Near Buena Vista you might want to consider Mt. Princeton hot springs resort. This is a good resort if you like outdoor activities (horseback riding, biking,hiking, rafting, tennis) with gorgeous scenery of the Collegiate range. The resort has cabins for rent but we stayed in one of the "cliff side" rooms. We ate in the dining room there, which was fine.
You could drive there via Leadville and also see that town. the scenery along the Arkansas River on our way is beautiful

If you are going to Leadville, you should definitely read The Angle of Repose by Wallace Stegner. The novel won a Pulitzer in 1972.

My nephew is a senior at University of Denver.

Thin

I would recommend staying in Aspen instead of Leadville; it's an hour or so additional drive to go over Independence Pass, but there are many more lodging and recreation options.

If you stay in Aspen then you can hike by the Maroon Bells, possibly the most iconic of Colorado mountains. Leadville is nice enough, good hiking and views, and the mining museum there is great, but who want to be in a museum on a nice July day?!

However Aspen is fantastic.

I just did a quick search and the Mountain Chalet Aspen and Aspen Mountain Lodge are coming in at $152 and $199 respectively for two adults and two teens. Molly Gibson where my wife and I stayed last September is at $329. These prices are the last week in July. The music festival is in full swing then.

But I still would make sure you do RMNP and Trail Ridge Road. You have enough time. Then decide on the other half of your trip. Stay in two places for 3 nights each would be my choice, but people differ on that one.

Good luck with your planning.

A reminder !!!! Bring a jacket, sweater or fleece, gloves, stocking cap and long pants. It can be very chilly especially when sun goes down. Summer in the mountains is not always tank tops and short shorts.

Rent bikes in Leadville and check out the Mineral Belt Trail. www.visitleadvilleco.com/mineral_belt_trail

Leaving Leadville and on the way to Aspen you can make a stop at the Leadville National Fish Hatchery. An interesting stop with a nearby nature walk loop and hiking trails.

Your teens would probably enjoy sampling (or save for a hike) a few varieties of cookies from Cookies with Altitude when passing through Leadville.

Wow! We were without power for about 4 days and I return to 25 replies! Thanks! Can't wait to go through all of these...

Nelson gives you good advice.

I wholeheartedly agree that Grand Lake Lodge is a special place. If you don't stay there, you can have lunch or dinner on their 'front porch', facing the beautiful lake.

Everyone has been so helpful and I wanted to give an update. We've made reservations for the first two nights at Devils thumb ranch and three nights in Aspen. The last night we'll probably stay at the airport in Denver because our flight is early in the morning. Below is our tentative skeleton plan, although we usually change things a bit as we go. But at least it's a guide to follow. Thanks again to everyone for the advice, and let me know if you have any more suggestions now that we have reservations set (towns to visit, restaurants, etc.) I will post a trip report upon our return!

Day 1: Arrive Denver airport at 11:00am. Drive to Devils Thumb Range. Relax and get used to altitude.

Day 2: Devils Thumb Ranch Zip Line, etc.

Day 3: Depart at noon for Aspen. Slowly make our way - stopping in towns along the way. Vail or Glenwood Springs (or both?) Arrive late night in Aspen at Mountain Chalet

Day 4: Maroon Bells/Hiking or Whitewater rafting, depending on forecast.

Day 5:Maroon Bells/Hiking or Whitewater rafting, depending on forecast.

Day 6: Depart Aspen. Slowly make our way back to Denver, stopping in towns along the way. Leadville for lunch? Maybe Mount Evans depending on the time of day. Arrive at airport hotel late night.

Day 7: depart.

Thanks for reporting back. Sounds like a nice itinerary and good use of your time.

Have a great trip!

You will LOVE Devil's Thumb Ranch! If you want an elegant log cabin dining experience, their Ranch House restaurant is well-respected. It's been our go-to place for special occasions for many years (before this newest renovation of the Ranch).

Heck's Tavern is also very good. And happy hour served outside is awesome. Cocktails in front of the fireplace at the Ranch House bar area is also a favorite spot of ours. Hors d'oeuvres are pricey, though, and last time we discovered we should have just gone in to the restaurant and ordered meals. haha

I almost forgot: Since you are taking your time to drive, from Devil's Thumb Ranch to Aspen, do NOT go through Winter Park, over Berthoud Pass, to I-70. That's a pretty route, too, but when we have time, we go Hwy 9.

It's much prettier to take the back route from Kremmling on Hwy 9. Probably takes longer, but it's a pretty drive.

Ask at the Ranch and they will happily direct you. Our friends last summer hired a fishing guide through the Ranch, so they could stop and fish along the way.

If you are driving from Denver to Devil's Thumb via Hwy 40 (Berthoud Pass), here are some iconic stops for a meal along the way your boys would like:

Idaho Springs-- Beau Jo's pizza

Empire-- Lewis Sweet Shop, a funky little family-owned place, with a very misleading name. Because they make wonderful BBQ and fried sweet potato chicken tenders, in addition to outlandish sweets like chocolate covered bacon! It's a ramshackle little red & white frame building on your left as you enter Empire. Not really good for sit down, though.

Also in Empire-- Hard Rock Cafe, the "original" named for the local miners. Home made everything, log cabin inside, and nice outdoor patio.

Winter Park-- BEST pizza @ Hernando's, on your right as you leave Winter Park. Great family salads, too.

Here's my thread from our last visit to Aspen, including restaurants we like there:

http://www.fodors.com/community/unit...some-aspen.cfm

I logged in today and realized that I never posted a trip report. You all were so helpful and I hope this helps someone else in the community.

First - we loved our trip to Colorado. It was - so far - our favorite family trip ever. I took advice directly from this page - THANK YOU!

Day 1: Landed, drank water, rented car - drove immediately to Devil's Thumb Ranch for two nights. We are not snow people, but in the summer it was our favorite place of the whole trip. In 48 hours we did zip line, archery, swimming, and horseback riding. AND we felt relaxed when we left. I would go back there in a heartbeat.

Day 3: Left the Ranch and drove to Aspen. On the way we stopped at Leadeville for lunch. I would not recommend Leadeville unless you plan to do the bike path. It was a cool sleepy town, but also felt seedy. We really didn't enjoy it at all. I think it would be different if we decided to bike.

Arrived in Aspen. Mountain Chalet was perfectly described by all of you. Some folks may not appreciate the 70s feel of the place, but it was fine for us and the kids LOVED the pool. So funny.

Day 4: Maroon Bells. We hiked for miles and wish we brought more food to make it longer

Day 5: Whitewater rafting at Browns Canyon. It was definitely a highlight.

Day 6: Depart Aspen and stopped at a B&B in Frisco for the night. We loved the town and would definitely go back to explore another time.

Day 7: depart.

Hope this helps!

Thanks for your report. I'm glad you liked DTR. It's a special place.

bookmarking

Summer in Colorado. What memories! Your report RosebudAlley highlighted white water rafting and hiking mostly in the west slope Aspen area. Such fun!

If I did a trip report on our various visits it would be this. Hiking the trails, breathing in mountain air, fishing streams...and in our case a 50th wedding anniversary celebration ten years ago in my cousin's mountain cabins. This isn't far from Estes Park which is a very touristy place but not far away is the entrance to Rocky Mountain National Park which I have loved driving the Trail Ridge Road. It can get quite chilly up there.

We climbed Long's Peak one summer which is a long way up and back down in one day. Besides the cousin's cabin we've stayed at YMCA center for a retreat and camped elsewhere.

Also there is Breckinridge and further southwest is Leadville which features the gold mining days. Some neat historic mine shafts and shops for tourists to discover.

So there's my Colorado remembrance report.