I am taking a family vacation out in Colorado next summer and am looking for a hidden gem of a spot to stay (cabin, hotel, rental, etc...) for 5-7 days. We are a family of 4 with a 6 and 11 year old then and open to whatever. Just looking for a nice place with stuff to do.

I know thats really general, but we don't have any preconceived plans or ideas of what we want.

Thanks in advance. Any help would be appreciated.

Estes Park is a great place to go. I am a native and live about an hour from there. There are plenty of cabins and lodges there and you are right next door to Rocky Mountain National Park.

There is good food, hiking, fishing, horseback riding, just about everything you could want. It's a great drive over Trail Ridge road to the town of Grand Lake which is a lot of fun. If you like watching wildlife there are Elk, Deer, Mountain Sheep etc.... I was there last weekend for an afternoon picnic and we even saw a cub bear.

Let me know if I can answer any more questions.

Best regards,
Harry

Are you flying in or driving? What kind of things would you like to do? What price range? Do you want lots of activities or more laid back, easy going things?

Durango is a great spot for families. Lots to see and do with nice rentals and it isn't nearly as expensive as some of the bigger name Colorado towns.

If flying, the least expensive airport is proabably Albuquerque [ABQ] and with a rental car, it is a 3 hour drive.

Lots of threads on here about Durango, Mesa Verde National Park and such in the area. Do a search above to get started.

We will be driving from the east (spending some time in NE). We really don't have our minds made up on anything specific to do.

We just returned from Steamboat Springs and had a great time. You can rent bikes and cycle on the many, many trails, go tubing down the Yampa River, hike, it's a small town, but absolutely gorgeous.

It really depends on what you are looking for. We stayed at a little place outside of Wolf Creek, a house that you can rent via VRBO. It was great, but again it depends what you are after!

For Estes PArk (we were just there this month)we stayed at Estes PArk Condos East entrance. No air conditioning so was hot in afternoon but cooled down at night. Grounds were nice and the brook was babbling 10 feet from our door: several people caught trout w/ Condo provided fishing gear & demo. Antlers Pointe and Bugle Point very nice and ask for unit now..as they fill up, away from hiway....1 mile to East Entrance RMNP.
http://www.estescondos.com/

Never sure what one means by hidden gems. Afterall most hidden gems have been discovered and well advertised to the tourists. All of the previous places mentioned are hot tourist spots. And, by same chance, most of those places have the things that tourist want to do. When I think of hidden gems I am thinking of remote places, min services, and places where a lot of tourists will not venture. But with two sons to entertain, I would suggest something like Breckenridge -- Cowboy mine, Apline Slide, Bike trails, etc. Might consider Glenwood Springs with huge outdoor swimming pool/hot, chair lift,bike trails along the Colorado. For an out of the way place to stay, you might consider Leadville - again a mine to tour, a short train ride, the Mineral Belt trail which is truly an under visited site. Could day trip is Aspen (little to nothing to do there even for adults) but a pretty drive over Independence Pass. Day trip to Vail with lots kids activities or even to Glenwood Springs/canyon.

Estes Park and Grand Lake-access to fishing, Rocky Mountain National Park, horseback riding--lots and lots of lodging there. Stanley Hotel and everything in between.

Durango/Mesa Verde-many cool things to do there

Maybe check out an Alpine Slide somewhere

Ziplinning in Durango is awesome combined with the train
www.soaringcolorado.com---very expensive

The Great Sand Dunes are awesome for a 6 year old, but nothing really to good to stay at there.
maybe rent an RV--they are way out of the way--go in early June for the creek to be running--totally cool

I'm with fmpden on Glenwood Springs. The two best hotels there are the Hotel Colorado and the Hotel Denver. To get to Glenwood Springs from Denver, I think the CA Zephyr is a good option.
I love the view from the train in the Glenwood Canyon east of Glenwood Springs.
The kids would like Glenwood Caverns as well. Glenwood Springs is only 41 miles from Aspen if you wanted to visit but not stay there.

"Little or nothing to do in Aspen"?! Absolutely not true. You can hike, fish, river raft, catch wonderful music and other festivals, visit Maroon Bells, horseback ride, play tennis, swim, spa, walk all over the cool town, oggle high end baubles, eat awesome food. . .

Google Aspen's summer schedule and see what you can find. There is a classical music festival every summer. And we once saw India Arie and Boz Scaggs at the Aspen jazz festival, at a lovely outdoor tent venue.

We love Aspen in the summer. If you are interested, I recommend you stay in Aspen proper for its cache. We have liked The Gant and Aspen Square, both condo hotels.

www.stanleyhotel.com

Historic Haunted close to RM Park

Kids will love it elk graze on the ground

featured in Jack Nicholson's The Shining...

Here's Johnny!

Granby Ranch, about an hour and a half from Denver is a great family vacation spot with a lot of summer outdoor activites (and skiing at SolVista in the winter). Here is a place with a lot of nice, inexpensive lodging: http://www.sclodging.com

Also love the area around Durango in the summer. You can visit all the archaeological sites at Mesa Verde and the four corners area and then escape the heat a little in Durango.

Winter Park, CO, is a good spot with all the summer activities, like hiking, biking, rafting, etc. It also has an alpine slide and other fun crazy physical 'games' that kids LOVE. All at the base of the ski area, where there are also shops and restaurants.

For upper-end family rentals in that area, try Destinations West, a rental management company. They do a good job.

Actually, I think Winter Park kind of fits your 'hidden gem' request. Because it seems tourists flock more to Summit County than Grand County (where WP is). WP is more a place the locals appreciate, IMHO. It can be crowded in town, to be sure, but it is a spacious place and easy to get away from it all.

You can day-trip to Grand Lake. Rent a motorboat for the day, which our kids always enjoyed. Have dinner at the historic Grand Lake Lodge (another fav of ours). Play golf at award-winning Pole Creek, or smaller Grand Lake golf course.

Snow Mountain Ranch, YMCA of the Rockies, is a very fun family place to stay or to visit. Lots to do there for kids. Old-fashioned grill there is fun for kids, too.

Aspen is like New York City or London in the Rockies. ugh.

For a true hidden gem and off the beaten path, try Almont, Colorado, basically a bend in the river between Gunnison and Crested Butte. Rent a cabin along the river, fishing right outside your door, go up to Taylor Reservoir area and rent 4 wheelers, float the Taylor River, drive up to Crested Butte and experience its charms, ride the zip line at the ski mountain, drive to Gunnison and experience an old west town.

Just to through something else out there for you to look into. I really think you can't go wrong anywhere in Colorado, It truly is so beautiful and wonderful in the summer.

William, have you lived in Aspen? You describe it as most people THINK it is.

No, he described it pretty much as is. Pretty little town, over priced, and over inflated. It is an adult community and I doubt if the 6 and 11 year olds will find a lot to do.

Well, I disagree, having taken my two kids to Aspen in the summer many times. I think you might be relying on the tabloids for your description. Vail is actually more as you describe, with much less open country to enjoy and explore. Both are very expensive.

I'm not familar with William's suggestion of Almont, but I'd never consider any of the other suggestions as " hidden gems" . Some very good options but defintely not in the hidden gem catergory.

I use to think Aspen was another glitzy resort but after a short visit last year have revised my opinion. Yes, it's expensive and it's certainly upscale but far more friendly and less snobby than I originally thought. I liked it.

For a family, have a look at Buena Vista, Glenwood Springs or Durango.