Colorado - iffy bits
 

As stated in prev post we will be coming to colorado sept'08 for 9 days from UK.

I am do my research on where to stay/go etc and am anticipation some advice from fodors.

But from a different angle as i study the map are there any AREAS that one should avoid as a holiday maker that are rough/or not for tourists, i don't mean to insult anyone but every place has its 'grotty parts' and often as strangers we are ignorant of them.

For example we will be getting into Denver about 4.30pm after travelling 15 hours and our body clocks are 6 hours ahead, so we will want to pick our 1st night away from airport and in a nice area ready to start our hol next morn but, not that far a drive as we will be tired and want to enjoy the couple of hours before tiredness takes hold.

And looking at all the surrounding towns (to Denver) well were do you begin if you don't know the areas.

hope i make sense any tips for 1st night

You might want to re-post your entries under "Colorado." You'll get more responses that way. They only appear under "General Interest" right now.

You could make it to Colorado Springs within a couple hours and from your other post it appears you may be headed south, anyway? The other option would be staying somewhere in the mountains. You could make it up to the Breckenridge area within a couple hours, as well.

There aren't any really bad parts to Colorado and people are used to tourists and very much appreciate them.

Bit of a divvy when it comes to computers, how do i re post?

But already not worrying so much if Colorado is such a nice state can't really go wrong wherever 'we lay our hat...'

Does anyone know of any towns that may interest someone (hubby) with an interest in all things Western?

Hi AnnRiley -

I saw on another thread that your husband is interested in Tombstone. Are you coming to Arizona as well?

Ann, you can't post in "Colorado". All the Colorado, or Arizona, or what ever does is allow someone to search for posts relating to those areas. What ever you post on the US Board just goes into the general postings. I think you'll get responses. It's evening here and on the west coast where I am, it's around dinner time or people are just getting home from work.

I can't help you, it's been so many years since I've been to those areas..I was about 13 or 14..but I knew from you post you were at least from Europe because you said "holiday" and Colorado is quite clear in the subject matter, so give it a bit of time.

You're going to be exhausted when you get to Denver. My advice would be to find a hotel downtown(since you don't want to stay by the airport), grab some dinner in one of the nearby restaurants and get to sleep early. Next morning you'll wake up refreshed and ready to start your vacation. Downtown Denver, along the 16th Street Mall area, is nice--and safe for a large city, as long as you use common sense.

The biggie to avoid in downtown Denver is Colfax Ave.--stay directly downtown and you'll be fine. Some hotels offer shuttle service from the airport if you're not renting a car--maybe someone can help you with that.

I have stayed on Colfax (Ramada Inn) twice in the past year and it was no problem.

I would stay somewhere in Denver downtown the first night. I would look at not renting a car at the airport so you don't have to pay the absurdly high fees that might be added on. ( I don't remember if the fee only applies to airport rentals - in some states, it doesn't matter where the tourist tax is applied)

wow bigtyke, you're a braver traveler than I am!

Thanks for replies, need to clarify car thingy, we do intend to rent a car ( a convertable) so if we don't get it at airport were would we rent one?

Another conundrum is if we stay in downtown Denver would we have to got back next morning to airport for car and if doing a hotel search what areas do i look out for for my hotel.

And finally, yes we are from England (Merseyside/Cheshire area

We anticipate getting into Denver around 4.30 pm so its still afternoon and even allowing for tiredness etc we feel we still have a good 4 to 5 hours max left in us till we collaspe!!!
So could maybe get of of Denver if these place would be easier to find off motorway and maybe a bit cheaper...

Don't be discouraged when you land at the Denver airport. The countryside around there is flat and not scenic. Look toward the west and you can see the mountains. Denver is the gateway to the Rockies. If you don't stay the first night in Denver, you should try to get west of Denver so that you are in the mountains.

I checked with Avis on the web - they have two in town locations to pick up a car.

It was a real eye opener - the same car was a different rate at each location.

Forget downtown Denver.

If you're going to be tired after your long flight, hasseling with downtown Denver isn't worth it - either driving your own car or using a shuttle. Besides, you're not coming here to experience the ambiance of a big city - you can get that in England.

Also, being tired you may not want to drive into the mountains your first evening here.

Depending upon which direction you eventually plan to start heading into the mountains, my advice is to rent a car at the airport then go one of 2 places your first night (both relatively short drives).

