Colorado summer trip - vail must dos
 

We are planning a week or so in CO next August. Most likely staying at Vail Marriott Mountain resort (any opinions on this property)? Activities we should not miss? adults have been before but kids first time. They are 11 and 7. Thinking alpine slides, zip line, moderate hiking, maybe a ghost town visit... Is that cheesy? hot springs?

We are wrapping up the trip with Rockies game. How much time should we allocate to Denver?

TIA!

Have you considered fly fishing?

You are so vague that it is hard to make recommendations. Pick up a guide book for central Colorado that would provide some suggestion. The options are almost endless from a float trip to hikes.

Lots of things in Glenwood Springs fit your criteria. It's a charming town that has a nice family feel. If you are up for a fabulous hike, Hanging Lake Trail is right outside of town.

www.visitglenwood.com

Drive up to Leadville.
Take the Vail chairlift up to the top of the mountain and hike down. We have done this with our grandkids when younger than yours.
Visit Beaver Creek and go ice skating outside.
Vail- eat at Pepi's.

Sorry all, the holidays came and went and I got sidetracked. Plus my feelings were hurt that fmpden said I was vague. I'm over it, I'll be more clear now. Back in trip planning mode!

Kids are 11 (boy) and 7 (girl); mom and dad early 40s and active.

These are the "musts" that have been voiced by the kids: explore, hike, bike, horseback ride, swim.

Things I think they would also enjoy: zipline, ATV / offroading, ghost towns, flyfishing.


River floating - as mentioned above - may be something we would do, but wouldn't be a huge draw as my parents live on the Guadalupe River in TX and we enjoy that all summer long. I guess swimming falls in that category too, but kids always need a place to swim in the summer, in my opinion :)

A little about us - our kids (and us) just absolutely HATE theme parks. Disney and Sea World were met with "Meh, what else could we do instead?" I consider this a good thing :) They don't love to be tied down to a place or a plan, but I would like to have a general outline of activities to choose from depending on interest level each day.

We have reserved 6 nights at the Vail Mountain Marriott but I have read a few reviews that weren't very flattering so that has me waffling about Vail in general. Adventure Ridge drew my interest - it offers a lot of fun activities - but is it going to be "theme park-ish?"

In general - is Vail not the best choice if we want to do all of these things? I know this is going totally off the rails but I spent time in Durango as a kid and although I don't remember much besides the train, I remember loving that vacation. Is it crazy to consider flying in that area and then driving to Vail or another ski area after 3 nights or so?

The only "catch" on this trip is that we are going to be in Denver at the end of the trip to catch a Rockies game. Other than that, our schedule and week is open.

Help?!

I think almost anywhere but Vail would be more fun. Go see it but some place like Breckenridge or Carbondale or Aspen, etc. is more of a town.
I'll make my usual pitch to take a look at some dinosaur stuff for the kids.
Morrison, on the outskirts of Denver has a small exhibit and there is Dinosaur Ridge just off of 470 leading down into Morrison.
Woodland just outside of CO Springs has a really really nice exhibit--and a lab where they are restoring more bones.

Hi Gretchen! You mentioned fly fishing before; any specific area or company that you would suggest?

What do you think of Durango ? Is it different enough to make it worthwhile ? It seems that there will be a lot of the same outdoor activities all over (hiking, ATV, biking, zipline). I do like the western feel of Durango and possibly the train...

Durango means Mesa Verde to me. It is a cute little mountain town.
Fly fishing outfitters can be found almost anywhere in the mountains. We have used one in silverthorne which is fairly amazing--the best fishing is right behind the large outlet mall there! BIG 24" trout. The Blue River is also there which is also trophy trout water.
Up toward Aspen there is the Roaring Fork, but there is a LOT of good water in Colorado.
If you do the train, do it only one way and take the bus back. Enough is enough.

We have been vacationing in Vail ( along with several other popular Colorado resorts ) for years and really enjoy it. It is no better or worse than any of the other options. It seems some people just like to diss it. The Marriott is fine too. I am familiar with it although we haven't stayed there. In recent years we usually stay at the Sonnenalp or the Sebastian. Plenty to do in Vail and do suggest you look at their website for a list of all their activities.

We have stayed in Vail several times for skiing and beginning long enough ago that it was not as totally developed as it is now. I am not dissing it and if the use of the Marriott points/whatever is a really good deal, then I would also personally go for that and use the savings to do other things.
BUT I do not think anyone would say Vail today has a great "charm" of a western city--or even a resort city. It is strung out along the road. There is no direct access with cars but a good shuttle system. I would rather be a little less constricted since my main focus for the summer is not the ski mountain, but going other places, etc.

It sounds like we can pretty much do all the activities we are interested in just about anywhere in CO.

Do you all think, with about 5-6 nights, that it is worth it to start in Durango for 3 and then go to Vail for 2-3 nights? Or better to just skip Durango this trip?

Maybe this is more clear:

5 nights Vail, 2 Denver
Vs
3 nights Durango, 2-3 Vail, 2 Denver

We are wrapping up the trip near Denver because we are meeting up with friends that live nearby. They are completely open to location and will only be with us a night or two. Then we have Rockies game and fly out of Denver.