Tell me about Colorado

[Vdubchaos]

Assuming all goes well we will be planning a trip to Colorado sometime next year. We are leaving the kids behind......moving our Wedding anniversary vacation.

I already started doing research but figured I would ask people for opinions/advice in the following areas.

Scenic Roads/Nature/Parks
This is the main reason we are heading here. We love driving/great roads and nature. Lakes, Mountains, forests. We would like to stay away from your typical tourist traps kind of places and visit hidden treasures. Really just looking for natural beauty of this state. I would really appreciate info on scenic roads in Colorado and few places we can visit within one central area. We are willing to drive 2-3 hours one way (as long as it's scenic) to places. We will be renting a car so will probably stay away from Off Roading/dirt roads. We usually avoid highways but I have a feeling I might be limited to these in some parts (which is fine). I would prefer not to drive through any major cities/urban areas. Curvy roads please, straight highways/roads are not my cup of tea...

Short Hikes
We do like walks/hikes so tips on this end would be useful (1-2 hour walk/not too steep......body/physical limitations). Again, scenery/photo ops/enjoy nature.

Time of year
What's the best time to visit Colorado. Although our Anny is in march we would probably like to aim for 60s/70s temps. I was thinking mid Spring or early Fall.

Central place for Hotel
We would like to stay in a hotel that's central to all scenic roads/places we will be visiting. Great view and Balcony is a must!!! This is pretty important to us. We are willing to travel 1-2 hours from Airport. We don't expect 4-5 star hotel. Best bang for the buck will do, but no Motels or Inns. We've been pretty happy with Courtyard for whatever that's worth.

Best Airport to fly into
I'm assuming Denver or Colorado Springs. We are on the budget so nothing to uncommon.

Car Rental
I'm assuming I will be limited to what's available at the airport. Any suggestions on Companies that rent special cars would be great (I'm a car enthusiast). But we can settle for economy box....

Altitude sickness
What should we expect here? Any tips suggestions on how to deal with it. How long to expect it etc?

Lastly, 420
I know CO is new to this and places are popping up left and right. But we will want to hit up few coffee shops etc and be in the area where there is wide selection. Getting supplied in Denver/Co Springs is not an issue. I'm not interested in any 420 tours or anything like that. Is it ok to take a Vaporizer on an airplane?

Thanks to everyone for input/suggestions in advance.

 

[Markbnj]

If you have time I would make the drive to the top of Pike's Peak, or take the railway. It's worth it. As for the rest, I'll have to leave it to others. I was just out there in July but we pretty much stayed trashed the whole week and played music on the deck . We did do Pike's Peak, though.

 

[Vdubchaos]

If you have time I would make the drive to the top of Pike's Peak, or take the railway. It's worth it. As for the rest, I'll have to leave it to others. I was just out there in July but we pretty much stayed trashed the whole week and played music on the deck . We did do Pike's Peak, though.

100% doing this. As a car enthusiast it has been on the list for a decade.....:biggrin:

 

[herm0016]

how long will you be here?

I live in boulder, just north west of denver. Springs has a lot of cool spots for short hikes and such. you have garden of the gods, and other spots around. you can drive from there up into the mountains and go to some neat places also. there is royal gorge and pikes peak near by. If the trip is about mountians and seeing that sort of thing, then co springs is a good choice.
If you want to see the pot culture, I would say come to Denver and Boulder. By the time you get here, we will have pot for sale on every corner i am sure. Boulder has lots of places to hike near by, and the only thing you will really miss out on is pikes peak. (though you can still drive to co springs in half a day) lots of places to go in the Mountains, and I think is a more entertaining town to be in. We have an amazing amount of great food, beer, and people watching. There is always something interesting going on in the summer.

for places to stay, I think airbnb is great. I should be listing my new place in the next month or so in boulder, and there are a ton of other listings. Its usually cheaper, you get access to a house and most of the things that go with it, and you get to meet some locals that can tell you the best places to go/things to see that are off the normal tourist routes.

fly into Denver. it really is a great, large airport. I fly in/out every 30 days or so.

drink lots of water and don't overdo the hikes on the first few days, and you should be fine with the altitude. I work at sea level for a month, then go home for a month. as long as i don't over do it when i get back, I am fine.

