My family will be in CO for 16 days...here's our schedule...flying in & out of Denver (from Harrisburg, PA). We are coming out Sunday! We have 4 kids ages 14, 12, 9, & 7.

Denver - 1 night
Estes Best Western Silver Saddle - 2 nights
Glenwood Springs Hot Springs Lodge - 1
Moab - 1 night
Bryce Canyon/Zion - BW Ruby's Inn - 2 nights
Grand Canyon - 2 nights
Durango BW Inn & Suites - 1 night
Ouray - BW Twin Peaks - 2 nights
Colorado Spring - 3 nights
Denver - 1 night

Please feel free to give any advice on our schedule...or if we are missing any wonderful town along the way.

Here are a few more questions...
1) What is the best town to go whitewater rafting in? Any suggestions of specific outfitters?
2) Where are some great locations to go horseback riding? Any "must see" places to go riding?
3) Are Jeep tours worth it? They're expensive for a family of 6.
4) I am having reservations about going on Pikes Peak. Can't afford the cog railway and as far as driving it...how wonderful is it? 2 of my kids get extremely carsick and I'm wondering if we aren't already going to be on enough mountains that we couldn't skip driving Pikes Peak.

Thanks in advance, very much, for any help anyone can offer!!

Martha

Martha -

You will get better responses if you put Colorado in the title of your post. Even if you highlight Colorado as your criteria when you post, your question and all others still show up on the main US board. "Family Vacation help needed" doesn't tell us where you are looking for, and people who have no information to share waste time reading your post.

Imagine if you had to actually read every post to find out where the poster was needing information for - it would be impossible!

That said, I will try to help with your questions.

1)There are lots of places in Colorado to go whitewater rafting. Central Colorado, especially near Buena Vista and Salida along the Arkansas, is some of the best. However, there are rafting companies everywhere.

3)Define "worth it". What is "worth it" to me may not be to you.

4)Pike's Peak is wonderful - just be sure to

sorry, I got cut off on that last one...

just be sure to take warm clothes as it can be cold and windy even in the summer. The cog rail is neat, but you can enjoy the drive up just as much. You will have to drive slowly up anyway, so car sickness shouldn't be a problem there more than anywhere else. Also, there are plenty of places to stop and enjoy the scenery to stave off the car sickness.

I have re-read your itinerary, and I have a question...why 3 nights in Colorado Springs??? That seems like way too much to me, when you are budgeting your time so tightly in places like Moab.

If I were you, I would add another night to Moab and/or Durango. Instead of Colorado Springs, I would suggest staying in Salida/Buena Vista/Leadville. That way, you can take your time driving from Ouray. Make a stop at Black Canyon of the Gunnison, and ride the gondolas to the top of Monarch Pass. Then, you can fit in the whitewater rafting while you are in that area.

There are a number of 14,000+ foot mountains in the Salida area. My inclination would be to trade Pike's Peak for those mountains. Loveland Pass is spectacular, and it would be easy to incorporate on your drive from Salida back up to I-70 heading in to Denver. Also, you could do Mt. Evans and Mt. Evans Wilderness that is just east of Denver.

You are going to be driving an EXTREME amt..(I am exhausted just reading it) if you have children who get "extremely car sick.", doesn't sound like it will be fun for them..not to mention dealing with altitude adjustment. You will be up & down mountain passes, etc...Moab to Bryce will be a VERY long day, as is Bryce to Grand Canyon and then to Durango..All day car events on back roads! We have done Utah the last 4 summers..LOTS of driving in Red Rock country...Both states are huge and even with 16days you will just see the tip of the iceberg! We have been going to CO. for 18 summers and traveled thru most of it. Have you considered staying in one place a week ? Our favorite area of all is SUMMIT county with Lake Dillion..Tons of paved bike trails, hiking and beautiful scenary everywhere. The kids could run out and play!

You are looking at a whirl wind tour and you're not going to have much time to see all the destinations you have plotted out.

I personally would cut out the 3 nights in Colorado Springs and put them in Moab, Bryce and Zion.

We didn't drive to the top of Pikes Peak but you are going to get some really great mountain views when you drive from Durango to Ouray...and if your kids get car sick...this will be the place. Also the drive on I-70 is spectaular too!

One night at Moab after driving 200 miles isn't going to give you much time to see Arches National Park, Canyonlands National Park, Dead Horse State Park drive the Potash road to see the petroglphs to name a few things to do in this town. There is some fun white water rafting out of Moab. Make sure you exit I-70 at Cisco and drive in to Moab on Hwy 128. This is a really scenic by-way.

What route did you plan on taking between Moab and Zion? Were you stopping at Bryce on the way?

Since you are going to so many National Parks, you might as well purchase the National Park pass for $50 and you will save money. Grand Canyon, Zion and Bryce are each $20 entrance fees.

Utahtea

I think you are driving too far with kids who are prone to car sickness (I have a kid like that). I recommend you stick to Colorado and spend more time in each location or go just to the Grand Canyon and Brice/Zion.

