Sapphire

I meant to post this under Colorado but it landed in the general US topics, so here goes again....

We will be staying in Vail the 3rd week in August - using some RCI points at long last. I have a few questions despite browsing through various posts....

How long does it takes to drive from Boulder to Vail?

If we want to meet up with friends who live in Boulder, is there some midway point that would be ideal?

I've read a few of the posts about Vail and would want to take some scenic drives, easy hikes, etc. Our goal is to unwind and enjoy the beauty of Colorado, so we aren't looking for a lot of strenuous activity but would like to get to the Rocky Mountain National Park and visit Breckenridge (where we first tried to use our RCI points).

My sister who does some whitewater kayaking may join us for part of the time, so any recommendations of places for her to kayak would be helpful.

It would also be great to have some recommendations for good restaurants for dinner, in or outside of Vail.

Any help you can give us would be much appreciated as we have our hands full getting ready for a trip to Ghana and Togo in two weeks.

Thank you!

dfr4848

Sapphire - just an FYI. There is no separate posting for states. Any time you post a question, it will end up in the "United States" forum - no matter where it originated. So you have 2 posts now.

I'll think about more of your questions and post later, but a good place between Vail and Boulder would be Georgetown. Nice town with some great family run restaurants, nice shops and right on I 70.

Sapphire

Thanks for the FYI. It's been awhile since I posted a message....

I'll look forward to getting your input on my assorted questions.

Thanks!

fmpden

Sapphire, you post did come up under Colorado. It would be two hours between Boulder and Vail. Fast would be almost back to Denver on I-70 and north through Golden on 94.

On two points to meet -- neither midway. Georgetown would be closer for you and Idaho Springs would be a little closer for Boulder folks. Breckenridge is about 40 minutes.

Water levels for anything around Vail for boating could be very "iffy" by late August.

The drive to Glenwood Springs through Glenwood Canyon would be very scenic. Do a loop up through Leadville. The Mineral Trail Loop is good for hiking - relatively flat.

The Georgetown Loop Railroad is a bit tourist but fun.

Vail may not be as relaxing as you hope. When I was in Vail three months ago there were 8 working cranes. Will be there Sunday so I will give you a report later.

Lots of interesting restaurants in Vail -- what do you like.

dfr4848

The Loop up Hwy 24 through Leadville then down Hwy 91 does makes for a nice trip.

Agree with drive through Glenwood Canyon; and the Georgetown Loop RR is rather fun with some nice scenery.

As to restaurants in the area, we like:

Larkspur and Liken Kelly in Vail (though it's been a couple of years so hopefully someone with more recent experience can chime in)

Hearthstone in Breckenridge

Keystone Ranch in Keystone

Blue Spruce in Frisco.

Hiking and biking trails around Lake Dillon are also very nice.

There are also some great jeep tours out of Vail for either half or full day - sorry, but the names of the companies we've used are escaping me at the moment.

cmeyer54

We love Beaver Creek/Vail for the summer season as well. Piney River Ranch is a fun trip - you drive up and then can canoe, horseback ride, etc. They have a restaurant on site as well. Its north off of I-70. We rent bikes and take them up on the gondola at either Vail or BC and then ride down at our leisure or 'not' with the boys. Restaurants in BC - Grouse Mountain Grill, Dusty Boot, Beano's Cabin. Beano's is a huge splurge as you take either horseback or a hayride to get there and then have a 5 course prix fixed meal with views to die for. There are lots of hiking trails on BC mountain that range from easy to quite tough; all are marked and fun to try. I personally love getting up in the morning and biking along the river path.

Sapphire

Thanks for the great feedback! You've provided a variety of great ideas.

Now I have a related question.... My husband mentioned last night that he would like to extend our vacation a bit, perhaps staying somewhere else for a few days. Is there another place you might recommend (closer to Rocky Mountain National Park or in another town like Breckenridge) that would offer a different experience from the Vail area without involving a long drive to get there?

After our trip to Ghana and Togo and a rather hectic year, we are looking forward to some R & R in a beautiful area - or from which we can access the beauty of nature.

Thanks again!

Colette

Sweet Basil's in Vail was a great dinner place.....ate there several times and enjoyed it.....altho we haven't been back to Vail now for about 4 years......but it was great in 2001 and 2004! My memorable appetizer was called the Tower of Tomatoes......(not sure if that's spelled right...will have to check with Dan Quayle on that one)....teehee....but it was a tower of green, yellow and red tomatoes...each one prepared in a different way....beautifully presented and delicious!....happy planning!

historytraveler

Sweet Basil's is still one of the best restaurants in Colorado. Antoehr good option is Sapphire's...no I'm not kidding you. It's just a few doors down from Sweet Basil's.

cmeyer54

Steamboat Springs might offer a slightly different experience than Vail. Its more 'old west' in flavor (my opinion only). although its not near Rocky Mt National Park, Crested Butte is also quite different than Vail.

fmpden

I have been trying to think of what different might mean. In many ways, Breckenridge would be somewhat different -- at least architecturally wise. Breck would be very similar to previously mentioned Steamboat and Crested Butte. These are old western towns that grew into a ski resort and not a created ski village like Vail. Breck is only 45 miles down the road. You keep referring to Rocky Mt National Park. Estes Park is the core of the park and would be very different especially that time of year --- very high tourist season in a much smaller area. I am not a big fan of Estes Park but many are. As far as scenery goes, it is not much different from the high mountains that you are driving through.

I hope your RCI points are not in Lions Head. As I posted earlier it is being totally rebuilt. In couple hours we will be headed up the hill to Vail so will let you know what the construction scene is like.

