Day Trip out of Denver

[Rick Quinn]

Hello all:

I'm posting this on behalf of an old friend who is flying to Denver for a few days in late June for a wedding. He and his wife have one single day set aside for a scenic drive. Nothing too strenuous--he's looking for a loop of 200 miles or so. They'll be picking up a rental car mid-morning, and they want to be back in the city for dinner. I don't know the Denver area all that well. Does anyone have any suggestions as to what might give them the best bang for their buck?

Thanks in advance!

Rick

[glc]

I'd head north out of Denver on I-25 to Loveland, then take US-34 up through the Big Thompson Canyon to Estes Park and into RMNP. Take Trail Ridge Road over the top to Granby. Take US-40 west to Kremmling, then CO-9 south to Dillon, then US-6 over Loveland Pass and down onto I-70 back to Denver.

Another option is head down to Colorado Springs to see the Garden of the Gods and Pikes Peak. To make a loop out of that, take I-70 to US-6 over Loveland Pass back to I-70 to US-24, then take I-25 back.

[Southwest Dave]

Hi Rick.

One option would be to head towards the town of Estes Park and check out the Bear Lake area of RMNP. A pleasant drive would be to take Boulder Canyon Drive (CO 119) from Boulder to the 'Peak to Peak' Highway (CO72) to CO7. Lily Lake is a nice stop on the way and along Bear Lake road there are easy strolls to Sprague Lake and Bear Lake itself. They could travel back via US36/CO66/I-25 which would obviously be quicker and makes a nice round trip of 160 miles.
Alternatively they could head south on I-25 to Colorado/Manitou Springs where you have Garden of the Gods, Cave of the Winds and if they wanted to Pikes peak by road or rail. If they took US24 to Woodland Park and then North to Deckers and up to US285 through Aspen Park and US470/6 back to Denver. On this route they could detour to Golden and visit Lookout mountain and Buffalo Bill Memorial museum. That would be close to a 200 mile round trip and also a pleasant drive.

[Rick Quinn]

Thank you both! I'll pass along that information, and I'm sure it will be very much appreciated!

Rick

[Lifemagician]

Be aware that before they head out to drive The Trail Ridge Road - a spctacular drive by anyone's reckoning - that they check with the rangers. It can be, and often is closed at a moments''s notice by blizzards which at 12000+ feet can roll in at any time of the year. Note that if they take advantage of it's many view points and photo ops that it can take hours to drive. If it is open and it is a very nice day, it can also be very crowded at the best viewpoints, and parking difficult to find. They might just like to plan on driving it there and back, and enjoy part of Estes Park and around Bear Lake. The Thomson Canyon is a very nice road, which also has several spots of interest where they may want to stop.

Lifey

[Rick Quinn]

Thanks, Lifey--I'll pass that along!

Rick