telluride and Ouray was also a concern for me.