Colorado touristy towns

[Frwinkley]

After spending some time in Banff and Jasper this past summer, we are looking to vacation in Colorado this summer.

We're up for moving 2 or 3 times during our week long stay. We don't mind driving hours to get to fabulous destinations.

I'm am looking for the most walkable towns. I want mountain views, shopping, restaurants, etc. Nightlife is not essential.

Any tips?

I'd love to hear any other suggestions. We will be flying in and out of Denver.

 

[ronandannette]

After spending some time in Banff and Jasper this past summer, we are looking to vacation in Colorado this summer.

We're up for moving 2 or 3 times during our week long stay. We don't mind driving hours to get to fabulous destinations.

I'm am looking for the most walkable towns. I want mountain views, shopping, restaurants, etc. Nightlife is not essential.

Any tips?

I'd love to hear any other suggestions. We will be flying in and out of Denver.

I hope you enjoyed visiting up our way. Sorry for the smoke. We had a lousy summer.

 

[mamamary]

We stayed in the Colorado Springs area. Can’t say we really walked too much. Had a rental car and was able to visit many touristy areas.

 

[Klayfish]

I've spent about a total of a month in the suburbs of Denver over the course of 3 or 4 business trips. I absolutely love it. We would have moved there if it weren't for the insane winters...one day it's 70 and sunny, the next it's snowing. It does that from October through April.

There are so many beautiful things to see and do there (and I'm not a nightlife kind of person, I don't even drink alcohol). Some of my favorites...

Red Rock Amphitheater - it's beautiful and there are walking paths nearby.

A short drive away is Golden, CO...which is a fantastic place to spend a day or two.

Then take a drive west along Rt. 6, which is a stunningly beautiful drive.

Then go over to Mount Evans. It's the highest point you can drive in Colorado. It's awesome.

From there, I went to a little town called Idaho Springs. Cute little rustic town.

All my business trips were centered in the Littleton/Columbine area. Some beautiful state parks there. For example, Roxborough State Park. Trails have views like this....

 

[karmic]

Breckinridge has everything you are looking for.
We also enjoyed Colorado Springs
Downtown Denver is walkable with lots of restaurants jand shops.

 

[elaine amj]

Boulder was also lovely. We hikrd near town and had fun strolling Pearl St and the Farmer's Market near there. Then drove another half hr to a tiny rustic cabin in the middle of the mountains. LOVED IT!

 

[monsterkitty]

Where are you traveling from? If you're traveling from a lower elevation, please be aware of altitude sickness. Here in Denver we're about 1,000 feet higher than Banff and Jasper; however, mountain towns are going to be anywhere from 10,000 feet and higher. Klayfish recommended Mt. Evans, which is at 14,265 feet. Please be aware of symptoms of altitude sickness before your trip.

Estes Park in about 1:30 from DIA. It's at the entrance to Rocky Mountain National Park and home of the Stanley Hotel which gave Stephen King his idea for The Shining. On the way to Estes you can stop in Boulder and experience the Pearl Street Mall. Trail Ridge Road through RMNP tops out a bit under 12,200 feet.

Breckenridge is about 2 hours from DIA. IT's altitude is 9,600 feet.

If you go up to Breck, you may as well also drive a bit further to Glenwood Springs and their famous Hot Springs pool. Doc Holliday lived and is buried in Glenwood.

Aspen is about 45 minutes from Glenwood and it's fun to walk around and laugh at prices in stores.

Red Rocks in 30 min from Denver.

I personally love the Durango and Telluride area of Colorado. You have the Four Corners and Mesa Verde National Park. If you drive from Denver, you can drive through Alamosa which is home to the Great Sand Dunes National Park. Or you can take a different route and drive through Gunnison which has the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park.

Once again, while we do have a beautiful state with over 300 days of sunshine, please be aware of the altitude sickness because it can ruin a trip. Heck, we took kids from our school just north of Denver to Estes Park for outdoor ed and they had to bring 10 kids back because of altitude sickness.

