Well, just back from our New England holiday and low and behold have decided on next years.

We will be visitin Colorado from 3rd September to 13th September 08, and have started reading Fodors and tourist board info for good routes.

We booked this as we got a fab airfare deal with BMI from Manchester UK to Denver via chicago on good planes with perfect timings for us. The total cost of tickets for 2 people was $600 pp (£300) a great deal i think..

Anway, am after any tips of good things to see, we are not hikers/walkers just want to see somewhere different, hubby wants to get a feel of the 'WEST' some nice towns and of course wonderful scenery. Have found a train (royal gorge route) that offers a journey through wilderness is this a good one?

Am doing my homework but any advice will be appreciated.

we envisage doing a bit of a circle from Denver airport seeing ouray sante fe, durango etc as you can see we have 9 full days.

Has anyone any tips of good routes we could take or incorporate into our holiday.

All replies much appreciated..

Hi, since no one from Colorado is responding, I will jump in. It sounds like you are coming from England, and we had a wonderful trip to Devon, Dorset and the Cotswolds two years ago; I'm happy to share what I know. You might want to post again with Colorado/Utah/Santa Fe in the subject line, which will result in many more responses. I would suggest you do a Denver, Santa Fe, Southern Utah (Bryce, Zion and Canyonlands National parks circle. That would allow you to see some great spots; Bryce and Zion are popular with visitors from all over the world. Santa Fe has great southwestern food, native art and more. It would be a bit of a whirlwind tour at 9 nights, but if you aren't hikers and just stick to easy walks, it's doable. In the Denver area, Boulder is a nice resting spot, tucked next to the mountains, because Denver proper is a huge city.

You could probably do 1 or 2 nights in Boulder to recover from jet lag, and then devote the remainder to Santa Fe and the Utah national parks, then back to Denver.

I live in Washington State so have just visited these areas, but if you post again with the states in the subject line, you will receive much help. Have a great trip.

Hello,

By Sante Fe to you mean the Sante fe trail in Colorado?

As much as we would like to visit Utah/wyoming etc we feel (this time) to concentrate on one state and not feel too rushed, we fancy one of the glass topped trains and visits to Ghost towns and seeing lots of small lovely towns.

Being blown away by scenery, which is hopefully, very different to our scenery in UK (which is lovely) we just fancy something totally different.

No, actually I though you were referring to Santa Fe, New Mexico, but I'm assuming the trail in Colorado leads that direction. A lot of people rent a car and do driving trips through parts of the West, because although spread apart, the highways are great and you can make good time if you like to drive. If you are planning to stay in Colorado, just post a subject line like "Colorado Help for June" and you will get all the experts. Good luck.

Have you considered taking the train from Durango to Silverton?

I assume you'll have a hire (rental) car.

Yes, you got a GREAT airfare!

Rocky Mountain National Park?

A visit to C-Springs and the ride up to the top of Pike's Peak?

Hi,

Dukey - I was also going to suggest driving up Pike's Peak in Colorado Springs, but wanted to note that I tried to do that over Labor Day weekend a few years ago and was turned away because of a snowstorm! Just got unlucky I guess.

I like Boulder, and would definitely suggest a drive through Rocky Mountain NP even if you are not hikers.

Since you will be only a day's drive from Southern Utah, check out the most recent trip report in the U.S. forum. Just type Utah for the search word. There is a couple who did an amazing photo-filled trip report as a separate link. If you really want to see an unforgettable Western landscape, look at their photos and report. You might want to think about including Bryce and Zion; I don't think you would ever regret it.

Hi,
We think we will stick to NW/Ridge areas as we don't want to be driving all the time and there seems to be lots to see in this locations.

So any tips interested in train journey/dude ranch/nice towns/western museums etc