 

[Vdubchaos]

how long will you be here?

5-7 days

I live in boulder, just north west of denver. Springs has a lot of cool spots for short hikes and such. you have garden of the gods, and other spots around. you can drive from there up into the mountains and go to some neat places also. there is royal gorge and pikes peak near by. If the trip is about mountians and seeing that sort of thing, then co springs is a good choice.

I just found Garden of the gods on Trip Adviser, def staying there! Yep the more I look the more it looks like Denver > Co Springs.

We will probably hit up Rocky Mountains National park and mountain roads around those ways (Route 34 looks interesting). Then we will head down to Co Springs. Def hitting Pike Peak, Gorge looks cool too. Maybe head down to Great Sand Dunes national park. Some of those long open roads seem rather tasty....some amazing mountains, wow.

Thanks for rest of your post, great tips!

 

[Imp]

The runner-up to Miss Teen did something...

 

[T_Yamamoto]

Weed

 

[IronWing]

Here's a map...

 

[BoomerD]

It's cold in the winter.
They get a shit-ton of snow in the winter
Pot is legal.
It's the place where you'd stick the hose if you wanted to give the west an enema.

 

[IronWing]

Second vote for Great Sand Dunes, it is awesome.
South Park (yes, that South Park) makes a nice drive with plenty of birding. Florissant Fossil Beds is located along the route. Leadville is interesting and up high.
Marble, CO is very pretty.
Black Canyon of the Gunnison, Wolf Creek Pass, Durango, Silverton, Ouray, are pretty.

Here is a suggested route.

 

[Sukhoi]

I-70 is super scenic both through the Rockies and Glenwood Canyon - don't avoid it just because it's a freeway. Avoid Rocky Mountain NP if you want to avoid crowds. There are plenty of other just as scenic places to go in the mountains that aren't a national park.

Great Sand Dunes NP is highly recommended. Leadville is very cool, and I do recommend seeing some sort of a high mountain mining town.

You should also consider flying to Durango. It meets your criteria of fewer crowds, windy roads, and great scenery everywhere. The San Juan mountains are just as impressive as the Rockies in places. From Durango you can relatively easily visit Mesa Verde NP, Great Sand Dunes NP, San Juan mountains, and Silverton (either drive US-550 or take the train).

I would go in Aug or Sep. Everything is far too snowy in May and sometimes June. The week after Labor Day might be a good time. Don't go too late in Sep.

 

[ImpulsE69]

In case no one mentioned it. Weed. Fun for the whole family.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Here's a map...

:thumbsup: :biggrin: You win the thread!

Don't forget Peyton Manning.

 

[MrDudeMan]

If you like breweries, definitely come to Fort Collins. I've lived in FC for several years and it's awesome. I don't even drink beer, but I have a great time at the brewery tours. There's also a ton of outdoor stuff in or around FC (white water rafting, tubing, mountain biking, etc.). You can find most of that stuff all along the front range, but FC and the springs 'specialize' in it.

My parents live in the springs which means we go visit sometimes. The Garden of the Gods is fun the first time you go and then there isn't much else to do.

I suggest driving west on I70 to see the view. It's pretty incredible in a few spots.

 

[John Connor]

Check out cave of the winds. It's in Colorado Springs. My good friend went there and he told me you can smell hemp all over the place. I have been up to the Rocky Moutain National Park and that is MOST DEFINITELY a scenic route. Be sure to wear sun glasses as I got snow blind up there. There is snow pack up there all year around. The roads won't have snow on them, but on each side of the road there is like a 15 foot snow pack. There are two season in the mountains; Summer and winter.

The Royal Gorge train route is pretty cool too!