Sapphire

Thanks again for the helpful input. Yes, I wasn't thinking Estes Park because crowds is not my idea of relaxing.

The timeshare we own is actually in Hawaii but we rarely get there from our east coast home. The condo unit which came up in Vail (for an RCI trade) was at the Sandstone Creek Club, and after reading the reviews on TUG, we thought it would be OK. If you do notice construction work going on there or nearby, it would be great to know.

There is a possibility that we could also get a few nights at the Valdoro Mountain Lodge in Breckenridge so if you happened to notice construction in that area, it would be helpful to know.

In contrast with the US (and many other countries), there is always construction in Ghana but it is because they build one cement block at a time - as they get the money for more materials. At first glance it could seem that things are falling down, but they are being built slowly (without borrowing money) instead. Or at least that is what we were told on our last visit.

Have a great day!

PeaceOut

What about driving on to Aspen for a few nights at the end of your stay? It would be a completely different place than Vail, and further than Breckenridge so you'll feel you've gone to another part of the state, not just down the road.

I'd choose it over RMNP myself. It's not a bad drive from Vail, and you go through the lovely Glenwood canyon. It's about an hour and a half drive, but I'm not positive about that time-frame.

fmpden

It is a solid two hours if you go via I-70 through Glenwood springs. Shorter if you use the summer route through Leadville and Independence Pass.

fmpden

sapp.... I am not familar with eithr lodge but means nothing. Vail is pretty torn up. Only found ten construction cranes but only 5 of the real bigs. Loins Head main construction is completed and I hardly recognized the place. The surrounding condos are getting a lot of facing lifting. In Vail center the grocery store and theater are one big hole in the ground. This is the most urban renewal that I have seen in a long time. The center part is in decent shape but not much happening in Loins Head and around the old Marriott.

What are your dates and when will you be returning to Denver?

Gretchen

If you want another place I'd go on to Aspen. The drive through Glenwood Canyon is lovely, and worth a stop to see the exhibit about how the road was constructed. The distances are not really "long" once you are in the mountains. It is 2 hours from Denver to Vail, and another 2 to Aspen, but a lovely drive. Your friends from Boulder probably wouldn't mind coming all the way to Vail to visit. Or if you are doing it on the way to Vail, then Georgetown/Idaho Springs would be OK.

Sapphire

We are here in the mountains of Colorado now and enjoying our stay here. We were in Westminster for a couple of days visiting my dad and step-mother and took a day trip to RMNP one day and to the Garden of the Gods the next. Had a nice picnic lunch in RMNP at one of my (almost 80 year old) dad's favorite spots. Note: We were in a hurry to get to RMNP and didn't want to stop to eat lunch on the way so picked up Subway in Estes Park to maximize our time in the RMNP.

We also enjoyed a picnic lunch at Garden of the Gods during our trip the next day. The scenery was beautiful, and we timed our visit to take advantage of the late afternoon light on the red rocks. Were pleasantly distracted by watching mountain climbers for awhile.

Our 20 and 23 year old "kids" joined us Tuesday night, and we spent much of Wednesday in Boulder - partly so our son could spend the afternoon with friends.

We then drove to Breckenridge, drinking in the beautiful scenery enroute. We spent 3 nights in Breckenridge. We ate at the brewery the first night.

Drove to Frisco the next day to see Dillon Lake in the afternoon, eat dinner at the Blue Spruce restaurant, and then drive to Sapphire point on Swan mountain on the way back to Breckenridge.

On Friday, the weather was a bit rainy so it was a good day to check out the stores. Got some delicious cookies and nice lattes at Clint's bakery in town.

For those who may be interesting in photography, I'll mention that I stopped at the Breckenridge Photographics store. I bought a gorilla tripod after having some fun experimenting with low light photography in low light the night before. And I learned that they recommend using a warming filter rather than a polarizing filter when taking digital photos at this high altitude. They also had a handout with 4 Summit county hikes offering some good photo opportunities. One of these was the drive and short hike/walk to Sapphire Point. (For those trying to find Swan Mountain Road to get to Sapphire Point, Summit High School is at the intersection of Rt. 9 and Swan Mountain Road.)

We ate dinner Friday night at South Ridge Seafood Grill. This was our best meal so far, though we also thought the food at the Blue Spruce restaurant in Frisco was very good.

Well, that's all for now. Will try to write more after we get back to Philly. Our kids head back to Philly tomorrow and we continue our vacation for another week.

Thank you all for your helpful input!

2dogs

u should have a great time in Vail...ur condo is away from the actual Vail village and Lions Head construction...it is real easy to catch the free bus to just about anywhere in the Vail area...nice laid back area ... ur sister may want to venture west on I70, about 20 minutes to the Colorado river where most of the rafting companies launch out of .. should be fun to kayack .. easy access to all points on the river with many public launching areas...
if u do the Aspen over Independence and back to Vail, Hwy 24 out of Leadville is a very winding road but we have seen moose on the side of the road .. 91 is a bit easier way down from Leadville... for groceries and stuff, there is a Super Walmart in Avon just minutes west of Vail....way cheaper food prices than the Vail grocery stores....gas is cheaper there as well....my wife and I spend many vacations in Vail as well as Aspen ... all are great areas to visit and enjoy..prices should be coming down since your going in the off season....have fun !!

cmeyer54

DH and younger son are off to BC on Thursday for a father/son long weekend. They plan to take th zipline tour and ATV tour; will let you know how that goes. We did zipline in dominican republic and loved it. They'll be in a condo in avon and probably cooking in most nights but time will tell. There is a free concert at the base of BC on Thursday night with Little River Band.