salehasheikh1838

Hello, we are planning six days trip from Boston to Colorado in July. I heard so much Rocky Mountain but we also like to see scenic view. We don’t know anything about Colorado. Wondering weather month of July is good for scenic views. We like to hike, explore more things around. Want to visit Grand Canyon as possible at the same time not sure how many days we make plan for.
I know we are not going again and agin due to the high cost that rising unbelievably.
so please advise.

tomfuller

Welcome to Fodors! A few questions. Do you live in or near Boston? Do you have a US drivers license? If you are coming from somewhere else, fly to Denver to start your six days.
If you want to see the Grand Canyon, you should fly to Arizona or maybe Las Vegas. You should not try to cram both into six days.
Please come back soon and let us know where you want to go and what you hope to see other than some great scenery.

PrairieHikerII

July is a good month to visit Colorado though it will be packed with visitors. Everything will be lush and green but some mountains will still have snow on the peaks. I would wait to do the Grand Canyon and the national parks in southern Utah (such as Zion, another premiere national park) for another time. I would start in Colorado Springs and go up Pikes Peak and see Garden of the Gods. Then go up into the mountains from there to Salida/Buena Vista where the Collegiate Peaks are located (all over 14,000 feet). You should reserve hotel/motel rooms well in advance because that is the peak season.

oldemalloy

Good advice so far.

it is about 2000 miles from Boston to Denver, so if you want to spend most of the six days not in Colorado, and you have enough drivers to do ten hours of driving a day, you could do that trip.

if you work out the cost of gas, food, lodging, etc. vs flying and renting a car when you get there, then look at your budget you can make a decision on what works for you. If you are planning on using a rental car to make the drive, it makes no sense at all.

Are you planning to drive back too?

Use the consolidators like Kayak and Travelocity as well as the airlines that do not show up on them like Southwest and JetBlue to get an idea of air fares. If you pick the dates to fly when fares are low you can find flights for $150 or so per person one way.

salehasheikh1838

Hello, no, I am not driving from Boston to Denver. We are planning to fly. I heard Durango is so pretty, and Durango to Denver is pretty. We are willing to drive from Durango to Denver if we know where to stop and what to see while that journey. We also willing to stay any area that family safe. If someone give me some itinerary that would be great. Thank you!

tomfuller

The clockwise route I would plan including Durango would be south on I-25 to Walsenburg then west on US 160 to Alamosa with a side trip north to see the Great Sand Dunes NP and Preserve. Day 2 would be Alamosa to Durango. Depending on how early you get to Durango, you might want to visit Mesa Verde NP. for a couple hours. See Mesa Verde and then head north to Montrose and east to see Black Canyon of the Gunnison NP. Spend a night in the town of Gunnison. From Gunnison, head east on US 50 to Poncha Springs to US 285 north and Colorado route 9 to Breckenridge. If you still have time, head north from Breckenridge to Granby and then through Rocky Mountain NP through Estes Park on your way back to the Denver airport.

Melnq8

I'd avoid I-25. A nice scenic route from Durango to Denver - 550 to Silverton and Ouray, 50 to Gunnison, 24 to Buena Vista, Leadville and Minturn, then join I-70 east.

Or take 24 to 285, then head via Fairplay to Denver.

PrairieHikerII

Two highly scenic drives are recommended: Top of the Rockies National Scenic Byway which starts in Aspen and goes to Copper Mt. and Trail Ridge Road Scenic Byway in Rocky Mountain National Park which stretches between Estes Park and Grand Lake. https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/byways/byways/2119/maps https://www.coloradodirectory.com/maps/trailridgeroad.html

salehasheikh1838

Thank you all ):

salehasheikh1838

Another question: looking to explore all options. What will be my itinerary look like for 7 days if I travel from Denver Durango , would like to go all major parks, and then Durango to Dallas to fly out Boston. Is Sand Dunes, MesaVerda on the way to that route ( going to Durango) would be great if we take break between and stay overnight so we make trip memorable. Thanks a lot.

oldemalloy

If you want to see the National parks then you could plan a large loop. Go to Sand Dunes, Durango, Mesa Verde, Dinosaur, then Rocky Mountain. Get an America Beautiful pass at your first National Park, it will let you into all the parks for a year.

Since it is a loop you can do it in either direction, but I like to savor Rocky Mountain NP to get acclimated to the elevation a bit before trying to move.

of course there are lots of other State parks, national monuments, Forrests, etc. in Colorado. Get a big paper map and highlight the sites you most want to see then plan a route and arrange lodging.

Gretchen

Get a big paper map and highlight the sites you most want to see then plan a route and arrange lodging.

ALWAYS my way of planning a trip. If you go to Mesa Verde spend the night IN the park at Far View Lodge. I agree about starting at RMNP but for a different reason--the grandeur of the Rocky Mountains. And elevation is a factor all the way--drink more water than you think you need and use sunscreen.
Durango is a cute town but Mesa VERde should be your destination for that area IMO.
The Sand Dunes are interesting for a drive by on such a loop because you are in need of covering a lot of ground.