If you are car sick going through the mountains will make you want to puke! All those turns just get to me.

Estes Park is a nice place to visit from Highway 34. From there you can get up to the Rocky Mountain national Park. Or I like the Eisenhower tunnel route.

KDEN or DIA Denver's international airport is a site to behold and the largest airport in the U.S.


I'd say May would be your best time, but we can get snow all the way to April. Better make it June if your going into the mountains. In the spring we have falling rocks so keep that in mind. Every year they are blasting giant boulders off the highway.

I don't smoke pot so I can't help you there.

 

[Blitzvogel]

Been to Colorado a few times. Most recently, I was there last year during Spring Break, and my GF wants to go there again this Spring Break. Last year their was plenty of snow left in the mountains, but the roads had been cleared and the temps typically sat around freezing so it wasn't bad at all. Nice and sunny too.

Places I've been to that I would most recommend worth seeing/going to:

Durango - Very nice touristy town with shopping and nice views. The drive north to Silverton is f***ing gorgeous and well worth it.

Pikes Peak - Incredible view, worth the drive to the summit.

Colorado Springs - Access to Pikes Peak, Garden of the Gods (just ****ing go there, it's worth it!), Anasazi Indian Ruins, etc. Very nice, clean city (from what I could gather).

Pagosa Springs - Typical tourist and ski town, but very nice. GF and I went to a mineral bath house one morning and it was so worth it (even if it was ran by hippies). Wolf Pass to the north has plenty of ski slopes too.

Estes Park - It was hit very hard last year by floods, so I do not know what the state of the town and it's surrounding area is like, but it's one of those most touristy but worth-it Rocky Mountain towns. Rocky Mountain Nat'l Park is adjacent to it and boy howdy it's a beautiful place.

The girlfriend wants to remain more stationary this time, instead of the tons of driving we did last year. I'd love to hit up Pagosa Springs again just for the baths and perhaps some skiing but I also want to venture further into the central Rockies. We'll probably stop by Carlsbad Caverns on the way up, which we missed by half and hour last year (they had just closed).

 

[Drako]

Here's a map...

LOL, so true.

Oh wait, that's not California. :biggrin:

 

[JManInPhoenix]

Durango is bomb. My wife and I spent our honeymoon there.

 

[JMapleton]

Climb a mountain, don't drive up one like a tourist.

 

[mnewsham]

Is it ok to take a Vaporizer on an airplane?

you can take a bong on an air plane if you really want, just make sure everything is clean, no resin, no residue, no weed signs anywhere. If they ask what it is tell them it's a smoking device but don't mention what is being smoked from it. Vaporizers you are likely not even going to get a second look they probably wont know what it is, or wont care the TSA has already said they aren't the DEA.

If you are looking to get baked for the flight, I usually take an edible right before the TSA check point, takes about 30-60 minutes to kick in so by the time I have boarded and we are on the runway it's starting to kick in, lasts a good 3-5 hours.

 

[gorcorps]

I'll tell you right now, you will not easily be able to "get away" from tourists and people. Colorado thrives on tourism and the state is more packed than it ever has been. It's continuously voted as the most active state in the country because so many people get up into the mountains and do stuff. If you're thinking you're going to avoid tourist areas you need to come to terms with that right now, because it's very popular (for a reason).

THAT being said, I don't think it detracts that much from what the national parks (and other areas) offer. There's a lot of people there at times, but there's a reason they're there.


I personally would shoot for fall. Colorado's snowiest month is usually March, so a lot of things are still snow covered well into the "spring".

 

[lupi]

Lot of pot smoking and random shootings, probably unrelated.

 

[DigDog]

It's not a road trip if it's not Canyonero(tm)
www.youtube.com/watch?v=7ZeFDe44Ddo

 

[smackababy]

Don't forget to try the oysters!

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

Meh.. I'd go to Utah if you're looking for scenery. Even northern New Mexico is just as pretty without being packed.