We are considering renting a condo this summer (probably late July) for a week in either Vail, Aspen, Gunnison, or Steamboat Springs. We have some friends who live in Winter Park we would like to visit for a day trip, but do not want to stay in Winter Park.
Are all of these areas dead in summer?-we are not looking for much entertainment, but would like to find open shops and restaurants-we enjoy easy hikes - and we know there will be beautiful scenery. All of the condos we have looked at on line seem to be so big, and there is only the two of us, so we don't need four bedrooms. Any suggestions would be appreciated.

I would say they are the opposite of dead. Many people actually prefer these areas in the summer over the winter because of the many activities options.

I don't know what websites you're looking at and only finding large condos, but I found many one- and two-bedroom condos in Vail on vrbo.com. I'm not familiar enough with Aspen or Steamboat Springs to evaluate the vrbo listings I see, but there are many smaller units offered. I know even less about Gunnison, but I'd probably pick Crested Butte over Gunnison anyway.

I would pick Crested Butte over Gunnison as well. The hiking here is fantastic, the town is cute, lots of great restaurants and shops. I would suggest you look for condos at the Golf Course, there are a few hiking trails right that go right through the golf course. The condo part is called the Links. I suggest you look at http://www.prproperty.com/ (note I have no affiliation with PR though they do take care of our place, but they are located at the Golf Course.)

gunnison is a ranching town. maybe there are hiking trails there, but the town is not surrounded by mountains like Crested Butte is.

I am not a huge fan of vail or Aspen in the summer. I haven't been to either places in long time in the winter. I find them to be very very busy and crowded in the summer. we did a day trip last summer or maybe the summer before to Aspen and My mom and I could not wait to come home to Crested Butte.

If you want to know more about things to do in Crested Butte for the summer, email me at screen name at yahoo.com or I suggest you look for the post of the couple that was deciding which western town to visit for the summer. I chimed in there with my vote for Crested Butte.

Also, I do not know how far it is from Crested Butte to Winter Park so that day trip may impact your destination.

If you are going to Winter Park, Steamboat and Vail are the only areas reasonable for a day trip with Steamboat much closer than Vail. Most of these area have pretty activity summers with various festivals and events on going all summer long.

Having only been in Aspen in late May, only once, I have nothing to which to compare my experience. But I thought it was beautiful, with perfect weather and loads to do: hiking after taking the ski lift up Aspen Mt., touring the old Victorians in town, visiting a sled dog kennel (Krabloonik) and a ghost town, going out to Maroon Bells, and the terrific Aspen music tent. I could have spent much, much longer than 5 days there. I will defer to those who say it's too crowded in summer, b/c that could be true in comparison with the other places listed, I don't know; but don't avoid Aspen, it's pretty great. Enjoy!

There are some stats that say the summer is busier than the winter. They are definitely NOT dead.
You could look at VRBO for the place you want to stay for smaller accomodations.
A trip at least through Leadville would be nice for the time you are there.

Have you considered Breckenridge? It has a town with lots of shops and restaurants and is close to the road that you take to Winter Park and would be a reasonable location to do a day trip to Winter Park. Or Estes Park, right outside Rocky Mt National Park is another option you might want to look at.

As fmpden pointed out if you want to be in a location that you can do a day trip to Winter Park, Vail, Steamboat, Estes Park and Breckenridge are the obvious choices. Aspen, Crested Butte and Gunnison are extremely long day trips to Winter Park.

I am curious -- not sure I understand this comment --

.....close to the road that you take to Winter Park......

Are you suggesting a direct road between the two?

I'm with fmpden & KensingtonGirl on this one.

If doing a day trip to Winter Park, then Vail, Steamboat Springs and Summit County (Breckenridge) are the most logical. Aspen is pushing the envelope. And Gunnison is way too far for a day trip, but you could do an overnight.
Of the three, if I was looking for a beautiful setting as I was walking down Main Street, then I'd choose Breckenridge. The peaks of the Ten Mile Range can be seen from virtually anywhere in town. Vail is stuck in a narrow valley with the expressway very near by the entire length of the town, and mountain peaks are not visible until you get up higher out of town. Steamboat is a nice rancher town, but the mountain vistas are non-existent. Even if you take the gondola up the ski hill, there are no white capped mountain peaks to be seen (take a look at my avatar - that picture was taken at Steamboat just below the top of the gondola).

If you want to day trip to Winter Park then your choices are Vail, Breckinridge/Summit County, or Steamboat. I agree with the scarecrow in oz, go with Breckinridge. Aspen, Crested Butte and Gunnison are too far away.

Fmpden - My reference to "the road you take to Winter Park" was to the exit of Route 40 off of I-70 east of Georgetown. This is the most likely route unless the OP is staying at Steamboat. A couple summers ago, we discovered summer is when they do major road work on Rt 40 - we ended sitting for about an hour in traffic while they ran one-way traffic up/down a mt.

Thank you so much for your helpful replies. I will surely keep them all in mind as we plan our trip, and will likely return with more questions. We may just decide on a driving loop r/t from Denver with a stop for a day or two in Winter Park to visit our friends rather than locating in just one area. Such a beautiful place, we don't want to miss anything.

Consider Steamboat Springs. You can get a two bedroom condo at The Lodge at Steamboat or lots of other places on the mountain. It's a 2 hour drive to Winter Park. The hiking in Steamboat and outside of town is great, and the views are spectacular. The town is large enough. There are lots of shops, galleries, and good restaurants. Steamboat is very popular during the summer and there are music concerts as well.

I can see little to no reason for a day trip to Winter Park if staying anywhere west! DD lived there for a season, and it's a nice ski area, but there is so much more to see.
Leadville area is certainly interesting