1) head west on Interstate Highway 70 and find lodging in the town of Golden, which is at the base of the foothills and will have some of the western flavor your husband is looking for.

or

2) head northwest on U.S. Highway 36 to the town of Boulder. Boulder is a college town also at the base of the foothills. Not as much western ambiance as Golden, but good restaurants and shopping along the Pearl Street Mall right in downtown Boulder.

Both are very safe towns to stay in.

The only real unsafe/unsavory areas in Colorado are in parts of Denver, just west, northeast, or east of downtown, as well as some of the northern parts of the city of Aurora. Downtown Denver is safe, but it's just a downtown area.

Away from Denver what are your plans?

Desitinations, sites, points of interest, preferences, kids?

I will start us off here. A fairly easy yet beautiful tour we did once was through Garden of the Gods on horseback.

Check out the ars below, which may affect your arse below.

http://www.arsriding.com/

Well, I'm probably going to give you more information than you would like, but here goes. I would not try to do both Steamboat Springs and the Ouray, Telluride area. I would pick Ouray and Telluride and I would add in Durango, Mesa Verde and Santa Fe. Skip Canon City--IMHO. So here's my suggestion.

For your first night, there are a couple of options. You could stay at a hotel near the airport. Check Orbitz, Expedia or one of the other booking sites. La Quinta, Embassy Suites, Days Inn, Sleep Inn, among others, are within 6 miles of the airport. Or if you feel you can drive to the west side of Denver--which would take approximately 45 minutes (non rush hour), you could stay in Golden at the Table Mountain Inn--http://www.tablemountaininn.com/?source=adwordsinn. They also have a nice restaurant with southwestern food.

Day 2 -- drive to Ouray (about a 5-6 hour drive)--take highway 285 south from Denver, through South Park (that's a high mountain valley surrounded by mountains--one of my favorite sights in all of Colorado is when you crest Kenosha Pass and see South Park spread out below you). As you come out of South Park--you get a fabulous view of the Collegiate Peaks--all of them over 14,000 ft in elevation. Turn left onto highway 24 just south of Buena Vista. Then take highway 50 west over Monarch Pass through Gunnison, past Blue Mesa Reservoir, though Montrose to Ouray. Stay in Ouray. http://www.ouraycolorado.com/ After your long day of travel, a visit to the Ouray Municipal Hots Springs Pool would hit the spot.

Day 3--do a day trip to Telluride-which is one of the most beautifully situated towns in the world--stay night in Ouray

Day 4--go to Durango--http://www.durango.org/ over highway 550 (the Million Dollar highway) - spend day 5 and 6 in and around Durango--visit Mesa Verde on day 5 perhaps http://www.nps.gov/meve/

Day 7---leave Durango and drive to Santa Fe, New Mexico (you mentioned wanting to go there on a previous post)- go by way of Taos http://taoswebb.com/and visit the Plaza and the Taos Pueblo http://www.taospueblo.com/.

Day 8 and 9--explore Santa Fe http://www.santafe.org/

Day 10--return to Denver via I-25 (takes about 5 1/2- 6 hours) and depart (or leave Santa Fe on day 9 and drive to Denver if your flight out is early in the day)

This itinerary will give you some fabulous mountain scenery. The San Juan Mountains of southwestern Colorado are very rugged and beautiful.

I also posted this under your other post.

Ann - you would not need to head back to the airport to rent a car as there are rental locations for most companies scattered around the city. You would need to check on rates and verify that the in-town locations are cheaper - I've saved up to 40% by renting from a downtown location vs. the airport, but I've also had times when the prices were very similar.

A convertible will be more expensive, and some off-airport locations may have limited (or no) availability. Not sure that I'd rent a convertible anyway, but that's my preference.

Keep in mind that a 4:30pm arrival in Denver means you'll probably run into some rush hour traffic if you head to (or through) downtown.

"Ann, you can't post in "Colorado". "

That's not true. When you first start a post you select where you want it to go in the pull down menu. It's "general" by default, but you can scroll down and select whatever state you want.

One quick question.

Do you want to travel a little each day and spend each night at a new location, OR, do you want to head to one spot and explore that area from a "home" base so you're not living out of a suitcase, OR do you want to do a little of both?

There's no wrong answer. Just that there are itineraries that can handle each of these scenarios.

Colorado is a big state, despite what it looks like on a map, and driving through the mountains can take longer than you think.

