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Aspen, Vail, Summit CO, RMNP Trip report - long

Aspen, Vail, Summit CO, RMNP Trip report - long

Old Jul 24th, 2010, 08:23 AM
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Aspen, Vail, Summit CO, RMNP Trip report - long

Just got back from our wonderful trip to Colorado. What a great trip. Thanks to all on this forum who helped us plan and gave advice, it was very helpful and appreciated. We flew into Denver, arrived around 11 AM, rented our car and headed towards Aspen over the Independence Pass. Beautiful drive. Independence Pass wasn't half as scary as we expected, really not that much exposure compared to Trailridge Drive, and the narrow parts mostly had guard rails. Beautiful views though. Ended up in Aspen late afternoon. We loved Aspen. The town is beautiful and so much activity, the park with vendors selling art, all the wonderful live classical music on every street corner, etc.... Due to Aspen's "snooty" reputation we thought it might be off putting, but though there were tons of designer shops and such, there were far more very normal and fun things to do and see. We really enjoyed the town. Next day took the quick bus ride from Aspen to Maroon Bells, really enjoyed that, including the stop at Aspen Highlands to connect with the shuttle. Maroon Bells was as beautiful as we had heard, took the scenic loop hike around the lake, just gorgeous. I recommend taking the first shuttle in the morning for best photos, we got a perfect reflection of the Maroon Bells in the water when we arrived, it was gone by the time we left a few hours later. Took the Gondola up Aspen Mountain to the free Bluegrass concert, very fun and what a ride! Stayed at Aspen Mountain Chalet which we highly recommend. Dining was extremely expensive everywhere though excellent food, I recommend Brunelleschi's(Bruno's) for a great Italian meal at sort of reasonable prices(for Aspen).

Next day on to Vail via Glenwood Canyon, arrived around noon, took the Gondola to the top of Vail Mountain and hiked, just beautiful views everywhere. Next day in Vail we drove down to Frisco and rented bikes from Pioneer Sports, they shuttled us to the top of Vail Pass and we rode the 14 miles downhill back to Frisco, then a bit around the lake. That was a blast. The views and just being out there coasting down the mountain was exhilarating. Do be aware the the path meanders pretty close to I-70 so it's not pristine wilderness, but beautiful nonetheless and quite fun. Went fishing that evening at Gore Creek, no catches though we did see a huge trout that wouldn't bite. Great dinner at Blu's restaurant by Gore Creek, again great food and reasonable prices for Vail which is also very expensive dining. Stayed at the Sitzmark which was very nice, right by the water. Vail was a really cute, little imitation German town. We enjoyed it alot. I've read comments about Vail being too close to the highway but never had a sense of the highway being near while we were in the town.

Next day off to Frisco and Summit County. Headed early for Mayflower Gulch. This is a must do hike! Really unbelievable views, feeling of being really out there in the mountains. It was pretty cloudy with rain coming in, so not so great for photos, but still amazing. The rain came in as we were leaving the hike for Frisco, so we got rained out of our kayaking Lake Dillon but it looked fun. Stayed at the Galena Street Inn, nice Bed and Breakfast which fortunately had our room ready early since it was raining. rain stopped late afternoon, we went over to Dillon and actually preferred views of the lake from that side. Tried fishing the Blue River with no success. Good Prime rib at Pubs's restaurant in Dillon.

Next day off for Rocky Mountain National park. Now we were having a great time and really loved everything we did up to then. But when we entered the park, everything else seemed like nothing in comparison. We'd been to the park a few years ago, but it didn't matter that we'd seen it before. Trailridge Drive and it's amazing beauty still left us speechless, the mountains, the trails, the whole park felt like coming home. An amazing place. We stayed at Castle Mountain Lodge, unfortunately for just one night. We had the simple lodge room but it was nice and the whole property was close to the river. They have nice looking cabins too. Tried to hike to Dream Lake but the rain came in again and drenched us, That's okay, we'd hiked it last time. Rain of course cleared as we left the trailhead. Hiked another trail whose name I don't remember for a piece, then strolled along the Fall river, had dinner at Nicky's on the water. We loved the park so much we seriously considered staying an extra night but alas our dogs were waiting for us at home. Last morning we didn't have to leave for the airport till noon, so we made a quick visit to Sprague lake, then spent the morning hiking around Moraine park meadow and fishing in the meandering stream that runs through it, I think that is my favorite place in the park, so peaceful and beautiful. Then it was time to leave for the airport, and now we are home. A truly wonderful week, we just love Colorado and are already talking about when we might come back.

Tips: Wear tons of sunscreen and moisturizer, the air is very dry and it's easy to burn.

-Drink tons of water, it really helps with adjustment to the altitude.

-Bring insect repellent, we forgot ours and got eaten alive at times.

-If it rains, wait an hour and the weather will change again.

-Don't underestimate the effect of the thin air at 9 or 10,000 feet. The air is really thin at such high altitudes, give time to adjust.