 

[Wish I lived in Fl]

Telluride-Gondola
Ouray-Hot Springs
Durango-Circle K ranch for trail rides

 

[jiminyC_fan]

I live in the Denver area. Everything mentioned is very nice. Estes Park is beautifully situated with outstanding views. It is a gateway to Rocky Mountain National Park. I honestly feel that if you are going to be in Colorado then this is a must see. Pikes Peak in Colorado Springs is another great place for beautiful views. It is where the song America the Beautiful was inspired. Glenwood Springs is fun to stay at where they have a huge hot springs pool From there you can drive to several beautiful locations like Aspen and Vail to name a couple.

 

[jiminyC_fan]

Sorry montsterkitty. We cross posted.

 

[monsterkitty]

I live in the Denver area. Everything mentioned is very nice. Estes Park is beautifully situated with outstanding views. It is a gateway to Rocky Mountain National Park. I honestly feel that if you are going to be in Colorado then this is a must see. Pikes Peak in Colorado Springs is another great place for beautiful views. It is where the song America the Beautiful was inspired. Glenwood Springs is fun to stay at where they have a huge hot springs pool From there you can drive to several beautiful locations like Aspen and Vail to name a couple.

I highly recommend Glenwood over Breckenridge, mainly for cost, but also there is so much more to do within driving distance of cheaper hotel room. Breck is walkable but can be very expensive for hotel rooms. Glenwood has Marriott, Holiday Inn, but way more fun really old hotels like the Hotel Colorado and Hotel Denver. These two hotels are a lot of fun to stay in because of their history and central location to the pool and main street area.

 

[Planogirl]

We enjoyed visiting Vail. You can laugh at the prices there too.

 

[Frwinkley]

We are traveling from Pittsburgh, elevation of about 1400 ft.

My thought is to stay in the Denver area (Boulder, Ft. Collins) for the 1st night to get used to the elevation.

Next, maybe head to Durango/Ouray/Telluride area. Finish the trip in the Breckinridge area.

Thoughts?

We are not opposed to moving 3 times during a 7-8 night trip. We’ve done it lots of times during other trips.

 

[Kitty 34]

Breckenridge and Keystone

 

[Hrhpd]

If you are staying in Boulder the first night or two, check out Chautauqua, Pearl Street, Flagstaff mountain, Eldorado Canyon State Park for close by great views, Eldorado Springs pool for an iconic old pool right outside Eldorado Canyon, have dinner up at Gold Hill Inn. The Heritage Museum on the third floor of Old Main on the CU campus has a nice history of Boulder along with old space suits from graduating astronauts and a huge room size lego campus if you have kids who are interested in legos if you just want something easy to do your first day acclimating. You can chill at the Teahouse (one of Boulder's biggest tourist attractions) and wander down Boulder Creek after.

 

[Klayfish]

We are traveling from Pittsburgh, elevation of about 1400 ft.

My thought is to stay in the Denver area (Boulder, Ft. Collins) for the 1st night to get used to the elevation.

Next, maybe head to Durango/Ouray/Telluride area. Finish the trip in the Breckinridge area.

Thoughts?

We are not opposed to moving 3 times during a 7-8 night trip. We’ve done it lots of times during other trips.

You will NOT get used to the elevation in just one night. In fact, you won't get used to it in 7 days, it takes much longer. Just be smart. Drink plenty of water and don't over do it.

 

[Frwinkley]

Klayfish: Thank you for your advise about the elevation. We intend to follow every precaution.

What do you think where we intend to stay during our trip?

 

[Hrhpd]

You will NOT get used to the elevation in just one night. In fact, you won't get used to it in 7 days, it takes much longer. Just be smart. Drink plenty of water and don't over do it.

Let's not scare people unnecessarily. Thousands and thousands of people visit the Rocky Mountains from all over the country year round to hike and ski and most do not have a problem. No sense making it sound worse than it is. The tourist and ski industry with some of the best skiing in the country, would suffer greatly if people were dropping right and left from altitude sickness when they flew in to ski or hike.