Thanks everyone,

Furledleader, you are near the mark for after doing a bit more research Golden appealed to me for our 1st night.

We have decided to stay up NW/Range area as we have decided we don't want a whistle stop tour, blink and you miss it kind of holiday with loads of driving.

We want to see more of the towns, take a train ride, visit some western museums, maybe do a dude ranch and ride a horse.

We like to look of mountains with greenery, we know it will be too much (for us anyway) trying to cover too many places.

So its the bit above Denver (on Map) and NW for us.

Was quoted a convertable on a UK site for 10 days at $500 in CDW etc, i thought this was a good price? is it?
Also, we don't want expensive posh hotels nor too basic nice motels/lodges with outdoor pool would be nice so we can have some relaxing time as well.

Hubby does not want to do more than 50/60 miles a day he wants to savour the towns and sights more.

So does this info help in giving us advice. Ta from UK....

Ok, I know I am biased [I live here], but you will be missing out if you don't head down this way [southwestern CO] as martym suggested.

The San Juan Skyway and the Million Dollar highway stretch are simply amazing especially in Sept. Telluride, Ouray, Durango, Mesa Verde and then down to Santa Fe or over to Moab Utah would be perfect as an add on.

Think about it. Not to take away from NW CO, but we have it beat down here. :)

Deb

Oh, for the record - we have train, horses, ranches, lovely B&B's at reasonable prices or motels. We have mountains and we have Mesa Verde National Park too.

The entire San Juan Skyway <i> could </i> be done in a day, so driving 50 or 60 miles in a day is easy to do here.

http://www.telluridevisitorguide.com.../day-trips.asp

http://www.swcolotravel.org/drives.html

Deb

I’m not sure what area you are referring to as NW/Range. Do you mean the area around Rangely, in far western Colorado? If so, it is about 300 miles from Denver.

As other have said, Colorado is a big state and people who live here are use to driving distances for activities –for example, Vail is approximately 100 miles from Denver and we have driven there and back for lunch on a summer Sunday.

I’m assuming that if you don’t want a whistle stop tour-you want to find one or two places to stay and do day trips of no more than 50/60 miles a day. Is this correct? And you want access to a train ride, horse back riding, museums, mountains with greenery.

As Debi says, southwestern Colorado (Durango/Ouray/Telluride/Mesa Verde area) would provide all you want once you make the 5-6 hour drive to get there. The drive itself is quite scenic and you could break up both the trip there and back to Denver into two parts so as not to have too much driving in one day, if you want. Gunnison (http://www.visitgunnison.com/) and Salida http://www.coloradoheadwaters.com/ would be two possibilities for a stop. Or you might consider Mt Princeton Hot Springs-http://www.mtprinceton.com/
The area around Salida, Mt. Princeton is gorgeous--huge mountains all more than 14,000 feet in elevation. From Mt. Princeton Hot Springs, it is a short drive to St. Elmo, an old mining ghost town that you might find interesting.

And the premium train ride in Colorado is located in southwestern Colorado http://www.durangotrain.com/

Another suggestion for an itinerary if you decide sw Colorado is too far—

First night in Golden then

Spend 2 nights in Vail (Vail is about 2 hours from Denver)—explore Vail, do a day trip to Leadville from there (Leadville is 2 miles above sea level--an old mining town with an historic downtown)
Spend 3 nights in Glenwood Springs (http://www.glenwoodchamber.com/) – Glenwood Springs is about a 1 hour drive from Vail and the interstate (motorway) goes through magnificent Glenwood Canyon. You could do a day-trip to Aspen ; a day-trip to Redstone (http://www.redstonecolorado.com/) and Marble and spend a day in the hot springs pool in Glenwood. I’m sure there are riding stables in Glenwood, if you wish to ride horses.

Then spend 2 nights in Breckenridge--http://www.gobreck.com/page.php?pname=winter/groups—Breckenridge is an old mining town/ now a ski resort

On day nine, head for Denver, stopping in Georgetown-(http://www.georgetowncolorado.com/attractions.htm-), to ride the train and in Idaho Springs to tour the gold mine (http://www.visitidahospringscolorado...s_colorado.asp.)

Sorry, meant front range and North west areas.

being from UK we are not quite as used to such long journeys for our Sunday Lunch, Phew 100 miles eh..

