lucylou
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Post by lucylou on Jul 16, 2024 10:10:47 GMT -6
I could use some advice or ideas of what to do/where to stay in CO over Labor Day. It’s my son’s dream “to go to Colorado and see the mountains.” We’re wanting to surprise him with a weekend trip for his 10th birthday. We would most likely fly into the Denver airport. My H was there a couple of years ago and wasn’t impressed with the city, so we’re definitely willing to rent a car and go/stay somewhere else. But I know nothing about what’s nearby. Other than “seeing the mountains” any suggestions on what else we could do on this short trip?
I’ve looked into some guided mountain jeep tours, but he does tend to get car sick so that’s probably not a great idea. Hiking would be cool as long as it’s a beginner friendly trail. Even if I could narrow down a good town to stay, that would help me a lot.
Thanks in advance!
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Post by bearfootzcontinued on Jul 16, 2024 10:37:56 GMT -6
We just went over spring break. The wintry weather limited some of our options but our favorite by far was Rocky Mt. National Park. If we go back some day that would be our primary focus. We enjoyed walking around Estes Park, which is touristy but fun.
We also enjoyed hiking at Garden of the Gods (paved trails), taking the train to Pikes Peak, and playing at the Penny Arcade in Manitou Springs.
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Post by taconight on Jul 16, 2024 10:56:10 GMT -6
We went to Estes Park last summer and loved it. My kids have asked to go back a bunch already.its right at the entrance to Rocky Mountain Natl Park, and there’s a ton of easy trails.
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soiree
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Post by soiree on Jul 16, 2024 10:58:16 GMT -6
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Post by starrynight on Jul 16, 2024 11:33:08 GMT -6
A couple years ago we were in Steamboat Springs with our daughter, and it was great. There are places for hiking and horseback riding. The downtown has some cute shops and restaurants. There is an airport you can fly into there.
My husband just took our daughter to the Denver area over Memorial Day weekend, and they liked visiting Garden of the Gods. We thought she would enjoy Dinosaur Ridge, but the tour they signed up for was way too long and more about rocks than dinosaurs. There is a self-guided hike that might be better.
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lucylou
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Post by lucylou on Jul 16, 2024 12:24:44 GMT -6
Oh this looks right up his alley! He gets car sick but loves rides/adventurous stuff (go figure). And the gondola might be the perfect way for him to “see the mountains” haha. Thank you! |
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lucylou
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Post by lucylou on Jul 16, 2024 12:25:27 GMT -6
I don’t know why it escaped my brain to look for national parks there. Thank you all so much!!
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brux
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Post by brux on Jul 16, 2024 12:34:08 GMT -6
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Post by SweetPotato on Jul 16, 2024 13:51:53 GMT -6
It is!! I assume by “see Colorado” he means experience the mountains. Which you want to get out of Denver for. And assuming you aren’t skiing you definitely want to go in the summer - July and August in particular. Two days isn’t a lot so look at ski resorts an easy drive from Denver. The base areas usually have fun kid activities, easy hikes, horseback riding, rafting, etc. You have some good recommendations in here. We really enjoyed Breckenridge a few years ago. Crested Butte is my personal favorite but too far from Denver for a quick trip |
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DGM
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Post by DGM on Jul 16, 2024 20:27:21 GMT -6
I don’t know why it escaped my brain to look for national parks there. Thank you all so much!! Is he going into 4th grade? If yes, he would qualify for the free National Parks pass. It's valid starting September 1. |
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lucylou
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Post by lucylou on Jul 17, 2024 8:48:52 GMT -6
I don’t know why it escaped my brain to look for national parks there. Thank you all so much!! Is he going into 4th grade? If yes, he would qualify for the free National Parks pass. It's valid starting September 1. He is! Thank you for the heads up 😊 |
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Post by peachesncream on Jul 17, 2024 11:38:52 GMT -6
Keep in mind that RMNP requires timed entry. It looks like passes for the first part of Labor Day Weekend are now available, the rest of the weekend passes will release 8/30. If he likes music at all I highly recommend hiking in Red Rocks amphitheater! I am taking my kiddo there next month for a concert for her 10th.
ETA: required for certain hours, I guess? Either way just be aware!
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lucylou
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Post by lucylou on Jul 18, 2024 7:35:13 GMT -6
Keep in mind that RMNP requires timed entry. It looks like passes for the first part of Labor Day Weekend are now available, the rest of the weekend passes will release 8/30. If he likes music at all I highly recommend hiking in Red Rocks amphitheater! I am taking my kiddo there next month for a concert for her 10th. ETA: required for certain hours, I guess? Either way just be aware! Thank you! I would’ve had no idea. |
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lucylou
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Post by lucylou on Sept 5, 2024 13:40:28 GMT -6
I just wanted to bump this and give a little update. We landed on Estes Park and had a great trip!
It was touristy, but only being there for 2 days, it was exactly what we needed. We stayed at the Stanley Hotel which was an experience all on its own. The Rocky Mountain National Park was so beautiful. I kept saying “I feel like I’m in Virgin River!” My only complaint was that trying to get timed entry tickets was as bad as a TS concert.
We also did a gold mining tour that was way cooler than I anticipated.
I can’t wait to go back and explore more of the areas you all suggested.
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Post by bearfootzcontinued on Sept 5, 2024 14:11:47 GMT -6
lucylou, glad you had a good trip. The Stanly is gorgeous! We didn't stay there but visited. Did you encounter any spirits?
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lucylou
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Post by lucylou on Sept 5, 2024 15:48:46 GMT -6
lucylou, glad you had a good trip. The Stanly is gorgeous! We didn't stay there but visited. Did you encounter any spirits? Well, I didn’t witness this but my H said that he had trouble falling asleep our first night. He reached for his phone on the nightstand and it wasn’t there (he hadn’t heard it fall off). Looked down and it was on the floor, stretched out so far on the charger that there was tension on the cord. We took a night tour the second night and I caught some orbs and a couple of weird things on pics/video (floaty light thing with orb around it that zipped through the video); one pic had a girl from the group with her face looking really distorted and a weird light on it while everyone else looked normal. Side note- my pics looked very similar to ones that I took on a haunted pub tour in Savannah like 13 years ago. Pretty much the only 2 times I’ve had stuff like that show up on anything 👀 |
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roselab
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Post by roselab on Sept 6, 2024 6:00:58 GMT -6
I just wanted to bump this and give a little update. We landed on Estes Park and had a great trip! It was touristy, but only being there for 2 days, it was exactly what we needed. We stayed at the Stanley Hotel which was an experience all on its own. The Rocky Mountain National Park was so beautiful. I kept saying “I feel like I’m in Virgin River!” My only complaint was that trying to get timed entry tickets was as bad as a TS concert. We also did a gold mining tour that was way cooler than I anticipated. I can’t wait to go back and explore more of the areas you all suggested. We were actually there at the same time for a wedding without our kids. We didn't stay at the Stanley, but inlaws/much of the extended family stayed in the cabins behind the hotel that are privately rented, so we hung out there and had lunch at the Stanely the day of the wedding. I kinda wish we had stayed there (stayed at the Estes Park Resort, which was still nice, and where the welcome dinner was held so that was a plus). I hadn't participated in this thread because this was our first time going and we weren't taking our kids, but Estes Park was so pretty compared to Denver and we'd definitely go back when we have time to do more than just attend a wedding. |
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