We are taking two college aged boys with us to Aspen in July. We have plans to take some kayak lessons, and do some hiking. However, my boys are very social, and are only concerned that there might not be other kids their age in town. Is this a popular family area during the summer? What other activies can we do?

Hope you are affluent. Aspen is very upscale and expensive.

Have you checked some Aspen web sites? Vail has a great web site with a calendar that gives activities by date, free concerts, kids camps, etc. In my experience, it is hard to find things for young adults this age. If they are 21 or older they could go to some clubs and maybe find others their age. There might me a "teen" club or a club that hosts "teen" night with no alcohol but they are really probably too old to enjoy that. We took our kids on a cruise when the boys were 18 and 21, they had a hard time finding anyone their age.

I think of Aspen as fairly elegant, not a family kind of place, but this may be mostly stereotype. I probably wouldn't take kids that age to Aspen. It has the reputation for being really expensive, which would keep a lot of college types away.

If you're not really set on Aspen, and you think it's reasonable to change your plans for them, they could probably meet more like-minded people in Boulder, Crested Butte, Durango, other college towns, even Estes Park. I'd look for someplace relatively inexpensive that's still considered cool. Places along the Arkansas River might be a good bet.

If I really wanted to go to Aspen, I'd probably tell them "No, there probably won't be a lot of kids your age here, but it's gorgeous, the food is good, and the people you do meet could be rich. So suck it up!"

I second the Vail suggestion. I've been there several times in the summer and there are always kids bombing around on bikes/blades etc. In fact my son used to live there and still has many friends living in Vail. These are all college age boys (all right, young men)and they are all active mt. bikers and hikers in the summer. None of them has been bored for a minute in Vail, whatever the season.

Hi Cindy travellyn is probably right. For college age Breckenridge is the place. They have a wonderful kayak park at the rec center. Know however that the flow will not be that great due to the low snow pack and lack of rain.

You might want to check out http://summitnet.com/summer/index.cfm

If you must go to Aspen, travellyn is right again, hard to feel to bad for them

Aspen tend to draw an older crowd due to the prices. Breck is filled with both families and college aged folks. You will find hiking, biking, golf, tennis, fishing, but not great food.

This seems rather funny to me. I have stayed in Vail three times during the summer, but had only visited Aspen for the day. This past summer I finally stayed in Aspen for three days in the summer. I have always found Vail to seem like senior citizen heaven in the summer, but the average age in Aspen was lots younger! Granted, Aspen is more upscale and expensive, but I found a lot more young people there than in Vail.

Sounds like many of the replies to your inquiry never even went to Aspen. Yes, it can be expensive, but it doesn't have to be...there are plenty of family-style affordable restaurants (Annies is great! and there are others). As for the "young adults", I take it they are mostly concerned about their evenings because there is plenty to do during the day. Well, I gotta tell you, theyre going to run into the same problem anywhere you choose to go...no bars, etc. But if I were to venture a guess, I believe there would be more choices in Aspen then the other resort areas, mainly due to the fact that its bigger, and yes, there are plenty of young people around. Good luck!

Other activities include: hiking, horseback riding, biking, golf, tennis, rafting, hotair-ballooning, any of the usual mountain outdoor things, even ice skating or hockey! As well, there is the Music Festival, movies, theatre, concerts, etc. Of course there will be other families there, either local or otherwise, and alot of college kids working summer jobs or kids just out of college on a gap "ski-bum" year. If they are underage, they may find it difficult to get into bars, but as pointed out earlier, that would be a problem anywhere. Given some of the activities you are likely to be doing, and if they are a little bit extroverted, they should have no problem meeting people and making new friends. They (and you) will probably meet new people even just hanging out on the mall. Also as pointed out above, Aspen doesn't have to be expensive - there are plenty of affordable lodgings and restaurants. Have fun and enjoy the beautiful Roaring Fork Valley!!!