Colorado Christmas 2015
 

My Family and I are coming to Denver for Christmas 2015. We arrive in Denver on Monday 21/12 at 9.30pm and are staying until Saturday 26/12. We have 3 full days available as the 25th is Christmas Day. We will be travelling with a 13mth old and a 2.5yr old at the time. We are fine to be out and about in the cold weather (obviously inside if its raining).
Where is the best place to get a Photo with Santa for our family? We'll get this done first thing.
We are after things to see and do that with our little family without our schedule being too crammed for time. We are more than happy to drive and have rented a vehicle. A trip to Estes is definitely a must with lunch at The Stanley. Also, where is a great place for Christmas lunch with our family? We are used to cold meats, salads and seafood on Christmas so a lovely restaurant with all the trimmings would be wonderful.
After Denver we are driving to Los Angeles and have 8 days to spend sightseeing between Denver and LA. We would love to see the Grand Canyon. What would you suggest we include in our road trip? We need to arrive in LA on the 4th Jan 2016. Prefer to spend New Years in the Grand Canyon and not overnight in Las Vegas.
Any help or suggestions would be most appreciated.
Thanks
Cass

Christmas Day dinner--I asked DD who lived in Denver and was a manager of one of the best restaurants. She was hard pressed to think of any and said it would probably be a hotel restaurant. The Elway's at the Ritz-Carlton would provide all the bells and whistles if open.

First weather, rain is unlikely but Christmas temps can range anywhere from -15°F to 65°F. Snowy or warm, dry days are both possible. Bring layers.

Santa will have long lines, so arrive early, but I'd suggest the Cherry Creek Shopping Center or Park Meadows Mall. Depending on where you are staying there may be better options.

Your children would enjoy the Christmas lights at the zoo and botanic gardens.

www.denverzoo.org/events/zoo-lights-2015

http://www.botanicgardens.org/events...blossoms-light


I agree that Christmas dinner will most likely be at a hotel restaurant. The Brown Palace might have a traditional and festive Christmas dinner. Maybe even a ginger bread house display.

If you are driving to Los Angeles you need to be prepared for bad weather especially with young children. I usually think of national parks, Arches, Bryce, Zion and Grand Canyon as stops along the way but driving that time of year can mean snow and change your plans at any time.

A southern driving route will take you through Santa Fe, Phoenix and San Diego.

Yes, a shopping center Santa is probably your best bet. Cherry Creek Mall, Park Meadows, Flatirons, or another one close to where you're staying. I'd call and ask, to make sure they have a Santa.

For Christmas meal, we have found that hotels usually do a full brunch. I could be thinking of Christmas Eve, though. Check the hotels like the Marriott city center, the Hyatt, Hilton, Brown Palace, Oxford, or the new Crawford Hotel at Union Station, etc.

"out and about in the cold weather (obviously inside if its raining)."

Don't worry, it won't be raining...it'll be snowing.

Driving to LA - how are you at driving in snow, on mountainous roads? And on the right hand side in these kinds of conditions.

Personally, I would opt for a low cost flight to CA; something to think about. Maybe fly to another CA city, explore CA and then drive to LA.

I meant to add, are you children used to being in a car for a ride as long as 8 days? They are young, and yes, stopping in different places will break that up, but still...

Ferry creek mall for the photos (rain is possible, but not probable; around here, you just never know!)

You don't say where you're staying in Denver but there is always a Santa at Cherry Creek Mall. The other malls mentioned will also have a Santa, but Park Meadows may be too far afield for you. Flatirons is close to Boukder and thus closer to Estes Park. Without thinking about it too much, I'd go with the Brown Palace for Christmas lunch, bruch or dinner. As mentioned, the lights at the Denver Zoo and Botanical Gardens are well worth seeing.

I've been to the Grand Canyon in the winter and loved it. Few people about and every bit as beautiful.

FYI: People are already making holiday reservations at the Brown, so best to call and see if it's what you want.
This applies to all the best places.

Are you staying in Denver?

I mean-- where are you staying in Denver?

One way to break up your trip -

Your nights in Denver - 21 through 26

On to the hot springs at Glenwood Springs - 27

Break up the drive to the Grand Canyon at Goulding's Lodge in Monument Valley.
$128/ night for 28 and 29

On to the Grand Canyon - if you can get reservations
30, 31 and 1

Next Phoenix/ Scottsdale or the red rocks of Sedona - 2, 3

4 drive to LA

Mileage -
Denver to Glenwood Springs - 157 miles - 2.5 hours
Glenwood Springs to Monument Valley - 345 - 5.5 hours
MV to Grand Canyon - 154 - 2.5 hours
GC to Phoenix area - 225 - 3.5 hours
Phoenix to LA - 372 - 5.5 hours

http://www.hotspringspool.com/swim/hours
http://www.gouldings.com/lodge/


Based on holidays in other cities, I would check to see what the Ritz in Denver is offering.
GREAT Christmas lunch
Wonderful Teddy Bear Tea that the 2.5 yo may enjoy with one parent.
Gorgeous holiday decorations, including maybe Santa on Christmas day

Normally I'd also recommend a stopover in Glenwood Springs, but not with a toddler and infant during December. I went one year after Christmas and it was miserable when getting out of the pool. My hair was frozen!