It is definitely a thing and you do have to be aware and smart, but the more serious altitude sicknesses are not all that common. Drink lots of water, refrain from copious amounts of alcohol, and ascend over a few days just as you are planning.

Acute altitude sickness (the mildest) does not usually occur until you ascend to 8,000 ft or more. It is rare at Denver's 5,000 ft. That is why the OP's plan of spending a couple of days in Denver first is exactly what is recommended.

Over the past 40+ years, we have had numerous relatives from below sea level Europe visit, friends from the East Coast and other flatlanders, and have met many others through other friends, and have yet to meet anyone who experienced more than a headache for a day and that was only a very few. If you do experience coughing or shortness of breath when up in the mountains, get to the ER and get off the mountain asap (Flight for Life will take you down.) But you don't hear of it very often in the news of tourists experiencing the more serious forms of altitude sickness.

But it is fun to let people think they are going to suffer. At Mile High, this is what the visiting team sees as they exit the visiting locker room. It is on the wall right opposite the door:

Just be aware but don't be afraid.

Here is a great article:
https://www.bouldermedicalcenter.com/understanding-preventing-altitude-sickness/

 

[bjscheel]

We stayed in Grand Lake, at the western edge of Rocky Mountain National Park. It's small and quiet, but we enjoyed the repertory theatre, Main Street, mini golf, lake tour, Adams Falls, and our lovely hotel (Gateway), along with hikes in the Park. We also drove Trail Ridge Road from there to Estes Park and did a downhill bike tour from a point on TRR back into Estes Park.

 

[Klayfish]

Let's not scare people unnecessarily. Thousands and thousands of people visit the Rocky Mountains from all over the country year round to hike and ski and most do not have a problem. No sense making it sound worse than it is. The tourist and ski industry with some of the best skiing in the country, would suffer greatly if people were dropping right and left from altitude sickness when they flew in to ski or hike.

It is definitely a thing and you do have to be aware and smart, but the more serious altitude sicknesses are not all that common. Drink lots of water, refrain from copious amounts of alcohol, and ascend over a few days just as you are planning.

Acute altitude sickness (the mildest) does not usually occur until you ascend to 8,000 ft or more. It is rare at Denver's 5,000 ft. That is why the OP's plan of spending a couple of days in Denver first is exactly what is recommended.

Over the past 40+ years, we have had numerous relatives from below sea level Europe visit, friends from the East Coast and other flatlanders, and have met many others through other friends, and have yet to meet anyone who experienced more than a headache for a day and that was only a very few. If you do experience coughing or shortness of breath when up in the mountains, get to the ER and get off the mountain asap (Flight for Life will take you down.) But you don't hear of it very often in the news of tourists experiencing the more serious forms of altitude sickness.

But it is fun to let people think they are going to suffer. At Mile High, this is what the visiting team sees as they exit the visiting locker room. It is on the wall right opposite the door:

Just be aware but don't be afraid.

Here is a great article:
https://www.bouldermedicalcenter.com/understanding-preventing-altitude-sickness/

I don't recall saying anywhere in my post that it was scary, or they are going to "suffer greatly" as you put it, so no need to get so defensive. All I said was that they will not acclimate in one day...because that's true. They won't.

As you said, for someone not from altitude, there really is a difference. You should drink plenty of water, go easy on alcohol. You also will get winded faster doing physical activity than normal if your body is used to sea level. Doesn't mean you can't ski, hike, run, be fully active. As I said, it's a beautiful, gorgeous area. You should absolutely partake in all the outdoor activities the area has to offer. I know I did. However, you can't expect yourself to be fully acclimated to the elevation in just a few days, it's not going to happen. That's all. Nothing to fear, just something to be aware of.

OP, you'll love the Denver area. I can't comment on Breckenridge, as I never went out there.