historytraveler

BTW 36 from Boulder to Denver has been open all day. Family from Boulder drove down today. They do live in South Boulder so didn't drive through town. Denver has been little affected except for suburbs such as Aurora and Commerce City. Almost all the destruction is north of Denver and along Platte River valley.

Gretchen

Fmpden gives some good advice about the hotels in the Tech center area because they can sometimes be VERY inexpensive (particularly on the weekends) but they would be worth a look. And can often have a kitchette. and the light rail is great from that area.
Look on Priceline for Tech Center.

onetwothreefourfive

Change your plans. The state of Colorado is underwater. There won't be any safe hiking to do for some time.

Change those tickets. The airlines/ hotels should not take your money with change fees. There won't be any questions asked because most of Estes is cut off, though they have some entrances open for Emergency and resident traffic.

It wouldn't be the beautiful place we had for a long time, and it won't be fun for you. I promise.

wtm003

Where do live 12345?

fmpden

Not anywhere close to Colorado that is for sure. Let's establish a new rule. If you don't live here, make it clear when you post ridiculous information. That is a disservice to everyone.

Connie

Just going by the Colorado Highway Dept website and television interview and Estes Park newspaper websites. Are you saying your news city/county/state news sources are not correct?

wtm003

I don't have a problem with any of our news sources. I have a problem with people that can't read a cdot map properly and pass on bad information about Denver and announce that "Colorado is underwater." The stupidity is mind-boggling.

I will repeat what has been said many times above. Don't go to Estes Park!!!

wtm003

And since you can't figure it out Estes Park is not in Denver.

fmpden

The cdot maps are correct but what someone who is not a local does not understands is how those roads relate or interact with each other. Many of the roads running through the Denver area carry state or county designations because at one time these were roads running through open country side. With the urban sprawl between Denver and place like Boulder, Erie, etc., these roads have been supplemented with lots of local side streets. Many of the roads identified as being closed in northwest Denver are streets will low spots that are flooded but easily avoided by driving over a couple blocks. Other than some inconvenience, it is not a major problem. Not all road closures are equal but they look the same on the map. And these types of closure occur quickly and just as quickly can be open. So unless your know the geography don't jump to conclusions about what is happening.

However, the roads into Estes Park and other foothill communities are totally destroyed, washed out - sometimes for miles, bridges down, and these are serious road closures that will be there for some time. Now all of that water is moving to the northwest and people along the South Platte are in for trouble. An old cowboy trail song describes the Platte river as inch deep and a mile wide. Very true.

spirobulldog

And if you are watching the news. One area can be under water or on fire and the news makes it sound like an entire state is in ruin. just not true.

fmpden

PS - It is not ending. It is now raining hard in the Denver area. Because of the Platte river roads west of I-76 around Greeley and Fort Morgan are coming under pressure. And all of the current rain in Denver will head in that direction since everything drains to the northeast. Look out Nebraska.

fmpden

.....Are you saying your news city/county/state news sources are not correct?....

No, you don't understand the comments. And those statements must be taken in context. The people who actually live here can explain it very well, and we have been.

Tabernash2

It's hard to explain the many micro-climates in Colorado, especially the front range. It's always confusing because the national news will report a blizzard in Denver, but usually it southwest of us, or mostly in the foothills and mountains.

We live in central Denver and this rainstorm has been all around us, but no damage here. Just lots of rain. Thursday was the day of the biggest rains. It was pouring at my house, but when I drove a few miles southwest into central Denver, it wasn't even raining. Go figure, eh?

Saying this is insane: "Change your plans. The state of Colorado is underwater. There won't be any safe hiking to do for some time."

To the OP, if you are looking for another place to stay, I always recommend Devil's Thumb Ranch, near Winter Park. I just received an e-mail that they are offering special rates in September and October, for midweek lodge rooms starting at $179 including breakfast. You have to call them. I don't think it's available on-line.
http://www.devilsthumbranch.com/

Nelson

I'm in Fort Collins, and have no plans to unpack my snorkel equipment. But 1/2 mile away the bike trail that I ride on several times a week was under six feet of water on Friday.

We have friends coming to visit next weekend and were planning to meet them in Boulder for two nights. We are now considering changing that to Summit county. My wife and I are continuing on to Aspen after that, so that change works for us anyway.

Friends who live in Estes are spending the week in Breckenridge (long planned). Spoke to them a few minutes ago and they say it's lovely up there today. They drove over Trail Ridge yesterday. They have a bunch of hikes and bike rides planned for the week, all of which should be fine.

wtm003

On the 25th, for an inexpensive option in Summit County you can consider The Best Western Ptarmigan Lodge. The mountain setting is very pretty next Lake Dillon. Rates are around $80.

I like the Arapahoe Cafe across the street for breakfast.

http://www.arapahoecafe.com/

Gretchen

Your story about the bike trail was my son's along Cherry Creek--he sometimes rides his bike to work in downtown, and his bike trail was under water.
Denver is also famous for hail--DD's house and car were severely damaged with huge hail one time and there was none a half mile away!!

viveiros

Thanks for all the info......we're still coming to Colorado but have gone ahead and cancelled our Denver & Estes Park hotels. Will get out the maps, travel guides & surf the web to find other options for the Wed/Thur part of our trip. Your suggestions have given us some options to check out. We didn't plan on doing any hiking so that wasn't our concern.....our concern is to not become a burden to areas that have so many locals to worry about. I've checked in with our family in Windsor and while they posted a few picture of flooding in their area they are OK and still looking forward to our visit. Thanks again and we'll continue to watch the weather news and pray the rains end soon.

tomfuller

Your kids would probably like Glenwood Springs.
The Glenwood Canyon before you get there is beautiful.
http://glenwoodcaverns.com/
Aspen is only 41 miles from Glenwood Springs.

Gretchen

I have missed how old your children are but there is a LOT of Colorado they and you can enjoy.

fmpden

All of this is what we call up slope conditions and is occurring east of the divide. If you go deeper into the mountains and stay around I-70 and south of I-70 you will be fine. The area around Breckenridge, Frisco, Summit Cty area, Vail is fine. Everything beyond Loveland pass, Eisenhower/Johnson tunnels is the western slope. We are still getting rain in the Denver area. Bring some warmer clothes as it is cool.