4 days colorado?

[podyon18]

Hi, me and a buddy are looking leave from denver and drive around and enjoy Colorado for 4-5 days before returning there. (august 8 - august 13) The night of the 12th we're going to morrison - red rocks for a show. What is the best way to appreciate the area there, and what are some good sites around o chill by?

[Mass Tim]

I just did a quick radius search of what is reachable within a four-day round trip from Denver.

Within Colorado itself, you have
Rocky Mountain National Park
Dinosaur National Monument
Great Sand Dunes National Park
Canyons of the Ancients
Mesa Verde National Park
Black Canyon of the Gunnison

And you also have available some great cities and towns, such as Colorado Springs. I guess it really boils down to what your interests are.

[RedCorral]

Hi,

Most people don't think about the Black Canyon of the Gunnison, but it is pretty amazing. And there is a very nice campground. Here is a shot from there.



Dinosaur National Monument is another uncrowded place that is interesting. It isn't the high mountains, but the drive down to the river is beautiful/peaceful, the the dinosaur bones are fascinating, and there are even some nice petroglyphs.



Then there are the historic towns of Central City, Idaho Springs, Georgetown, Aspen, Ouray, Silverton, Telluride, Fairplay (preserved historic district), Leadville, Manitou Springs (cog railway up Pikes Peak), and Breckenridge, and Crested Butte. There must be more but I can't think of them right now.

I would also recommend the drive to the top of Mt. Evans (Denver) or Pikes Peak (Colorado Springs), or both.

As Tim says, lots of choices, but you have to make them.

Craig Sheumaker
co-author of the travel guide: America's Living History-The Early Years

[qsoundrich]

The Dinosaur quarry was closed indefinitely last year due to structural problems with the building. Might want to check ahead before heading there. Echo Park is nice of course

[sahasralah]

A little bit of a thread hijack here, but it was so closely related, I didn't want to make a new topic for it.

I've got the same amount of days in the same place. I'm flying into Denver on 8/18. I'm staying with a friend Sat/Sunday. Saturday we're driving up Pike's Peak. Sunday we're hanging out.

I fly back out of Denver on Friday afternoon 8/24, but the rest of the week is open. My friend has to work all week, so I figured I'd go see some cool national parks and such.

Right now I'm thinking of a loop from Denver (Centennial), over to Black Canyon of the Gunnison, then north through either the Aspen / Independence Pass or Vail area, then up to Rocky Mountain National Park. Or should I go in the reverse direction? Denver to Gunnison (5/6hrs) is the longest stretch, so I thought that might be good to do the first day. I've got a lot of west driving miles under my belt, so I'm not too worried about long drives, but I also would like to stop and take it all in.

My question is, what would be the best day-dispersal on that route? I'm looking at staying at least one night--maybe two--at the Stanley Hotel near the Rocky Mountain Park. I definitely want to do the Black Canyon. Anything in-between would be a bonus.

Thanks in advance for your thoughts.