droots

Message: My wife and I are going to Santa Fe for the first time in late September for four days. We thought it might be fun to fly into Denver and stop midway between Santa Fe and Denver on the way down and back to break up the trip and see some of Southern Colorado. Any ideas for sightseeing on the way, or whether you even think the trip is a good idea to plan this way? We are staying at the Zona Rosa in Santa Fe and love very nice, non-standard accomodations with "soul" as opposed to B and B's or glitzy large hotels. Appreciate your thoughts!

utahtea

droots,

Do you have four days total or four days in Santa Fe and more time to spend traveling? And if you have more time for traveling...how much time are we talking about?

There's plenty to see in Southern Colorado on your way back to Denver. Mesa Verde National Park, Durango, Telluride, Silverton, the Million Dollar Highway, Ouray, Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, Colorado National Monument, Aspen, Independence Pass, Leadville to name a few.

Utahtea

travellyn

A detour on US 160 over Wolf Creek Pass to Pagosa Springs would give you a chance to enjoy some nice hot springs and beautiful scenery, including fall colors. If the Cumbres and Toltec Railroad from Chama to Antonito is running at that time of year, it would make for a nice break, as well. You can drive from Pagosa to Santa Fe via Chama.

Breckboy

Stayed at the Zona Rosa a couple of years ago. It was OK, nothing really special. Never went back. It's really in the middle of nowhere. I prefer to stay at the Inn on the Alameda, and I know plenty of people who also like La Posada de Santa Fe. From either of those properties it's a short walk to either the center of town or to Canyon Road.

I would skip flying into Denver and just go straight to Santa Fe. Four days there is just about right, and you still won't feel like leaving when your trip is up.

Buena suerte!

Lexma90

Southern Colorado, as described by the earlier poster, has some interesting sites and sights, but they're all on the western side of the state. If you're really thinking of driving from Denver to Santa Fe, there's not much of anything (and less to visit) directly in between.

I would suggest that you drop the Denver idea and spend your time in and around Santa Fe - there's plenty to do in that area, including Taos, Bandelier (very interesting), and many pueblos.

droots

Thanks so much for the replies. Your thoughts are greatly appreciated. It appears that most of the sites of interest to us are in the western part of Colorado. It's been over 30 years since I drove the Denver to Mesa Verde route that I remember little about the driving distances, as well as the points of interest.

Here's my big concern...would it be worthwhile and feasible to drive Denver through Southwest Colorado on the way to Santa Fe. We are not bound by time, but wouldn't want to spend more than 5 hours or so per day, and preferably less. Any thoughts on possible itineraries and driving time expectations would be great. Thanks so much!

dwooddon

I love western Colorado but unless you want to drive a long way out of your way, my advice would be to fly into Albuquerque or Santa Fe and concentrate your visit in New Mexico. There's lots to see and do and four days will only allow you to scratch the surface.

Connie

If you have plenty of time, I think it would make for a nice trip to drive from either Denver or Colorado Springs over to Montrose and then down through Ouray, Silverton and Durango. You would want to spend a couple of days in the area. Then drive down to Santa Fe and fly out of SF or Albuquerque.

travellyn

To give you an idea of driving times, it's about 7 hours from Denver to Durango, about 3.5 hours from Albuquerque to Durango, and 4 hours from Santa Fe to Durango via Pagosa Springs. Mesa Verde would be another 45-60 minutes from Durango. ABQ to Santa Fe takes about 1 hour.

If you want to make this a driving vacation, without a lot of time in Santa Fe, then your plan could be very nice. The fall colors peak between mid-September and mid-October at various places along the route.