Leadville or Breckenridge?
 

We are going to Colorado in October. Flying in to Denver on a Saturday morning, and we are looking at staying the first night in either Breckenridge or Leadville. We'll be heading out to Pagosa Springs on Sunday morning. Any suggestions as to which one to pick?

Leadville isn't exactly a "destination" in Colorado. It is an old mining town and while a great visit, wouldn't be my first choice for an overnight. If you are just looking for a 1/2 way point, and depending on your arrival time, I would shoot for Salida, which is a nicer town, good restaurants, etc. That would make for a little shorter drive the next day to Pagosa. A suggested route would be I-70 west to C-470 south to US highway 285, thru South Park (Fairplay), Buena Vista, and Salida. Next day, south again on 285, to Monte Vista and west on HW 160. You could also divert off of 285 to the Sand Dunes NM, if that interests you. Personaly, I find the Sand Dunes boring after a few minutes, and wouldn't waste my time, but that's just me I suppose. There are other people who think it's the best place on earth.

Hmm... Leadville or Breckenridge.... my, what a hard choice (not!)

As jimcolorado pointed out, the two are very different towns. Breckenridge is a former mining town that is a now, happenin' touristy place with lots of shops and restaurants. Not much in the way of its mining past, aside from the large piles of rocks from the mining dredges in the river.

Leadville has tenaciously clung to mining, as a matter of fact, the Climax mine will be reopening soon. It is a bedroom town for people who work in Vail.

I am going to a conference in Leadville next summer and a big topic this year was, "where are we going to stay?" The Super8 is realtively new and no one knew if the Hotel Delaware has bothered to update its rooms since the conference was there 11 years ago and found it seriously wanting. As for eating, well there is a great sandwich shop, but I think they are only open for lunch.

However, there are still many mine sites to see and a great mining museum.

Do you want a nice hotel and restaurant or do you want to see some of Colorado's past?

Leadville and Breck are two very different places. I've enjoyed overnights at both. Leadville is a very rustic old mining town. There are some great little B&Bs, and an old historic hotel there. The cemetary outside of town is really interesting and the houses in town are very sweet-it's a great place just to wander around. There are a few cool antique stores, a couple of family restaurants with good food, and a good old (and I mean old) bar. My DH and I have spent two anniversaries up there.

Breck is more modern. More trendy-type restaurants. More bars for nightlife, if you're into that. The main street is good for shopping and there's a waterfront park area that sometimes has live music or other exhibits. As it's a ski town in the winter, lodging is more upscale and expensive.

So, my pick is Leadville - I like the quaint, mountain-town, non-commercial feeling - it's also a great drive from there down to Pagosa Springs, though you'd go the same way (more than likely) from Breck. But I guess it depends on what kind of things you like!

I had found that the various Information/Visitor Centers or Chamber of Commerce offices were extremely helpful. Ask many questions and for recommendations. Ask for a Colorado map - it shows what passes are closed during which season. We found it to be our best map even over the store bought ones. Ask for the information to come as soon as possible. Books from Fodor’s and Frommer’s on Colorado are great resources to have and help in the decision making process.

Especially ask for city maps
Breckenridge Resort Chamber & Visitor Information @ 1-800-221-1091, 311 S. Ridge St. (P.O. Box 1909) Breckenridge, CO 80424. (www.breckenridge.com)
Leadville/Lake County Chamber of Commerce, @ 1800-933-3901 or (719) 486-3900, 809 Harrison Ave.,(P.O. Box 861), Leadville, CO 80461; (www.leadvilleusa.com)

My thoughts would be to stay in Breckenridge then you can head back north to I-70 and then down to route 24 down through Leadville and take the scenic route to Pagosa Springs. Most people suggested going this route – it may be the most traveled route. I would do both if you can. Check with the Visitor/Information and see what they have to offer. Hope this helps.

