Denver to Moab... Zion to Stanley Idaho

Fellow Wanderers,

With great anticipation, my family and I take to the road this summer in search of new adventures, to expand our knowledge of Am History and to heighten our sense of Americana. The family Gaidus website has been a great resource for us, I recommend it highly. Our trip is pretty well planned but two questions remain. First, any thoughts on the best/ enjoyable way for a family of six (mom, dad, children 13, 13, 10 and 8) to spend two nights between Denver and Moab? we are an active troup, with fishing, swimming, hiking, sight seeing, etc a big part of our itinerary. We have looked at RMNP, Dillon, Breckenridge, Vail, Montrose, etc but wanted to hear from experienced folks who can recommend some family fun. We plan no camping on this leg of our trip!

My second question regards our itinerary after Zion. We would like to travel up to Great Basin NP then onto to Stanley or Sun Valley Idaho. Any recommendations on lodging in the Great Basin/ Ely area and the Stanley or Sun Valley Idaho area.

Replies much appreciated.

Mister K

Stanley, Idaho, is a near picture perfect location. The backdrop of the Sawtooth Mountains together with lakes, river, trees and farm pastures makes for a stunning picturesque setting.

Personally stayed at the Red Fish Lodge and thoroughly enjoyed the facilities and location. Cabins in set in trees at the side of Red Fish Lake with a great mountain view.

Is a wonderful place for a young family to spend leisure activities – swimming, boating, hiking, rafting, horse riding, hiking and more…

It is one of those places that really leaves a good feel impression.

I appreciate your thoughts on Stanley and the Red Fish Lodge.
THe area sounds terrific and we will follow on your recommendation.

Mister K

Just 35 miles south of Montrose along the “Million Dollar Highway” is Ouray. I’m always conscious of trying not to use too many adjectives in describing a place but I think Ouray is a gem of a place.

The township describes itself as the "Switzerland of America" because of its setting at the narrow head of a valley, enclosed on three and a half sides by steep mountains. It is a very scenic area.

With the family in mind here are just couple of activities that may interest:

Hot Springs Pool. Swim, swim until you drop here – the pool is fantastic.

Jeep Tours. Take you up into the San Juan Mountains with gorgeous views all around. One trip I did went via Telluride which is well worth a visit. An excellent experience and suitable for the young teenagers.

Obviously being in the mountains there are other outdoor activities like horse riding, fishing, hiking etc.

Hope you and your family have a great trip.

We will definitely check out Ouray!
We have been focusing on Dillon and Breckenridge. Any thoughts about that area?
BTW- You have a terrific sense of the U.S., geography and places to visit. Reading your posts, you put many Americans to shame. Hope you enjoyed the Man U victory

Mister K

You mention my US travels. Do things happen by accident or design – I wonder? It was a moment as a young lad in the fifties which inspired my later travel to the USA.

The film Shane left a lasting impression – in particular the backdrop of the Grand Teton NP. (Look halfway down the page for Shane) Never thought I would go there bearing in mind the then austere times and lack of opportunity to travel.

But I did and I’ve been lucky enough to visit the area a number of times. And once you have visited the Rockies one thing leads to another : -)
Now have the good fortune to visit family in CA and also further my travel exploits. Interestingly Moab is also part of my travel plan later this year.

Breckenridge. Stayed there a year or two back in the summertime. Found it touristy but if you pick and choose there are lots of good leisure activities available. Very difficult to recommend when it comes to personal choice.

Yes – being a northerner in the UK pleased Man United won the soccer match in Moscow the other night. But (sounding like an oldie) I find it hard to relate to the “show business” aspect of sport these days.

You've gotten some pretty good advice, but there's always room for one (or two or a few) more suggestions). If you use I-70 between Denver and Moab, have a look at using US-6 over Loveland Pass rather than taking I-70 through the Eisenhower Tunnel. I guarantee that the views will be better. A worthwhile town that I didn't see on your list is Leadville. And towards the western end of this leg, the Colorado National Monument' is definitely work at least a short hike. Also at least consider another route entirely, and that would be to take US-50 past Royal Gorge and through the Black Canyon of the Gunnison.

On the leg from Zion to Stanley, I'm going to recommend another alternate route. Head for Elko, NV (where there is a great Basque restaurant that serves wonderful family style meals - sorry I can't remember its name) and then take NV-225/ID-51/ID-84 up to Mountain Home with stops at Bruneau Canyon and Bruneau Sand Dunes.

AZBuck