Help for planning a non-scary trip to Denver Area
 

Hi Good People!
Was hoping to get some input on places to go in the western Denver area that keeps us off
roads/passes/hwys that have steep drop-offs. My husband and I are from a flat state and just dont have
the nerves for the "scary" mountain roads (although we really want to see the beautiful mountains and
enjoy what they have to offer.) Any suggestions for scenic roads we can go on that dont have drop-offs? We can handle
roads that have dropoffs with trees right by the road (so you dont really notice the drop-off). We'll be flying into
Denver in June for about 6 days. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

For the city of Denver, you won't find any scary roads or drop offs, you'd have to go pretty far west to the mountains. You can even drive up to Golden and Boulder and not encounter anything mountainous. A nice drive in between Denver airport and downtown is Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge. It's a big loop that you drive and you can see elk, bison, deer and if you're extremely lucky, the rare endangered black footed ferret.

Thank you TheTravelingLocals ! We would like to go up to Rocky Mountain National Park but dont think we could
drive all the way along Trail Ridge Road. Any idea of where we should turn around and head back down?

Also, heard the Guanella Pass between Georgetown and Grant on Hwy 381 is a non-scary drive?

Do you know of any other good drives that are out west of Denver that are not bad?

Here is my Do-not-Drive List
Red Road Pass
Drive to Mt. Evans
Douglas Pass
Pikes Peak Hwy
Oh My God Rd
Berthoud Pass
Shelf Road
Old Fall River Road
Million Dollar Hwy
Trail Ridge Rd part way up...not sure where to turn around though
Independence Pass
Loveland Pass

My OK to drive - not too scary List (its so short :-( )
Hwy 70
Vail Pass
Hwy 82 between Glenwood Springs and Aspen
Guanella Pass (between Georgetown and Grant)

Please let me know if I have any of these in the wrong column! Thanks!

A lot of the places on your no drive list aren't anywhere near Denver.

I find I-70 scarier than just about any mountain road in Colorado. Not because of drop offs of course, but for the heavy traffic, abundance of semi trucks barreling down the road at high speeds and sheer volume. We live in CO and avoid I-70 as much as possible, even if it means adding hours to our drive.

I assume you're aware that RMNP will start requiring timed entry into the park in late May? And that some areas are closed due to last year's fires?

https://www.nps.gov/romo/index.htm

PS - I had to Google Oh My God Rd, never heard of it.

The Million Dollar Highway and Red Mountain Pass are one and the same - Red Mountain Pass is the 11,018 summit of the Million Dollar Highway. It's in the southwest of the state, no where near Denver.

Thank you Melnq8 ! I guess I wrote my first message wrong. I meant to say we want to visit the area West of Denver
(not western Denver). The mountainous area but want to stay off the scary roads. I hear you about I70. Sounds like our
I95! What do you call the mountainous area in Western Colorado that I'm talking about? Western Colorado? Not sure what
to call it.

I had heard that you need reservations for the RMNP. I'm still not sure if we can even drive that one or if we can go up
so far then decide thats enough and come back. If we cant go very far on the Trail Ridge Rd without getting scared then
its probably not worth us wasting our time there. I wish we werent whimps when it comes to driving and dropoffs. We're
from FL and its flat...very flat!

Yes, I-70 is white-knuckle scary to me as well.

Fear of roadside edges is subjective, but I think these routes should work for you and are mountain scenic.

https://goo.gl/maps/HS76Masr75Vr1XRk7
https://goo.gl/maps/RnWGNHRaZMagQRCJ7

As is the road between Frisco and Leadville. Of course the best is to get out and do some walking. Have a good trip.

I understood what you meant by west of Denver. What I meant about many of the roads not being anywhere near Denver is that they're in other parts of the state. With only six days I'd imagine you won't be going to the far reaches of the state.

Trail Ridge Road is only a small part of RMNP. There are plenty of hikes and scenery on the eastern side of the park near Estes Park. It's been a few years since I was there, but I seem to remember the road there being pretty tame. As RMNP is a draw for you, I suggest you spend 2-3 nights there, which will give you plenty of time to explore some of the park. Do look at closures though as they could affect your visit.

You say six days - how many nights do you have? Knowing that will give posters a better idea of how much time you actually have to work with.

Any interest in Colorado Springs - Garden of the Gods, gold mining towns, etc?