But if it is a mild, winter day it could be a fun stop. Just have a back-up plan if it is too cold for the kids.

Good point.

I was actually thinking of a ski town (maybe Crested Butte) for that day/night but was concerned about the driving and figured there would be a 2 night minimum during that week.

One could push back the Grand Canyon to two nights (31 and 1) and that would meet the 2 nights at Gouldings (29 and 30), leaving 2 nights "somewhere" other than Glenwood Springs (27 and 28). It's the two night minimum that had me scrambling for a place that 1) is a decent drive between two locations and 2) might allow a one night stay.

Thanks so much for all your replies. We're pretty good with driving in the mountains in the snow on the opposite side of the road. And our kiddies are great with long distances too. Everything is a long distance away when you live in Australia.
We're staying in Denver South and have rented a Toyota RAV4.
I'll send an email to The Brown Palace and The Ritz to check their availability for Christmas brunch/dinner. And I'll look into malls around the Denver South area that will have Santa.
Thanks for the travel options between Denver and LA, I'll check out availability in those places and make some bookings.
You guys have been awesome, thanks for your help!

Driving from Denver South [sounds like a Priceline term] into Denver is going to be a ride, the traffic can be awful especially at rush hour [which is a fairly good chunk of time] and at that time of year.

I would consider taking the Light Rail into downtown rather than driving. We are big fans of the light rail.

Depending on weather and road conditions, I'd probably use the hotel as a base for day trips.

You are already planning to go to Estes Park one day.
Also consider Garden of the Gods -
http://www.gardenofgods.com/park-inf...ules-and-times
With Cripple Creek nearby. You may enjoy the Molly Kathleen Gold Mine -
http://www.tripadvisor.com/Attractio..._Colorado.html
http://www.goldminetours.com/goldmin...com/Intro.html

A sleigh ride would be a fabulous experience. http://www.colorado.com/articles/sleigh-rides-colorado
Maybe you could plan the days after Denver to take advantage of a sleigh ride/ cowboy served dinner.

The Denver Museum of Nature and History is great (and open every day except Christmas Day -
http://www.dmns.org/plan-your-visit/

And on Christmas Day you may want to go to a movie and eat some Chinese food.

" We're pretty good with driving in the mountains in the snow on the opposite side of the road. And our kiddies are great with long distances too. Everything is a long distance away when you live in Australia."

If that's the case, a day trip to a ski town would be very doable. Breckenridge is 88 miles (less than 2 hours)

Over the holidays, traffic increases on I-70, to and from the mountains. Actually Christmas Day is usually quiet on the roads, so if you feel like taking a day-trip on the 25th, it might be easier to drive up and down in one day.

You could have your Christmas dinner in a mountain town. Breckenridge is a good idea.

It's now called the Denver Museum of Nature and Science (used to be called the Natural History Museum). It's very cool, but your kids might be too young to enjoy it.

I'm sure the Zoo Lights have been suggested? Well-suited for your little ones, I think.

The Brown Palace is the nicest of all for a nice brunch, but there are other great places. Breckenridge is a nice skiing community, not as pricey as Vail or Aspen to get that skiing experience.

Denver South sounds like possibly the Denver Tech Center area, and the drive into downtown on I-25 is not so bad on weekends, as long as it is not snowing. There are many light rail stations along that route so you can take the light rail train into downtown Denver. You can go to RTD.com for a complete listing of light rail stations and fares.

Most other posts covered the Santa Clause places and the Denver Zoo is great for Christmas time.

As other have posted, it will not be raining in December, as it can range from warm 50s F to bitter cold -20 F. There can also be blizzards that stop all traffic, so keep that in mind.

One other spot you might consider for pictures with Santa is the North Pole in Manitou Springs. They have a Santa Clause workshop there and they close for the season at 4 PM Christmas Eve. You can check them out at http://northpolecolorado.com/rates-dates/dates-times-2/

What is your backup plan if a big winter storm comes through Colorado, Vail Pass is closed, etc., when you want to leave Denver?

Because of the El Nino weather effect, we might experience a very wet/stormy winter in the western states. Or not. There's no way to predict if and where the effects might occur, but I think driving in this part of the country in winter requires flexibility in plans. (FWIW, we drive between L.A. and Vail every year in February/March.) It helps that you have 8 days, but I would give a thought to how you would alter your plans if faced with serious winter weather.

At this point, our national weather service (NOAA) is predicting above normal amounts of precipitation in December-January-February in southern Colorado, southern Utah, all of Arizona, and Southern California, and below normal temperatures in southern Colorado for the same period. Keep an eye on weather reports and forecasts when you're there.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/bi...blob-1.3194415

Since you are staying down south the recommendation of the Manitou Springs Santa might be very good and not all that far. The town is cute and kitschy and could be a fun day of shopping. we have a series of Santa pictures of our grands with that very good Santa.
You also will not be far from Park Meadows for a Santa.
The traffic into Denver from there can be bad and the light rail is a good possibility IF your destination is along the way. Just be patient with the traffic--you'll get there fine. Our kids live right there also.