We took a 3-week trip to Colorado in 2004. My husband is more familiar with Colorado and has been there many times (family). This was my first trip. We went for a wedding in Winter Park. Wanted to ask you if you are familiar with the problems of altitude and driving out west in that type of topography. FYIO: You will be traveling through the passes (many have hairpin turns) and some areas are open range with no lighting at night.
We were told anytime as early as the last part of August or the beginning of September you can possibly have snow in the Rockies.

My husband and I just spent a week in Vail, Colorado and visited both Leadville and Breckenridge. Without a doubt, I would recommend Breckenridge. While we enjoyed our visit to Leadville(we took a 2.5 hour train ride into the mountains), it wouldn't be my choice over Breckenridge to spend the night.

Breckenridge has tons of shops and restaurants. I vote Breck.

As I Colordo resident for many years, I would agree with jim colorado. Salida is a smallish, artsy town that is a great place to overnight. Plenty of motels and restaurants, and on the way to Pagosa Springs. Buena Vista is another possibility, but we prefer Salida.

Enjoy our state.

Thanks for all the info. CherB, I have been to Colorado a few times, both winter and summer, and luckily I have not had any issues with the altitudes. I've been through Leadville a couple of times, but this will be my wife's first visit to Colorado. I'm leaning toward Breckenridge, even though I do think Leadville is a great place too. I think the wife will want a few more options for browsing shops than what Leadville has to offer. Would you choose Breck over Vail? I stayed in Vail several years ago, and it was okay, but I thought Breckenridge might be a nice change. For only one night I don't know that it's that big of a deal, but I do want to make sure the wife has a great time! I fell in love with Colorado the first time I went there about 20 years ago, and I'm excited for my wife to finally get to see it. We'll be spending three nights in Pagosa Springs, then heading up to Grand Junction for a few days. I've been reading up on a lot of old posts on Colorado on this board, and I'll appreciate any suggestions you all can give me.

Between Breck and Vail, I'd go with Breck. It still has more of the mountain character than Vail does. Vail is definitely upscale!

What are you seeing while you are out there? My husband hadn’t been there in 30 years. He was amazed at the changes especially Berthoud Pass (en route to Winter Park). He wanted me to see certain things as well. After the wedding in Winter Park, we based camped in two different locations. One of the locations was in Avon at the Christie Lodge (the next exit down on I-70 was Vail). One day after arrival in Avon with lunch packed, we set off to tour the lower west quadrant. Drove down through Leadville (elevation 10.152ft) to Chaffee/Poncha Springs/Salida area then took Route 50 through the Black Canyon of the Gunnison (mini version of the Grand Canyon) – stopped and toured some of the park. We then took Route 550 south to see the amazing San Jaun Skyway ending the day in Durango. Stayed overnight in Durango near the rail station. The next day we took a roundtrip on the Durango/Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad in an open gondola (basically an open car). My husband loved it. The following day we headed for Cortez for a tour of the Ute Mtn Tribal Park. Stayed overnight at the Mesa Verde National Park (which I would highly recommend (it was like a regular hotel room) and eating at their restaurant which is next door). The next day we did the Mesa Verde National Park. The following day we had a ½ day again at Mesa Verde and headed back for home. Here is what I would do different – I would spend a night either in Telluride (I heard it is such a fun town) or Ouray (neat town) before going back. Lots to see and do and little time. We drove north on Route 50 missing our turn which at night was probably a blessing ended up close to Grand Junction, hopped on I-70 (from there and the type of topography was probably a shorter ride back) to Avon. The next few days we spent close to Avon touring Aspen, Beaver Creek (decadence – if you get a chance to see it go for it. It is a gated community. We told them we were visiting and wanted to see it and they gave us a day pass.), Breckenridge (a quick visit just a few hours - wish we had more time here), Drove back to Glenwood Springs for a hike up to the picturesque Hanging Lake (it is a rugged hike unbeknownst to us) and enjoyed the scenery on I-70 which is beautiful. Glenwood Springs has many hot springs areas and places we discovered to go white water rafting. On our last day in the area we had decided to do a morning of white water rafting on the Colorado river. The water level was a bit lower the staff said and not as dangerous as the spring can be. It was still quite exciting.
Option: Alternate route you can take Breckenridge to I-70 down Route 91 to Leadville as well.

