gerch

Hi all,

I am new to this forum so exuse if this is repeptitive. I am at the very early stages of planning a vacation for next summer. We hope to fly to Denver from the East Coast and probably rent a car there. We will be in the area about 10 days and will be on somewhat limited budget. We would love to do a loop drive to Moab to see Arches, Canyonlands (4 corners if worth it) and maybe Dead Horse and then drive back to Colorado and do Mesa Verde (Sand Dunes?) and Rocky Mountain NP. We are traveling with 4 kids (ages 20, 17, 15, 11) and are very used to driving. Any suggestions of itenerary, and sights would be so appreciated. We enjoy outdoors hiking, rafting, etc. Alpine slide?

Thanks so much!

Helen

Gretchen

You can be very used to driving but the point is to see something when you drive. This is too much IMO to see--it can be done as a drive-by maybe. Not really trying to be snarky--just being truthful.

fmpden

Recently there has been several discussions here on your exact question. Suggest you pull up these discussions and then come back with more specific question. You simply do not have time to do half of what you proposed. Personally I would leave the canyon lands for whole another trip.

This is a loop I proposed to another question but it just as suitable for you since it had be easily expanded to your time ------

RMNP via Trail ridge road, Georgetown and the Georgetown Loop Railroad, Breckenridge, Leadville (Mineral Belt Trail), Independence pass to Aspen, Glenwood Springs and Canyon, maybe Vail, and return to Denver.

Just to expand it -- Around Breckenridge you can tours old mines, alpine slide, bike trails everywhere. If you have the legs you can take a trail all the way to Vail. The Mineral Belt trail in Leadville works best the seat of a bike. The hot springs fed pool in Glennwood Springs and the bike trail along the Colorado river through the Glenwood Canyon is spectacular. Hike to Hanging Lake (now requires a reservation from the park service.) Dozens of terrific areas all within a two hundred miles of Denver. Go to you library and get a good Colorado guidebook. The older ones can hit some local breweries. Spend the time outside of your car. That is important if coming to Colorado.

janisj

Ditto

This would be doable (sort of) for someone on a solo road trip without a lot of sightseeing and mainly wheels turning. But you will be a party of six and those poor kids in the backseats will be miserable. You'll want to hike, and explore and 'see' places, not merely drive by/through them.

emalloy

In ten days you can have a wonderful trip if you are prepared to drive the long distances and endure some very warm temperatures in the Moab area.

Some suggestions:
Try to get an early flight into Denver, hopefully before noon. Pick up the rental car and plan to drive out I-70 west for 3 or 4 hours, maybe stop for the night in Rifle or Grand Junction. Your bodies will be on eastern time and you will be going towards the sun. Let the kids look for an exit with a nearby Walmart, Whole Foods, Trader Joe's or the like and get an inexpensive cooler, ice, drinks, snacks and more water than you think you will ever need.

Find lodging in Moab that has a pool, so you and the kids can go back, have a dip, eat, and rest a little during the hottest part of the day. Do any hiking early in the day or late in the afternoon. There is plenty to see from your air conditioned car.
You can stop at the Visitor's Center, look at the maps and plan where/if you want to hike and drive through the park to orient yourself. I would want one more day for Arches and one day for Canyonlands Island in the sky district. So 3 nights lodging.

The next day, go to Mesa Verde, stop at the VC and sign up for any ranger led hikes you might want to take. The VC is before you actually get up the mesa and it will take about a half hour to get up to the top of the mesa. I would want to stay in the park at Far View Lodge (a motel) probably over priced, but it saves lots of time getting to/from the sites otherwise look in Cortez or Durango. Depending on what ranger led trips to the dwellings you can do and when, one night in the park with a half day on the day you arrive and most of a day doing the mesa top loop, etc. and then ged down off the mesa before dark (road is very curvy).

Then drive toward RMNP, have a place to stay along that route. It is a long drive to RMNP, so doing a couple of hours after you leave MV will make the next day's drive a bit less arduous.

There are lots of other places to see out there, but that was your wish list. If you click my name and scroll down to the Trip Reports you can find several I've done in the area.

tomfuller

May I suggest that you fly to Salt Lake City instead of Denver? Spend a few hours in SLC before going to the Amtrak station on the Traxx. The eastbound California Zephyr leaves SLC at 3:30AM MT. Take the train to Grand Junction Colorado arriving about 10:15 to 11AM. You can check whatever baggage you don't want to carry around SLC at the Amtrak station to be delivered to you in Grand Junction. Rent your car in Grand Junction to go on your big loop. I agree, find lodging in the Moab area with a good pool.
In general rental car prices are lower from SLC and Grand Junction than from Denver. The train trip up through the Ruby Canyon early in the morning is memorable in the 2 hours before you get to Grand Junction.

Michael

In Mesa Verde all cliff dwellings except one must be seen with a guided tour. Plan ahead: if arriving early enough, day one can be the non-guided tour. Day two the guided tours. one in the morning and one in the afternoon, at two different locations, with reservations made upon arriving in the park on day one.



And I would drop RMNP.

Gretchen

If you are going to Mesa Verde make reservations to stay at Far View lodge IN the park.

fmpden

Gerch, I know you are new to this site. Give you one tip. Come back and engage in a little conservation. That is a big help if you truly want a little assistance because as you can see the responses are all over the place. Tom is our resident "always go by train expert.". I would be inclined to use Amtrak if it was anywhere near on time.