I'm flying into Denver for about 4 days. Will have a vehicle and intend to drive around Colorado. Any ideas of where to see? No hotels planned, so totally open to any ideas.

Edit: in town for a quick spur of the moment vacation with my daughter. No work. Just whatever.
Tia

You're flying in just for vacation or have to work/have limited time?

What are your interests?

What in CO have you already seen/done before?

I would go to Red Rocks if you can no concert you would enjoy then go to see it maybe watch people work out

Garden of the Gods as well

Liked Root Down for a meal last time i was there


but knowing your interests would really help

Age of daughter?

Things y'all enjoy? Definitely go to a mountain town at some point, but need more otherwise to give better advice

Root Down is good. Also Linger; great views of downtown from there.

Yes, need more info. How old is the daughter. What does she want to do? Would she rather do indoor or outdoor or both?

4 days isn't a lot to "drive around Colorado," but Garden of the Gods is easily accessible and a trip through Estes Park & Rocky Mountain NP is worthwhile.

Golden is a fun town, coors brewery
Red rocks is awesome to just tour or even better if there's a concert you might like
RMNP isn't too far, if you go there you could continue into Wyoming
MAny of the ski resort towns have sumer lifts, look Dillion/Frisco, CO
Colorado Springs isn't too far
Boulder is too liberal and whatever the main street everyone recommends isn't worth it

Denver:

Denver biscuit company is delicious
Dairy Block is a cool area
Larimer Square area for evening food
Union Square
We liked the zoo but out kids are 5/6

I just got back from visiting my buddy and his wife who live in Wash Park. It's so hard leaving the mountain views and weather to come back to Houston.

I'd do the driving loop down to Colorado Springs, to Cañon City, up through Fairplay, to Breckenridge, then I-70 back to Denver.

You can hit:
Garden of the Gods
Royal Gorge Bridge (the zip line across the gorge/Arkansas River is crazy)
Continental Divide @ Hoosier Pass
Breckenridge

This could take maybe 2-3 days, depending on how much you want to explore Garden of the Gods and how much time you'd spend wandering around in Breckenridge.

Rocky Mountain National Park (Estes Park) is less than an hour and a half from Denver. We've spent our summers in Estes for the last few years as a great way to escape the Texas heat while still spending plenty of time outdoors.

The weather is nice and the hiking/outdoors is great during the summer.

If you do go to RMNP, make sure you get RMNP reservations either in advance or at 5pm the day before.

Mt. Evans is not that far from Denver and you can drive all the way to the top (14,130 ft). The last hundred feet or so you have to hike up, but anyone can do that. Great views and lots of hiking opportunities, as well. Great day trip, but you might need reservations for a time slot.

4 days Is that flying in on Day 1 and Flying out on Day 4? If so not a lot of time and may want to focus on one area.

Let's say you fly into Denver and spend first day and night in Denver.

Things to See in Denver Area
1. Red Rocks (Morrison) - Beautiful Amphitheatre built right into amazing Rock Formations. Great place to hike around a little and the museum there is very underrated if into music.
2. Coors Brewery (Golden) - Good tour of Coors Brewery educational no matter the age and give out a few samples at the end.
3. Rockies Game (Downtown) - Usually not a problem to get tickets to a rockies game unless the opponent is bringing in the fan (Cubs or Cardinals). Great views and outdoor setting.
4. If no game Many options for Outdoor Dining on rooftops or with great views. Tamayo is alway a good choice downtown.

Alternative Option would be to head towards Boulder
Things to See or Do Near Boulder
1. Chautauqua Park (Boulder Flatirons) - Great little park with great views amongst the Flatirons in Boulder. Easy hiking but very Beautiful and will give you that Colorado Feel
2. University of Colorado Campus - some people enjoy checking out college campuses, not many have the views and setting that Boulder has.
3. Pearl Street Mall - Some great little shops and restaurants down the Pearl Street Mall. Depending on the day you can check out some street Performers or other activities along the mall
4. IF spending night in Denver, can still check out a game or dinner in Denver. Good Hotels in the area too so you can stay here.

Day 2 - Wake up early and head to the Mountains.
You have to decide which way you are going before you get there and that is the path you take.
Option 1 - Head up I-70 to Summit/Eagle County
Option 2 - Head up to Estes Park/Rocky Mountain National Park

Option 1 - Head up I-70 to Summit/Eagle County
1. Pick where you want to stay and find lodging ahead of time. Breckenridge or Vail areas are usually the most popular towns. Both great ski resorts that have lots going amazing summer activities. Mountain Biking, Hiking, Rafting, Horse Back Riding, etc. And tons of food options from 5 star restaurants to fun family places. I am very partial to Vail, if you want recommendations, I still go several times a year.