The itenarary so far looks like this:
- Fly into Denver Saturday morning. Drive to Breckenridge and spend the first night. Just checking out the shps and the town are planned for this stop.
- Sunday morning drive to Pagosa Springs via 24, 285, and 160. No particular stops this day, just enjoying the scenery. We may stop for lunch in Buena Vista or Salida, if any one has any recommendations.
- We'll spend 3 days in Pagosa. 1 day we are planning a day trip to Santa Fe. We both have been wanting to visit there, and being so close we couldn't pass it up. Nothing else really planned in Pagosa yet. The third day may be an unwinding day, including a visit to a spa.
- Wednesday morning we'll head out to Grand Junction, travelling up 550. Hopefully we can stop in Ouray for lunch.
- We'll spend 2 nights in Grand Junction. I would like to visit Arches NP in Utah, and we want to visit some of the wineries (who knew Colorado had wineries?!!) along with some obligatory shopping for the wife.
- Friday we'll head to Denver, spending our last night in downtown Denver, and fly back out on Saturday.

I know that there are a lot of things we're missing, but I also don't want to cram too much in either. We'll be spending plenty of time in the car as it is. This will give us reason to come back again (as if I needed a reason). The only thing I might add is a visit to Mesa Verde. Still mulling that over.

What is in Pagosa Springs? Is it because it is centrally located to where you are going? Or is because of the hot springs? Are you open for suggestions or do you have reservations in place? Just ideas.
Just a thought on Mesa Verde - it is a huge park. It is 30 to 40 minute drive into the park before you reach the entrance. We stayed at Far View Lodge. The restuarant next door is rated top 10 in the state of Colorado. Similar to a gourmet restuarant. You almost need at least two nights there. Both of us thought that food facility for lunch was not that accessible (few and far between and we think you had to drive to it) - not sure. There is a fair amount of driving to get from place to place within the park. Call them and talk to them. Durango is 36 miles east of the park. Cortez is 6 miles west of the park and close to the Four Corners.
Website for Mesa Verde: www.nps.gov/meve/maps/maps_home.htm
There are hot springs in Durango - Trimble Hot Springs; Ouray Hot Springs Pool or Wiesbaden Hot Springs Spa & Lodge; Glenwood Springs has various hot springs just to mention a few. Glenwood Springs is probably a short drive from Grand Junction. Durango is a neat little town. The San Jaun Skyway loops around starting at Ouray heading south to Durango west on 160 to Cortez then north on 145 to Telluride (in Telluride it makes a sharp left northwest for a few miles) to Placeville turn right on to 62 back on to route 550 @ Ridgway (just north of Ouray). Maybe too much info. Hopefully you can use some of the info.

Using time share points in Pagosa (a leftover from my previous life). And it's never too much info. That's why I like this board! Thanks for the help.

first off to answer your original question----stay in breckinridge over leadville--just drove through leadville and visited breckinridge for a few hours just a couple of weeks ago--breckinridge is and definitely looks like a more fun place to visit--more choices of where to stay.

a visit ot mesa verde---it is a special place--it is the best of all the Indian ruins we have seen--and we have seen many.
It does have a long ride up--twisting mountain road, but nice scenery. So if you visit it will be take a number of hours.

ARe you planning on visiting Sante Fe,NM?

That is a long ride from Colorado. If you visit it make a stop in Taos also.

FYIO: Actually, that's how we stayed in Colorado. We exchanged two timeshares one in Steamboat Springs (sometime you should check out Steamboat Springs) and one in Avon at the Christie Lodge.