I and my two daughter, ages 16 and 26, will be in CS beginning 6/22. We are staying at the Broadmoor, but will have a rental car for the 6 days we are there.

We plan to do the Pike's Peak cog railway, Garden of the Gods, Cave of the Winds lantern tour and an excursion to Cripple Creek, with a short stop en route at Florissant Fossil Nat'l Mon.

We would also like to try rock climbing and white water rafting, but are neophytes at both. Any recommendations on which outfitters to use for these activities?

Also plan to do some hiking. Prefer loop hikes...not too long...moderate intensity...with a lot of visual and fauna bang for the buck. Favorite hike recommendations are appreciated.

My older daughter is an experienced rider and would like to do something other than the standard trail ride. Are there any stables in the CS area which would offer a more unique/personal experience?

Finally, anything we absolutely must do/should not miss?

Thanks for your input everyone!!

Is there a particular reason you chose to spend a week at the Broadmore?

Spend a day in Denver--shopping and sightseeing. You might just take a trip to the mountains (MT. Evans has been suggested) rather than the rather boring hours spent on the cog railway up and back to visit a gift shop at the top.

Six days is a long time in Colorado Springs that is why I was asking, why are you there? You could add the Royal Gorge as they have just fully re-open after the fire two years ago. Colorado Springs/Broadmoor sits in the foot hills and, unfortunately that area with badly burned over two years ago. What you listed can be done is about two days, maybe three if you go slow.

The other activities, hiking, biking, horseback, white water rafting, etc., are best deeper into the mountains. Salida and Brown canyon is a great white water rafting location. Same for horseback rides. Some great trails out of Breckendridge, Aspen, Steamboat, but those are two far for a day trip.

Personally I think of Colorado Springs as a little boring and good for a day trip from Colorado. Someone will jump on me saying that but there are many areas in Colorado that are much more scenic.

You and me, Fmpden! too long down thataway!!

With a "Broadmoor budget", they could go to the Hotel Jerome in Aspen. Or Little Nell!

A number of better alternatives for sure but she may have a very good reason for being there a week.

Hi all!

I won a 3 day/2 night stay at the Broadmoor. Since my 16y/0 had never been out West, I just decided to extend the stay at the Broadmoor and explore the area around Colorado Springs.

Judging from the above responses, guess this is not the greatest option.

I am definitely open to suggestions to optimize this trip. We arrive in CS at noon on 6/22. Will likely do the Broadmoor the first 2 nights. We fly out of CS at 4:30pm on 6/27.

We don't want to go too far away, as we need to fly out of the CS airport.

Any recommendations are greatly appreciated!!

Congrats on winning a stay at Broadmoor, that's cool!

I totally agree with fmpden and Gretchen that CS is not the best use of six days in Colorado in June.

One easy option: since you want to go to Florissant Fossil Beds (good choice), then do that the day you leave CS and continue in that direction to Breckenridge. Spend the rest of your time there.

It's only about an hour and a half to Breck from Florissant, but it is a nice little mountain town. Here's one place to search for activities to see if that fits:
http://www.breckenridge.com/activiti...ctivities.aspx

Nelson... thanks for the input.. One big question though.
How are the roads to Breckenridge? I CAN NOT do any crazy mountain roads that have sheer drop offs and no guard rails.

I was a passenger on a drive between Ouray and Silverton...believe the road was called the Million Dollar Highway. I could not even enjoy the scenery. I can't imagine being a driver on something like that. I think I'd end up a highway fatality statistic!!

Guess you better stay in C Springs and view the mountains from a distance. You will find a mixture of roads, mostly two lane, and most with guard rails if you continue on Florissant. People drive them everyday. But you will have to go over Hooiser Pass which is a typical, old style road with lots of switch back curves in the climb up and down.

You could reach Breckenridge by nearly all interstate by taking I-25 north from Colorado Springs to C-470 west around the south side of Denver to I-76W and west to the turn off at Frisco for Breckenridge. The last ten miles to Breckenridge is a flat road.

Opps, meant to say I-70 not 76.

fmpden...you're right...Hoosier pass is not an option for me!! Big wimp!!

What are your thoughts on the Buena Vista or Salida areas?

Basically, we want hiking, beautiful scenery, ghost towns, western ambience, horse-back riding. Possibly rafting and rock climbing.

If we do Buena Vista, would Great Sand Dunes Nat'l Park be a possibility for a half-day trip?

Thanks for your patience!

I drove from CS to Salida a few years ago. I think it was kind of boring (the drive and, sadly, the town), which may be what you are looking for. Enjoyed rafting Browns canyon though outside of Salida. We have enjoyed cave of the winds, but the tour is a bit hokey. There are some hikes around the Garden of the Gods, but I believe they are pretty flat.

I don't recall if we went to cripple creek or blackhawk or both, but your younger daughter may have limited options at cripple creek depending on the casino laws.

Thanks lorijv, your questions helped me too.

I'm doing a trip from Colorado Springs to Breckenridge too and I'm pretty wimpy about some of these mountain roads also. That's what happens when you come from the midwest. I will be no doubt be taking the interstate route, I just mapped it out.

I had a suggestion when I asked the what to do in Colorado Springs area and although I haven't been, it looked like a good idea to me. The Olympic Training Site offers tours, it probably won't take a lot of time but it is something to do in that area. Also I saw there were guided tours of the Air Force Academy. We are probably not going to do that. We are only going to be in Colorado Springs for a day. I looked at the website for the Broadmoor, that looks fantastic. How nice to win a stay there.

Not a loop, but this is one of my personal favorite hikes in the area:

http://www.localhikes.com/Hikes/TheCrags_0000.asp

Lots to do here, your week will fly by.