My husband and I are travelling to Colorado in two weeks. We are staying a week in the Breckinridge area and three days at Pike's Peak. What is one thing that we shouldn't miss seeing or doing while there??

You shouldn't miss a fat tire ale.

I always think this is kind of a silly question. I know you want a whole bunch of suggestions but it depends on what you like and want to do. But I will give you a couple. Take the bike trail from Breckenridge to Vail and stop in Copper for lunch. Take the Leadville Loop. Drive to Glenwood Springs and spend the afternoon in the world's largest hot tub. Three days at Pike's Peak is probably two more days than you need.

Not sure which route you will be taken between Breckinridge and Pikes Peak, but if you take Hwy 24 you can make a quick stop at Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument.

A fun day trip from Pikes Peak would be to Cripple Creek if you like to gamble, but all in all, three days at Pikes Peak does seem like a lot to me too.

Utahtea

Go to Colorado Springs to see the Chapel at the Air Force Academy and also drive through Garden of the Gods.

Drive the Boreas Pass road from Breckenridge to South Park and take the highway over Hoosier pass back to Breck.

Visit to the Maroon bells in Aspen and check out the two "gold digger towns" Cripple creek and Victor.Paul

Hi,

If you are considering going to the Air Force Academy, be sure to check first. I had heard there was limited access now, with all the homeland security stuff.

drive from breckEnridge towards copper mtn and head for leadville. this is the highest incorporated city in the US at 10,312' and is surrounded on all sides by 14,000' peaks. if you know any colo history the Tabors/baby doe lived here, as well as molly brown. at the silver dollar bar on harrison ave (the main st.) you will find an original bar with mostly gold dust mirrors. (it's a bar a couple have been broken)
then head south to twin lakes and over independence pass to aspen. from there you could loop back through glenwood springs/canyon/vail. shorter to return through leadville. when you come back into leadville you will see - just opposite the driveway to the college a sign saying 'The Grill' painted on a rooftop. GO THERE! have dinner at the best mexican food place in the state. mind you, don't have to many yummy margarita's while waiting for dinner - or you'll have to sleep in leadville for the night. all is homemade they are not fast!
independence pass is another highest in state. the drive is stunning. stop often to gaze.
if there is some way you can undo 3 days at pikes peak do it. unless you are planning to see colo spgs. sights you will need well under a day for this. the mtns are much more wonderful and much more to do
many would say a drive up and through rocky mtn nat'l park would be a good choice.




while there have lunch at 'the grill' on elm street - it's the best homemade mexican food in the state.

I totally agree with tovarich: Visit to the Maroon bells in Aspen and check out the two "gold digger towns" Cripple creek and Victor.

Cripple Creek and Victor are interesting towns even if you (like me) do not have relatives who were born there in the 1880s.

Aspen, Maroon Bells, and the drive to Aspen over Pearl Pass were the highlights of our trip to Colorado. It doesn't get better than this.

Breackfast at Boulder and see teh Celestial Tea Factory..

Personally, I'd skip Leadville. I never understand why people like it there. Been there many times, on the way home from Aspen. It's a very small town. Historic, yes, but a bit rundown, and the molybdenum (sp?) mine areas near it are bare and ugly. I wouldn't go out of my way to go to Leadville.

But, the Maroon Bells and Aspen are worth the drive. And Independence Pass, if it's open, is breathtaking. It is narrow and very winding, so be prepared and don't try to drive a huge vehicle over it.
>-

P.S. Also agree that threee days at Pike's Peak/Colorado Springs is too long.
>-

You can easily spend three full days in and around Colorado Springs. In addition to Pikes Peak and Garden of the Gods, there's the Air Force Academy, the U.S. Olympic Training Center, the excellent Cheyenne Mountain Zoo (and the Will Rogers Shrine you can access with your zoo admission) and the historic 5-star Broadmoor Hotel. And that's just the A-list! There are a multitude of other worthy attractions, including the Pioneers Museum, U.S. Figure Skating Museum, Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame, Van Briggle Pottery plant, etc. Outside of town, the Florrisant Fossil Beds are great and Woodland Park has a dinosaur museum that is relatively new and first-rate.

As for Leadville, I really like that town. It's being slightly run down is definitely a part of its charm. Unlike many of the mountain resort towns (like Aspen) the people helping you in the stores can actually afford to live in the town. That doesn't make it the #1 place to see in Colorado, but it is refreshing!

Another thing to add to the Colorado Springs list of things to do is the Extremely Grand Opening of the expansion to the Fine Arts Center (http://www.csfineartscenter.org/GrandOpening.asp) I've been exploring this and think we'll hop in the car the next weekend or two and head down there... sounds absolutely fabulous!

maureen some people are not all about the glitz money can turn a town like aspen into. leadville is actually one of the few places left in colo that has not been altered to unrecognizablity by the ski area money. aspen used to look just like leadville. breckenridge was a run down dive years ago where we went from leadville when we wanted to "go slumming". there was no town where vail village is - it was a cattle ranch. steamboat springs was a cattle ranch town. cripple creek and central city were sleepy little historic towns without gambling. many of us would have preferred that all the skiers and money went to calif or utah.
some travelers still have an interest in seeing what the real colo is about.
did you know leadville at one time was proposed as the capitol instead of denver.
further without leadville many of the ski areas would not even exist. during WWII leadville/camp hale were chosen as training grounds for 10th mtn army division (to go to italian alps i believe) many 10th mtn men returned to the area after the war and these men concieved and started vail, copper, etc.

I would like to thank everyone for their traveling advice. One week to go and we can't wait.

bawlmerhon, hope you'll write a trip report when you get back. let us know what all you did. have a great time.