It seems all of colorado is lovely, and its like reading Trip reports from US visiors who tour the UK in 10 days they see a lot BUT (IMO) trying to see too much and not getting a real feel for a place.

For example I live in the NW of England and you could spend a good 9/10 days just seeing all we had to offer with maybe dipping your toes into Wales so to speak, and yet most visitors go from London to Yorkshire to Scotland back down to Cotswolds maybe fitting in Cornwall then back to London.

Its trying to see too much, we want to concentrate on a smaller area but get a better feel and not be rushed. If you get my drift.

We could see more and yes its only 5/6 hours but feel the NW/Front range sounds nice and seems to have lots to see.

Any advice on these areas VERY much appreciated.

Ok I understand--places in the Front Range and NW.


Near Golden--the Buffalo Bill Museum on Lookout Mountain

Boulder, Colorado--home of the University of Colorado--it has a lovely pedestrian mall in the downtown with very good restaurants.

The drive up Boulder Canyon to Nederland is a nice way to spend a couple of hours.

Estes Park (pretty touristy)and Rocky Mountain National Park. Great mountain scenery. Drive all the way through the Park to the west side at Grand Lake.

Poudre Canyon west of Ft. Collins--is a lovely drive along the Poudre River.

Evergreen west of Denver--is a nice little mountain town with a lake

You can drive to the top of Mt. Evans from Idaho Springs.

If you want to ride a train--the only one in the area is the Georgetown Loop train that goes from Georgetown to Silver Plume.

Is this more what you had in mind?

If it were me, and I felt as you do, I'd rent a condo on Lake Dillon and take day trips from there. Summit County is pretty central and you could do lots of day trips from there. Once you get there you'll figure out how far you want to go. September is a beautiful, relatively uncrowded time of year. The aspens are beginning to change and the weather is mostly nice.

Check www.vrbo.com for condo rentals. Here's an example that I found that gives you an idea of what it would be like: http://www.vrbo.com/5839

From there you can visit Breckenridge, Vale, Leadville, Georgetown, Glenwood Canyon. One of my favorite (long) daytrips is to drive to Aspen via Glenwood Springs and return over Independence Pass. Be sure to visit the Maroon Bells and have lunch in Aspen.

Hi Ann - I of Denver as the &quot;grotty&quot; part and it all improves as soon as you leave the city. I also think martym has a good plan to see southwest Colorado, since that was my home. I recommend one adjustment to that itinerary. Stay a night in Ouray then spend the next night in Telluride then go on to Durango from there to avoid so much backtracking. Either way - it's really beautiful country and you will wear out your camera. Enjoy!

Actually sheri, staying in Ouray is a nice idea -- however, going to Telluride after and then onto Durango is going to require backtracking [unless you are suggesting going south on 145 through Dolores and then to 184 and then 160 to Durango which is a longer route]. It makes more sense to do TTelluride, then Ouray and continue south on 550 to Durango.

But this is all moot, since Ann seems to be leaning to Front Range and NW.

Deb

Martym,
Thats exactly what we had in mind thanks for info.

As all of the regions sound nice we thought the NW/Front Range area would be nice as its not too far from Denver Airport were we arrive.

Could be wrong but from pictures we have seen here in UK we want 'typical' Colorado scenery, i.e. snowcapped mountains, tall fir trees etc, that clean crisp look.

Don't really want desert or rolling hills for miles.

Am taking all advice on board and though we may not use all of it, I am grateful that everyone has taken the time to reply.

Ann - if you do stay in Denver, the Colorado History Museum may be of interest to give you a feel of the west. Also, you could go for tea at the Brown Palace Hotel, our very historic hotel(maybe ask for a tour there?). The Fort is a very expensive, very western restaurant in the Denver foothills. And we love Glenwood Springs, where there is a wonderful hot springs pool. You could stay at the historic Hotel Colorado or the more modern Hot Springs Lodge. I think in Breckenridge,another one of our favorites, you can pan for gold. If I think of any more western stuff, I will add it.

I hate to disappoint you, but snow in September is not likely to happen. Could have a dusting high up, but no snow capped mountains.

I think you might have the wrong idea about SW colorado: it is <i>not</i> desert and has mountains [14,000 footers], not rolling hills. The term SW only denotes that it is the Southwest part of the state; it is every inch Colorado.