-Photos are best in the morning, the glare hits the mountains by about 11 AM and the pictures aren't as good.
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Old Jul 24th, 2010, 09:34 AM
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Thanks for posting your report. Glad to hear you had a good time!
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Old Jul 24th, 2010, 06:04 PM
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Isn't it funny about Aspen's reputation and then the reality? I've skied there and never had any remotely "snooty" experiences. Even nice restaurants were much more casual than I expected--no one seemed bothered by the families in baseball caps and sweatshirts in Nobu, for example.
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Old Jul 25th, 2010, 06:43 AM
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Lorenky1 Nice post.....You paint it very well.Great tips. Wife and I, middle sixties, good shape, outdoorspeople. Flying to Denver from upstate NY right after Labor Day.Grabbing a one way rental and starting on a two to three week swing to SanFran via Rushmore, Yellowstone, Tetons,Salt Lake, Tahoe, maybe Yosemite. Your thoughts on the must see in CO? (your blog gave us a bunch to start with.) From Dever we will probably work our way toward Rushmore but in a meandering way.
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Old Jul 25th, 2010, 07:03 AM
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Well I'm definitely not a Colorado expert having only been twice and I would suggest posting a separate post for your question so that you get really good informed answers. I am assuming you want to see scenery like I do, but some of your choices will depend on what you like to do. But of the places in Colorado I've visited thus far, I would go to Rocky Mountain National park for the incredible scenery, and drive over Trailridge Drive. Of the towns I went to I really liked Aspen the best but it's the most out of the way so perhaps not for your trip. I think, and again I'm no expert on Colorado, that if you arrive in Denver and are headed north towards Yellowstone, etc, that Rocky Mountain National Park is in the correct direction, whereas some of the other great places in Colorado are not. You MIGHT be able to fit a stop at Summit County or even Vail in there, but I really would want to hear from an expert on that. IMO Rocky Mountain NP is the must see stop in Colorado, especially if you are headed north from Denver. You are mentioning alot of places for a two week trip, with lots of driving, I think three weeks is much better for your plan. Lake Tahoe in California is beautiful but Yosemite is incredible, and only 4 hours from San Francisco, so in your California route I would do Yosemite rather than Tahoe if you have to choose between the two, and see Yosemite on the way to San Francisco. Hope that helps, I know alot more about California than Colorado and have been to Yosemite about a dozen times so feel free to ask me more about California and Yosemite if you wish.
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Old Jul 25th, 2010, 11:13 AM
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Great report, Lorenky. You did your homework and it clearly paid off!
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Old Jul 26th, 2010, 03:44 AM
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Lorenky...Thanks for all the info. Because of your report we are going to add time to our Colorado trek and take in Aspen and RMNP. What kind of shape do you have to be in to take that bike ride out of Frisco?
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Old Jul 26th, 2010, 05:21 AM
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The bike trip is pretty easy, downhill the whole way, lots of coasting, there is some peddling but there's no downhill. Some sharp turns at the beginning. It is 14 miles and due to the altitude we were a bit winded at the end but nothing much. I really think you should get other input from the experts here before you commit to anything based on my recommendations, I'm really not an expert, just a very happy visitor. Though we loved Aspen it is way out of your way, 4 hour drive from Denver, 4 or 5 hour drive from Rocky Mountain NP. There may be other fabulous towns more on your way that we didn't visit. Lot's of people love Breckenridge which we didn't really get to visit and is much more close to Denver, 15 minutes from Frisco where you would take the bike ride. Or Vail is only a half hour from the bike shop. Anyway, good luck with the planning, it sounds like you're going to see alot.
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Old Nov 12th, 2010, 02:34 AM
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Lorenky, Time flies...Here it is Nov. and I have been wanting to say thank you for your Fodor's blog which was such a motivator for us to add more Colorado travel to our trip out west this past Sept. We had a wonderful vacation starting in RMNP and ending 6 states later at Maroon Bells. A funny note..we took your advice on the Aspen Mountain Chalet lodging and somehow when we plugged that name into our Garmin we came up with a mountain chalet but not the same one that you stayed at.Names were very close. We found that out when we got back home and had a good laugh. The chalet we did stay at was excellent and at dinner that night we complimented your good taste in lodging! When we head to Yosemite we will be in touch for more Lorenky tips!!
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Old May 26th, 2015, 01:52 PM
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Hello fellow travelers,

Due to travel in one week in beginning of June 2015.

Myself and my wife took our trip last year to Yosemite National Park. It was the best vacation I had ever had. The Valley was breathtaking and we came across some amazing restaurants like the Narrow Gage Inn. We love the outdoors but don't want to spend our whole trip driving. We would like to stay in comfortable B&B's or Inns with good wholesome food. We love lakes and would love to do white water rafting and canoeing, horse back riding or balooning. We don't know what way we should plan our trip to Rocky Mountain NP and if we can access Wholefoods even better as we like to eat very healthy etc. We are concerned its very cold still and if its a good time to go to Colorado? Greatly appreciate your feedback and help as to how we should plan the trip and where to stay as we like nice B&B's or country inns with good food....sincere thanks Bob
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