Trip Suggestions/Arches NP
 

My 19 year old son and I are planning a trip to Utah/Colorado this summer (end of July). He really wants to go to Arches NP but also wants to visit Colorado. We could forego Arches if necessary. We both like to hike, he enjoys photography and I would like to do some white water rafting. Any ideas on what to do, where to go would be greatly appreciated. We are both very adventurous! Thanks to everyone!

You don't say how long your trip is and what else you have on your itinerary, so it's hard to recommend whether or not you visit there. Arches is spectacular, and you can combine a visit to Canyonlands NP just miles away, which is an advantage. Keep in mind that it will be blistering hot there in July (100+), so hiking would have to carefully planned. There's rafting out of Moab too and photography is second to none.

If you're visiting both Colorado and Utah, and you're driving, you'll have to plan your trip well taking into account the long distances and slow driving times in this part of the world. Where are you thinking about going?

Now my son has changed his mind and decided that Denver will be our base and we'll visit NP in the surrounding area. Looks like we'll do Moab another time. Any suggestions for places to see, things to do in/near Denver? We will be there for 7 days. Thanks, again.

If you're planning to do a lot of outdoors activities, then Denver is not where you'll want to stay. There's only one park, Rocky Mountain National Park, within a day's drive, so why not stay right there (Estes Park or Grand Lake) for at least part of the trip? 3-4 days is an excellent amount of time to see the best of the park on its hiking trails. Then you could move to another part of the state, like Crested Butte or Salida, to go rafting, see Black Canyon of the Gunnison, etc. Colorado is just too big to base yourself in one place and do day trips.

I agree and am trying to convince my son of that. Since it is more economical to fly into Denver, we will probably fly there and spend a few days here and there. We are just going to have to accept the fact that we are going to spending some time in the car.

Whichever way you plan your trip, either traveling around or basing yourself in one place, being on the road is inevitable; but that should be OK here given the amount of gorgeous scenery! You'll actually spend less time on the road picking two or three destination in seven days - if you stayed in Denver, getting anywhere worthwhile could be 4-5 hours on the road back and forth. Sometimes distances on a map of Colorado can be deceiving because it's a lot slower traveling back roads through the mountains. Have your son do a little more research on specific destinations or activities then plan your itinerary around that.

About hour or so south of Denver in Colorado Springs you might want to check out Garden of the Gods. The US Air Force Academy is also located here. In Glenwood Springs (158 miles west) you might enjoy Glenwood Canyon. Both offer great photography.

We will definitely check out both suggestions. Thank you, photodog. We are really looking forward to our first trip to Colorado.