It is really just what you are looking for:
http://www.scenictelluride.com/mountains.htm

http://www.scenictelluride.com/lizar...ass-summit.htm

http://www.scenictelluride.com/waterfall.htm

http://www.indexstock.com/content/to...0CO_photos.asp

http://www.indexstock.com/Store/search.asp?treeID=1

Deb

I love SW Colorado and think Grasshopper's suggestion is wonderful, but calling Denver &quot;grotty&quot; is downright stupid. I'm not sure what you are after but I'll add to the front range list of suggestions:

Golden: Coors Brewery, brunch at the Briarwood Inn, afternoon in Blackhawk or Central City.

Georgetown: Breakfast at The Happy Cooker. Driving over Guanella Pass may not be an option due to potholes, but maybe repairs will be made by next year.

Idaho Springs: Pizza at Beau Jo's after Mt. Evans drive.

Boulder: Breakfast at Chautauqua Dining Hall www.chautauqua.com/dininghall.htm or Boulder Teahouse www.boulderteahouse.com, tour of Celestial Seasonings Tea Factory. http://www.celestialseasonings.com/c.../visit-us.html

Fort Collins: Tour of Anheuser- Busch Brewery or New Belgium Brewery (1st choice)www.newbelgium.com/visitus.php.

Colorado Springs: U.S. Air Force Academy, Garden of the Gods, Pikes Peak Cog Train www.cograilway.com

Denver: Museum of Nature and Science, Denver Zoo, Denver Center for the Performing Arts, LoDo (Lower Downtown) restaurants, catch a Colorado Rockies game.

Ann,
I just read your other post about your &quot;western&quot; holiday. A couple of other thoughts came to mind. You can take the train To Glenwood for a very scenic ride, I have never done it but it is on my list. For a dude ranch, the C Lazy U in Granby comes to mind. You may be able to take the train to Winter Park &amp; they could come get you, otherwise you can drive Berthoud Pass. There is a Dude Ranch Association for other ideas or you could search here for dude ranch in Colorado. Betsy

Debi,
Thanks for imput, after doing more homework (and i'm sure lots still to come) we are now looking at the SW area as well.

Sorry if we sound indecisive but, as you can appreciate when you are at the planning stage of your holiday one often changes ones mind as different info becomes available.

So nothing is written in stone, we have got next couple of months to really look into all the suggestions people are making and (hopefully !!) work out some sort of itinery..

So please keep suggestions coming and yes, we are now considering other parts of this wonderful state.

Ann, while the front range area has lovely towns and cities full of friendly people--they are not in the mountains. You have to drive to the west--sometimes not far to be in the mountains. Another thing to remember about the front range is that that is where most of the people in Colorado live - so there is more traffic and more crowds. But I'm sure you will enjoy your holiday whatever your choice.

Martym,
Your advice is always welcome and informative.

As you now know we have opened up our thoughts to other areas and may now go further South, whats Colorado springs/Canon City (think this is south central area) like?

Everyone thanks for imput and please bear with me as we are only at the planning stage and this is were the chopping and changing takes place.

Hopefully, we will then hit a 'Eureka' moment....

Another thing you need to be aware of - some Colorado forests are experiencing extensive pine/bark beetle kill--which means whole mountain sides of dead trees. It is especially bad in the Lake Dillon area--and someone else on this board said it is also occurring around Grand Lake and Winter Park. So when you make your final decision, please factor that in.

As to Colorado Springs--it's another city (second largest in Colorado) in a magnificent setting at the foot of Pike's Peak. Colorado Springs does a good job of promoting its tourist attractions--Garden of the Gods Park (large red rock formations) is probably worth a couple of hours. I'd skip Seven Falls and Cave of the Winds--which, IMHO are &quot;produced attractions&quot; for the tourists. You can take the cog train from Manitou Springs (just west of Colorado Springs) to the summit of Pike's Peak or there is a toll road you can drive to the summit. Colorado Springs has the Broadmoor--a classic, expensive resort. It's great to have a drink on the terrace there if you cannot afford to stay there (which I can't). There is an Olympic Center in Colorado Springs that is interesting and the U.S. Air Force Academy in just north of Colorado Springs--it has a world famous chapel.

Canon City's claim to fame is the Royal Gorge--the gorge itself is interesting but all the other tourist stuff surrounding it is pretty cheesy--again, my opinion.

