Two Days Only - Where to go?
 

We're taking a quick trip to celebrate our 20th anniversary. We're flying to Denver - arriving 8am on 7/23 (Friday) and will fly home around 11:00am on Sunday. We want to see mountains, scenery, maybe a horseback ride or hot air balloon, some "light" hiking, etc - but don't necessarily want to spend all of our time in a car. (I know it's a lot to try to fit in!) We were thinking about driving to Vail/Beaver Creek and staying there on Friday night and then heading back to Denver by Saturday night (so we don't have to wake up too early on Sunday Morning). Our current hotel choices are either the Ritz/Bachelor Gulch or the Park Hyatt in Beaver Creek and the Brown Palace in Denver. We like nice restaurants too. Advice???

I would go with the Ritz they should be able to arrange the activites. Good choice of the Brown.

Your drive from Denver to Vail or vice versa will be about 2 hours. It's not bad.

I agree on the Ritz. Have you considered Estes Park?

No - what's at Estes Park?

Estes Park sits at the foot of Rocky Mountain National Park. Trail Ridge Road - which leads through the park - is the highest continuous motorway in the US. Some of Colorado's highest mountains are in RMNP. Estes is a beautiful settting. There are many types of accomodations to choose from including B&Bs and the famous Stanley Hotel - the interior was in the movie The Shining. There are lots of activities - fun shopping, horseback riding, hiking, etc. If you google on Estes Park, you should be able to find tons of information on lodging and activities.

Plus, you can drive through Boulder on the way there. Boulder is a great little afternoon stop. Very beautiful as well.

The drive there is comparable to going to Vail. If you go through Boulder, it will be a bit longer.