The view from the Amtrak California Zephyr of the Glenwood Canyon east of Glenwood Springs is a lot better than driving I-70 through the canyon. On the days that it is running (currently 3 days/week) the train leaves Denver shortly after 8AM and is in Glenwood Springs at mid-afternoon. Rental cars should be available in Glenwood Springs. or you can ride the Roaring Creek bus up to Aspen (41 miles).
There is a side bus trip up to Maroon Bells if that interests you.
Glenwood Springs has a great paved hiking/bike trail along the Colorado River in the Glenwood Canyon. It also has the world's largest hot spring fed swimming pool.

The road from say Boulder to Estes Park is very reasonable. No scary drop offs. Once in Estes Park you can enter RMNP and have no problem driving around that side of the park. It starts to get shaky as you head up Trail Ridge Rd.but places to turn around if it becomes too much.
BTW Denver to Boulder easy peasy. I used to ride my bike that route as it’s popular with cyclists.

Just saw tomfuller’s suggestions. Excellent.Would also recommend.

Thank you Nelson , tomfuller , historytraveler and Melnq8

I'm reading all these post but dont know how to "Like" on here.

Trying to answer all the questions. We will be there 6 nights. We get there early one morning and dont leave until late
(like almost midnight) on the last day.

I do hope to go to Colorado Springs and do Garden of the Gods and maybe that place where they have the houses
in the rocks/cliffs. My daughter wants to go to the desert area but I think that's just too far away.
I will have to look in to the Train/Glenwood Canyon. That sounds like fun and relaxing since dont have to drive!

Nelson I checked out some of the roads on the two maps you left and they look quite doable. Just have to figure
out how to fit everything in.

The other thing I found that looked like fun was the Lariat Loop. It does go up Lookout Mt. but I think we can skip that if
it looks too scary. I wonder if we approach it from the west where we would be hugging the mountain (as we go east) might
be the easiest way to do it?

Thank you all again!

lac, I didn't pay close enough attention to the routes Google chose in my maps above. On the first one, don't go thru Longmont and I-25, instead turn off at Lyons and thru Boulder:

https://goo.gl/maps/Cnz2Ug9Fy2Ji4jdL9

Note that I randomly chose "Denver" as start and end, but you get the idea. The Lariat Loop is an excellent idea. It's been a 10 years since I've been there, but I don't think lookout mountain would be an issue and the Buffalo Bill museum is way worth it. Also, the Colorado Railroad Museum in Golden is great. I was there a couple years ago. Looks like both are currently open with some restrictions.

that place where they have the houses in the rocks/cliffs.

Assume you mean Manitou Cliff Dwellings?

https://www.cliffdwellingsmuseum.com/

Easy to combine that with Garden of the Gods and Manitou Springs. If you make it to GOG, don't miss the excellent Visitor's Center outside of the park.

Oh, good that that place was Manitou Springs--was thinking Mesa Verde. LOL

Was hoping to get some input on places to go in the western Denver area that keeps us off
roads/passes/hwys that have steep drop-offs. My husband and I are from a flat state and just dont have
the nerves for the "scary" mountain roads (although we really want to see the beautiful mountains and
enjoy what they have to offer.)

i wonder in re-reading this--have you ever driven in the mountains? The drop offs of some roads ARE indeed scary but really--just driving CAREFULLY with attention to the road has always gotten me through pretty well. I did pay much closer attention on the drive up Mt. Evans. Just enjoy the beauty of Colorado!!
And you have gotten good advice for places to go.

I will be visiting friends in northwestern Denver suburb later this month and will report back when I return. We've decided to avoid Rocky Mountain National Park (because of time). They have a couple of places near Boulder (including Chautauqua Park) planned, also Golden area and day trip to Colorado Springs. June should be the perfect time to visit the area.

What about the Pike's Peak railway, that takes you up Pike's Peak. No driving involved except to get to the parking lot. I'm not sure if it is open, but worth looking into, but could be snowy up at the top.

I think the idea of taking the train is a very good one for you.
You could stay in Winter Park for a couple of nights, then go on to Glenwood Springs/Aspen.
The train stops at Fraser, and some hotels will pick you up at the tiny train depot.
Our favorite place is Devil's Thumb Ranch, which is like Ritz Carlton meets Ralph Lauren. https://www.devilsthumbranch.com
If too pricey, they have a sister property in town called Vasquez Creek Inn, which has guest passes for the Ranch and a very good Italian restaurant. https://volarioswinterpark.com

You forgot the Monarch pass, it's probably the most dangerous road in the entire state.