Option 2 - Estes Park & Rocky Mountain National Park
Estes Park as a town is very touristy and not my favorite, but still good place to walk and round and find something to eat. Can get very crowded on weekends.

Rocky Mountain National Park is pretty amazing. If you are going here, some days requiring reservations now, so plan ahead and book that if possible. Amazing wildlife and hiking opportunities here. you will be guaranteed to see Elk and Mountain Goats and many other animals. If doing the park, try to hit trail ridge road if it is open. You are basically driving along the top of the mountain ridges.

If you don't go to either direction and looking for a good day trip activity, You may want to Look at Mount Evans. 14,000 foot mountain that you can basically drive to the top of. You will see plenty of wildlife and out of this world views.

Without knowing daughters age, hard to push you in a specific direction or towards alcohol or not.

Make sure you get a 4WD rental car and then drive Rampart Range Rd from Sedalia to Garden of the Gods.

HollywoodBQ said:

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Make sure you get a 4WD rental car and then drive Rampart Range Rd from Sedalia to Garden of the Gods.

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Good Point and if you are going up into the mountain make sure to have a V6 or better. 4 Cylinders can be a whip driving up the mountains.

I'm trying not to hijack this thread, but we're going to Colorado Springs at the end of July. Among other things, I'm wanting to find a good zipline that is pretty easy as far as getting there/hiking is concerned. I'm an old that has a bit of walking trouble after having a stroke a couple of years ago. I can handle the zipline, but can't handle strenuos hikes well at all. For example, one that I looked up talked about a 10 story hike/climb to get to one of the launch points. No Bueno for me. Any recs?

Garden of the Gods is all paved so it might be a great hike for ya. Very little elevation change as well.

If you swing thru Colorado Springs, stop in Goat Patch Brewery and let my daughter Sarah sling you a cold beer.

Buena Vista. I love this town. Ridiculous views of the Collegiate Peaks and Sawatch Range of the Rocky Mountains.

Tibbers said:

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Garden of the Gods is all paved so it might be a great hike for ya. Very little elevation change as well.

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I second the Buena Vista idea. Take the drive up Cottonwood Pass! Such a cool area!

tmtxco said:

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Rocky Mountain National Park (Estes Park) is less than an hour and a half from Denver. We've spent our summers in Estes for the last few years as a great way to escape the Texas heat while still spending plenty of time outdoors.

The weather is nice and the hiking/outdoors is great during the summer.

If you do go to RMNP, make sure you get RMNP reservations either in advance or at 5pm the day before.

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We're spending a long weekend in Broomfield, north of Denver, in September. We have reservations for RMNP on Sat and Sun.

Do you have any recommendations for hiking trails and avoiding traffic headaches? Generally looking for scenic, alpine lakes or waterfalls are always a plus, anywhere wildlife is more likely, and somewhere from moderate to moderately difficult hikes.

We're not locked in to just doing RMNP for hiking if you have any other suggestions.

Lost lake via Hessie Trail is outside Nederland and is pretty great. Can get crowded as it's a pretty popular one.

DTP02 said:

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We're spending a long weekend in Broomfield, north of Denver, in September. We have reservations for RMNP on Sat and Sun.

Do you have any recommendations for hiking trails and avoiding traffic headaches? Generally looking for scenic, alpine lakes or waterfalls are always a plus, anywhere wildlife is more likely, and somewhere from moderate to moderately difficult hikes.

We're not locked in to just doing RMNP for hiking if you have any other suggestions.

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Weekends are super busy in September as there seems to be a festival going on every weekend. Also, a lot of the front rangers drive up on weekends.

Waterfalls won't be too impressive as most of the snow has already melted but there are some . There are some good ones in Wild Basin (Copeland Falls, Calypso Cascades, and Ouzel Falls).

The elk will be in rut or just about to be in September, so they'll be everywhere. You'll hear them bugling at night if you leave your windows open. Moraine Park (down Bear Lake Road) is a great place to watch the elk.

RockyMountainHikingTrails.com has a list of the top hikes, sorted by difficulty.

A few of our favorites

• Gem Lake is a good one to hike in the evenings as it's not very crowded and right at the edge of town (part of the park but not inside the normal park boundaries). Lily Mountain is similar but on the other side of town.
  
