Colorado road trip with kids
 

Trying to plan a 9 day Colorado road trip for the first week of October. Two adults and two boys, ages 8 and 11. We will fly in and out of Denver. Mesa Verda National Park and Great Sand Dunes are for sure stops, spending a whole day for each. I know there many dinosaur activities. If you had to pick just one for boys that age, what would your number one or two picks be? Also considering a mine tour, but there are also so many. Any recommendations for one that is very interactive, my oldest loves rocks! Other possible options Cheyenne Mountain zoo, Garden of the Gods, and the Durango to Silverton Narrow gourge train ride. Any recommendations welcome!!!

By the first of Oct you could encounter snow and cooler conditions in the mountains. And you could have great weather so it is important to be prepared for both. M Verde works best if you send a night or two in the park. Check the web site to see if you need a reservation. . The narrow gauge between Durango and Silverton is fun but a lot of sameness -- rocks and trees. Round trip can be boring so go one way. You might catch the very end of the Fall leaves. Other than the ride, there is little that would appeal to the boys.
It would be very hard to spend a full day at the Great Sand Dunes. There is really nothing there except a huge pile of sand. The Black Canyon of the Gunnison is worth an afternoon stop. Big hole in the ground.

The Georgetown loop railroad out of Georgetown has a great optional silver mine tour in the middle that is terrific. It is a good half day activity and you can pan for gold and take home a flake or two. The railroad museum in Golden generally has high appeal to young boys. The huge, hot springs public pool in Glenwood Springs has a lot of appeal along with the short hike to Hanging lake in the canyon. However, that does require a reservation.

There is a terrific 10 mile loop hike out of Leadville through the old mining country. Very educational and informative. It is paved, relatively flat and easily done on bikes --- Mineral Belt Trail. Many will walk it. It is a loop but once started there is no way to easily quit.

There is a small dinosaur ridge west of Denver but most of the dinosaur sites are in NW Colorado opposite where you are starting in SW Colorado. Tiny town in the foothills west of Denver might have an appeal for the boys.

The cog railroad to the top of Pikes Peak will see a lot of rocks and trees. The railroad just reopened this summer after two years of rehab. Bring a good jacket it will be cold on top.

Denver itself would have a lot of attractions between various museums.

If I think of something else I come back.

Fmpden has given you LOTS of information. The advice to stay IN Mesa Verde park at the Far View Lodge is good--it is a long drive into the park from any lodging outside the Park.
As for dinosaurs I'll chime in. Dinosaur Ridge along the southern edge of Denver is also interesting but involves getting out of the car and looking at the tracks in the edge of the road. If you had unlimited time I would do it.
There is also a little exhibit in the town of MOrrison--again you don't quite have the time IMO. An interesting factoid is that Denver once had oceans! Hence all the tracks.
BUT about 20 miles outside of Colorado Springs is Woodland Park with a gem of a dinosaur exhibit. I HIGHLY recommend it. It is in the site I posted below. And Colorado Springs/Woodland can be right on your route down past the Great Sand Dunes on the way to MV. I agree with Fmpden, get out and see the dunes and let the kids run around and then head on. We did this part of your trip long years ago with ours.
I would recommend my usual trip planning device ==a paper map and stick pins in it for what you want to see and connect the dots. I might recommend spending your first night in Colorado Springs. I am not a fan of Garden of the Gods and am not sure Kids will appreciate it--just an opinion which may help narrow ideas.
For dinosaurs also, the Denver Museum of Science has a good exhibit.
Our grands (the dinosaur tourers) also enjoyed the gold mine tour--in Georgetown I think.

https://www.rmdrc.com/about-us
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Attraction_Review-g33561-d147095-Reviews-Dinosaur_Ridge-Morrison_Colorado.html

If you're out this way for the Dinosaur Museum in Woodland Park, you might as well keep going and visit the Molly Kathleen gold mine in Cripple Creek. Along the way you'll pass some homemade dinosaurs and the Flintstones family, the hobby of a homeowner in the area. Not terribly exciting, but the boys might get a giggle out of it.

https://www.goldminetours.com/

https://www.roadsideamerica.com/tip/22397

I suspect they'd go nuts for Bishop's Castle, but now we've got you driving all over the state.

https://www.bishopcastle.org/

Yes, be sure to see Garden of the Gods and take the cog train up Pikes Peak. Colorado has some really good rock shops such as Pikes Peak Rock Shop in Woodland Park and San Juan Gems Rock Shop in Cortez (near Mesa Verde). While you are in Colorado why not visit Rocky Mt. National Park and go on Trail Ridge Road (highest road in the US) and take a pleasant hike?

I don't think this family can do BOTH Mesa Verde and Rocky Mountain National Park. Maybe but it would need to be a very intentional driving loop IMO in 9 days.

Wonderful recommendations so far. Colorado just has so much to do, the hardest part is weeding down the options!

Earlier I mentioned the possibility of cool weather and snow. This past week we had snow at both Pike Peak and Trail Ridge road. Not a lot but enough to cover the ground white for a few hours.