Just my 2 cents worth about the cog rail and Pike's PEak. Both my SIL and I got extremely ill taking the cog up to the top [altitude sickness]. We only stayed 5 minutes and came right back down. Felt poorly for the rest of the day.

At the time, I was still living on the East coast at sea level so that may have contributed. I also found that when we went above 12,000 feet I felt poorly.

Be careful and be prepared for high altitude adjustments. It doesn't bother everyone, and it should not discourage you.

See info on altitude:

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34865407

http://www.fodors.com/forums/threads...p;tid=34935779

Deb

Will agree that the southwest part of the state (Ouray, Telluride, Durango) offers just about everything you have mentioned about what you want to get out of this holiday - authentic western towns with history, magnificient scenery, activities, dude ranches, horseback riding. Ouray has a nice hot springs pool. The Million Dollar Highway (U.S. highway 550 between Ouray and Silverton) is beautiful. If you choose this area, I would also suggest taking a 4-wheel drive jeep trip from Ouray to Telluride (or visa versa) over Imogene Pass.

That being said though...... there are places in your original area of interest to experience what you want. Besides, the trip from Denver to Ouray will take you AT LEAST 6 hours - maybe as much as 8, depending upon your speed and stops you make along the way. As mentioned before, there are dude ranches around Grand Lake and Granby (but as a previous poster has noted, a pine beetle infestation has decimated the pine forests in this area). A drive through Rocky Mountain National Park is usually a must-see for first time visitors. Hot Sulphur Springs has a quaint, yet supurb hot springs spa. Berthoud Pass offers outstanding scenery. Georgetown is the origin of a short, yet interesting narrow guage railroad excursion. There is a gold mine tour at the Argo Gold Mine in Idaho Springs.

You can drive to the top of 14,000 foot high Mount Evans from Idaho Springs. Glenwood Springs offers lots of western flavor as well as a supurb hot springs pool.

Noting what you want to experience, I would avoid Vail, in that it is a town built in the 1950's/1960's solely as the base of a ski area. It's lodging and dining are expensive, and it's nestled in a narrow valley with an expressway running down the middle. If you want to explore that area, I'd suggest making the town of Leadville your home base instead - it's an actual old western town with beautiful scenery.

Estes Park is a very touristy (in the bad sense) town at the eastern entrance to Rocky Mountain National Park. Unless you're interested in buying t-shirts, and authentic western trinkets made in China, I'd suggest just driving through it on your way to the park.

Of note is the fact that you will be arriving on Monday, Sept. 3rd, which is a holiday in the U.S. (Labor Day). All government offices will be closed, and most everyone else will be off from work. You should NOT run into any rush hour traffic at the time of your arrival, in that most everyone will be home from work that day.

Also of note, you mentioned a train ride on a train with &quot;glass-topped&quot; train cars. The only train of that nature that I know of is the Amtrack passenger train that runs between Denver and San Francisco (I believe). Amtrack is the U.S. version of the Eurail system. I've often considered taking this train for the weekend from my home in Denver to spend a night or two in Glenwood Springs. Leaving Denver, it climbs into the mountains up to the ski area of Winter Park, then over to Granby, Hot Sulphur Springs, Kremmling, Dotsero, and then Glenwood Springs. From Granby to Glenwood Springs the tracks follow the Colorado River, including a very secluded stretch between Kremmling and Dotsero.

Hope some of this helps.

I'm not going back and reading all of this, but I am going to suggest a corollary to DebitNM's suggestions. Gunnison, very much known as a historically Western town, just like what you would picture as the old west and the college located there is even named Western State college. There is some kind of rodeo days there, but i am not sure when that happens.

And just 30 minutes up the road is Crested Butte, an old mining town that still retains its charm and has not gone all &quot;aspen&quot; or &quot;vail&quot; yet. Crested Butte is all that you want from Colorado.

Spend a day or two there, then drive on to Durango, Ouray, Silverton. (even Telluride though it is not my favorite) I am also going to suggest the train. Someone else help me out here, it goes from Leadville to Durango? Silverton? very famous narrow guage railroad.

September is glorious to be in the mountains, and I have seen it snow in early september but it wont' stick and only a few of the leaves will be starting to turn.

To clarify something furledleader said, Labor Day 2008 is actually on Sept 1.

My bad!

You are right....Labor Day is Sept 1st.

Oh well....disregard what I said about traffic.

It'll be rush hour when you arrive!