• Another outside of the park that offers an incredible view of town is Mt Olympus
• For moderate to moderate+ hikes, Sky Pond (which also includes Lake of Glass, Timberline Falls, The Loch, and Alberta Falls) is one of the most beautiful hikes mile-for-mile in the park.
• Mills Lake isn't quite as long but it's incredibly beautiful and can be added to the Sky Pond hike (at the Mills-Loch junction).
• Chasm Lake is a unique and incredibly beautiful lake at the base of Longs Peak

If you have any questions, LMK here or PM.

Another suggestion based off one I did this past weekend is Lake Haiyaha off the Bear Lake area in RM. It's gonna be crowded as most hikes in RM are, but for the past year the lake has been an extreme blue color for a Colorado lake.

I'm booking my rental car this week and am wondering if any of the trailheads will need a 4-wheel drive vehicle to get to.

I'd always want something 4WD w clearance. Jeep Cherokee or bigger.

Let me know the specifics and I'll let you know

DTP02 said:

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I'm booking my rental car this week and am wondering if any of the trailheads will need a 4-wheel drive vehicle to get to.

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You will not need a 4 wheel drive to get to the trailheads, but if you plan on going off the roads you may want to consider it. More importantly, make sure you get a car with a V6 or V8 Enginer, no 4 cylinders. They are a nightmare when driving up into the mountains

DTP02 said:

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I'm booking my rental car this week and am wondering if any of the trailheads will need a 4-wheel drive vehicle to get to.

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You don't need 4WD if the trailheads you are talking about are in RMNP. Old River Road is about the "gnarliest" road in the park and it is definitely passenger car friendly. (Not even sure if the road is open.)

If you are looking elsewhere, be more specific about your trailheads.

CrownNSprite said:

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I second the Buena Vista idea. Take the drive up Cottonwood Pass! Such a cool area!

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Just got back from there. BV is a great little town and good launching point for whatever adventure you might have in mind.

Cottonwood Pass is wonderful. If you have the time and desire, head on down past Taylor Reservoir to the little town of Tin Cup. Great cafe out in the middle of nowhere - Frenchie's - with burgers, pulled pork sandwiches, etc. A really cool old cemetery and three miles outside of town, Mirror Lake.

milner79 said:

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DTP02 said:

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I'm booking my rental car this week and am wondering if any of the trailheads will need a 4-wheel drive vehicle to get to.

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You don't need 4WD if the trailheads you are talking about are in RMNP. Old River Road is about the "gnarliest" road in the park and it is definitely passenger car friendly. (Not even sure if the road is open.)

If you are looking elsewhere, be more specific about your trailheads.

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Old river road opened 7/1.

tmtxco said:

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DTP02 said:

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We're spending a long weekend in Broomfield, north of Denver, in September. We have reservations for RMNP on Sat and Sun.

Do you have any recommendations for hiking trails and avoiding traffic headaches? Generally looking for scenic, alpine lakes or waterfalls are always a plus, anywhere wildlife is more likely, and somewhere from moderate to moderately difficult hikes.

We're not locked in to just doing RMNP for hiking if you have any other suggestions.

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Weekends are super busy in September as there seems to be a festival going on every weekend. Also, a lot of the front rangers drive up on weekends.

Waterfalls won't be too impressive as most of the snow has already melted but there are some . There are some good ones in Wild Basin (Copeland Falls, Calypso Cascades, and Ouzel Falls).

The elk will be in rut or just about to be in September, so they'll be everywhere. You'll hear them bugling at night if you leave your windows open. Moraine Park (down Bear Lake Road) is a great place to watch the elk.

RockyMountainHikingTrails.com has a list of the top hikes, sorted by difficulty.

A few of our favorites

• Gem Lake is a good one to hike in the evenings as it's not very crowded and right at the edge of town (part of the park but not inside the normal park boundaries). Lily Mountain is similar but on the other side of town.
  
• Another outside of the park that offers an incredible view of town is Mt Olympus
• For moderate to moderate+ hikes, Sky Pond (which also includes Lake of Glass, Timberline Falls, The Loch, and Alberta Falls) is one of the most beautiful hikes mile-for-mile in the park.
• Mills Lake isn't quite as long but it's incredibly beautiful and can be added to the Sky Pond hike (at the Mills-Loch junction).
• Chasm Lake is a unique and incredibly beautiful lake at the base of Longs Peak

If you have any questions, LMK here or PM.

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Rereading this. Sky pond is hands down my favorite hike in RMNP and I've done most over the last 8 years.

I like Sky Pond quite a bit. But I think I like Glacier Gorge/Black Lake/Green Lake better. You are basically looking straight up at Longs Peak from below the Keyhole route and the Trough. Pretty cool.