Unless you children are accustomed to being in the car all day everyday, and you don't care that you won't have much time to enjoy the places you are driving to each day, I think you should rethink your itinerary.

padams421,

I agree with you, I was thinking the same thing!

There so much to do in Colorado. Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, Mesa Verde National Park, Independence Pass could easily be added to AmishLou trip.

OR Utah and Grand Canyon is another great choice...but not both in such a short time.

Utahtea

Another vote for visiting Colorado only. You **could** do everything in your list in 16 days, if you want to see everything from the car, but you and your children will be exhausted.

You could incorporate a day or two for Mesa Verde, a side trip to Great Sand Dunes, and you could do Pikes Peak AND Salida/Buena Vista (instead of choosing one or the other).

In the Gunnison area, you could detour north to see Crested Butte. Do you mean you are leaving this Sunday? There might be some early wildflowers.

Wow, everyone, thanks for the input. First of all, thanks for the tip about putting the location in the title. I thought it automatically came up on the Colorado board, but I'll know for next time.

I really do need to re-think this. I think we will cut out the Grand Canyon, which is pretty far out of the way. That would add a couple days. Also maybe I will cut a day out of Colorado Springs.

I am really excited to see Bryce/Zion, and also Rocky Moutain National Park, and Ouray, too.

How wonderful is the train ride in Durango? Worth the money?

Thanks so much for all the wonderful ideas...you all are a big help! My kids will thank you for saving us time in the car.

You will laugh -- or sigh -- to know that our original plans had 2 days at Yellowstone in the mix as well!! So already we are cutting things out...which turns this into much more of a "true" vacation than we originally planned on.

Thanks again! Martha

AmishLou,

3 days in Colorado Springs is 3 too many IMHO. I'd cut Coloardo Springs and Pikes Peak out completely and see some of the better spots in Colorado. You will get much better Mountain Views in many places like Trail Ridge Road in RMNP and over Red Mountain Pass between Ouray and Durango. This year the best rafting AKA most exciting will be in Westwater Canyon just west of my home in Grand Junction on the Colorado. Big snowpacks are melting and the Colorado is higher than it has been in years. The Arkansas River around Salida is always a good choice for rafting in Colorado.

The posts about driving too much are right on.

BeanMan

Totally agree with the post on LOVELAND PASS...we usually stay in Keystone and run up & down Loveland numerous times during our stay to hike, picnic and MY favorite: view the Aug. meteor showers! As for MT. Evans, we have made that a our annual "last day trip" before the long drive home. Arrive early enough in the a.m and be greeted by the mountain goats and big horn sheep. Lunch on the way down at Echo Lake...Can't say enough about Summit County area,day trips abound from this central lcoation.

If you've never been, be aware that driving will take longer than you think. You may be on a state highway, but rarely go near 55 mph. Our drive from Colorado Springs to Ouray took about twice as long as we expected. If the road isn't going up and down the mountain, it's curving around it, and you'll be slowing down at every curve.

Another thing to consider is that raft trips have age and/or size restrictions. I would check with some companies before making a decision. The big factor is usually the size of the rapids.

I totally agree with the general consensus that you drop a night or two from Colorado Springs, and trim down the itinerary for less driving, as it always takes longer than you think.

Rafting can be found lots of places, but there's news here in Denver about the water running so high in Boulder, for example, that it's closed now to rafters. I think the hefty snowpack, combined with the hot temps lately, have created a major run-off situation now. Your youngest kids might not be able to go, under such high runoff situations. So ask outfitters in advance to find a place you can all enjoy and not be terrified!

If you focus on one state, I think you'll be happier than trying to drive everyday all day.

Take a look at the map, and create a nice driveable loop in and out of Denver. Personally, I wouldn't try to get to Estes and then all the way down to Ouray. I'd drop Estes. You will see plenty of beautiful scenery if you focus on a smaller territory, whichever route you choose. You don't have to see it all, because it's gorgeous everywhere. And don't drive every day!

Thanks for all the tips...I am so glad I found Fodors! I was on bidding for travel.com to find out how to get the best deals on Priceline and they referred me to this. So thanks, very much.

My current question is whether you would recommend whitewater rafting in Moab (on the COlorado) or Durango (on the Animas). I realize that the waters might be running fast and the younger kids might not get to do it, but it would be great if the whole family could go. We are looking for a MILD trip, not a WILD one!! Any suggestions whether one town/river would be a better choice? Also, I'm guessing that most likely we'll have warmer weather in Moab so maybe that is a better choice? I welcome your suggestions.

AmishLou, you also received several replies to your similar post from today.
Click on your screen name to retrieve all your posts.
Have a great vacation.

The river rafting trip out of Moab on the Colorado river that starts at Fisher Towers is pretty mild and the age range is from 4 to 94! We really enjoyed it. It's mostly class 1 & 2 rapids, but we hit a couple of 3's on our trip many years ago.

Utahtea