Hello, my wife and I plan a one week fly/drive trip in October flying into Denver and spending 2 nights in Estes Park near the Park. (We are not fond of the poorly run USNPark lodges). My question is, where should we spend the next 2 nights? We love natural beauty, hiking, and just exploring, maybe a comfortable cabin but we would not mind a fun location with with shops and restaurants (Steamboat? Aspen? Vail? Or ?? Just not too touristy. We are in our 50's and are somewhat discriminating about where we stay and don't like crowds. Any recommendations? Nice cabins? Nice hotel/motel? We've never been to Colorado so any help would be appreciated. Thank you....

If you want to stay fairly close to the area, Steamboat is a nice town, not as touristy or expensive as Vail or Aspen. Lots to do, plus hot springs, rafting, etc.(BTW, there are no lodges within RMP.)If you want to stay even closer, after you go after Trail Ridge Road, go north to Winter Park, where you can use the mountain lifts to go up and hike/bike (or do the alpine slide)down; I suggest the YMCA Snow Mt. Ranch for beautiful cabins in a lovely setting. There is also golf and ballooning nearby. Either of these towns have very reasonable and varied accommodations, from condos to cabins to motels (but if it is peak aspen color time, get your reservations), and lots of things to do and see. Have fun!

Along the same lines, I'd suggest you drive over Trail Ridge Road (assuming it will still be open in October) into Grand Lake and spend some time seeing the lake. You could stay a night there, and/or drive to Steamboat, about 2 hours. Or stay in Winter Park which is on the way back to Denver, about 45- 60 minutes from Grand Lake. If you only have a total of 4 nights, you will be limited in what you can see and do. Maybe two nights in Estes is one too many? Depends on how much you want to move around. To drive from Steamboat all the way to the Denver airport would be too much. But you could make it from Winter Park, unless I-70 is really backed up when you're traveling. You just never know. This week we have a rock slide that has I-70 at a standstill and people are spending hours sitting in their cars. So allow plenty of time to get to DIA.

I spent a week driving around the state, and am not too sure where this may be in relation to our trip, but...

I loved the mining communities. Durango, etc...if you are close, these areas are awesome. Horseback riding, hiking, relaxing, etc....I can't wait to go back.

Durango is WAY too south for such a brief trip. If Trail Ridge Road is closed the Winter Park/Steamboat jaunt will be more difficult. IF it is closed, I suggest Boulder, an hour's drive or less to the south; lots of lodging, beautiful natural scenery, more hiking trails than you can do, and some great shopping and restaurants on and around the outdoor Pearl St. Mall. IF Trail Ridge is open, I'd still go with Winter Park (1 hour) or Steamboat (~90 miles from western end of RMNP).

I don't think I've ever seen Trail Ridge Road open in October. I wouldn't plan on it. There are recent posts with a few cabin recommendations in Estes.

I agree with Steamboat - but I do like Aspen. Aspen is nice in Oct. before the glitz moves in.

You don't have to worry about poorly run USNPark lodges as Rocky has no lodge in the park.

I've seen TRR closed as late as early November--but it can certainly be much earlier, depending on the snowfall. A good idea is to have alternative plans, and phone the park closer to the time of travel. They will usually have a good idea of whether the road will be closed on your dates.

I don't think you have to worry too much about crowds in October. At least not in Estes Park, in my experience. Check out www.vrbo.com for some nice cabins, arranged by city.

Sue

Thank you all so much. Some great ideas! I called the Park and they said the Ridge Trail was 50-50 in October. But I think we would like to try for Steamboat and have alternate reservations in perhaps Boulder if the Trail is closed. We are then planning 2 nights each in Estes Park, Steamboat Springs and back to Denver for 2 nights. Does anyone have any specific hotel/motel recommendations for Steamboat and Denver? My wife wants to stay downtown in Denver to take in a play or concert. .....Thanks, Ross

We stay in downtown Denver at the Brown Palace. It's kind of expensive - but they tend to have huge weekend discounts (the only time we go). Its lovely.

Embassy Suites downtown for an inexpensive hotel with spacious rooms, free cocktails and hors d'oeuvres, and free full breakfast. Hotel Monaco for a nice, more upscale boutique hotel. Oxford Hotel for history. All would be walking distance (relatively speaking) to the Denver Center for Performing Arts.

I think your plan sounds excellent - aim for Steamboat with a back-up of Boulder. If you're looking for nice lodging in Boulder, I highly recommend the Bradley Inn (formerly the Coburn House): www.thebradleyboulder.com

It's comfortable, tastefully decorated, and within walking distance to the Pearl Street Mall. The fresh baked cookies are pretty good, too!

Enjoy your visit!

There is not much to do in Winter Park without access to the mountain top. Most gondolas are closed in October, including Steamboat's. Steamboat does have a great town, lots of hot springs for soaking, a great drive for golden aspen leaves, and much more to do.
Hotels are either on the mountain (two biggest are Sheraton and the Grand), or chain hotels like the Hampton Inn (which is pretty nice) on Rt. 40. The mountain will not have much going on, because things wrap up around Labor Day and don't get started again until Thanksgiving. I'd go to vrbo.com and get a really nice condo for off-season rates.
If trail ridge is closed, and you stay in Boulder, make sure you go up Rt. 70 into the mountains. Boulder is right on the edge of the Front Range, and Denver is very flat. Not what you expect from Colorado.

vbooks, Colorado is a great state to explore. If i read your initial post correctly, you are there for a week. You might consider heading west out of Denver to Aspen to spend a few nights. I think this town would greatly appeal to your discriminating tastes...great restaurants, shops, strolling around at night. Plus, the hiking in and out of the town area is fantastic...take a short ride to the Redstone Hotel for lunch. You could then work your way northeast to overnight in Steamboat, tour Estes, overnight in Boulder and then head back to Denver for your flight. Enjoy!

Also check out The Oxford Hotel in LoDo--lower downtown Denver, where all the action is--restaurants, nightclubs. It was designed by the same architect who did The Brown Palace. Their Victorian Deluxe rooms are something special.

Sue

We stayed in Breckenridge in October and loved it but found it to be very quiet at that time of year. Don't assume that all the tourist activities and restaurants will be open. I second the Boulder idea since it really is a year-round town.