I am thinking about planning a trip with my parents while they are still physically active (76 and 84 years old)

from Denver- what is the best path to go to different national parks?

also best places to stay - maximum comfort and quality.

thanks.

RMNP

Estes Park is about 2 hours from Denver and has plenty of options for lodging and a few miles from the park entrance.

Depending on how long you wanted to make the trip you could do a loop along the lines of:

Pikes Peak
Great Sand Dunes
Mesa Verde
Canyonlands
Arches
Colorado National Monument
Glenwood Canyon
Mount Evans
RMNP

NColoradoAG said:

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Depending on how long you wanted to make the trip you could do a loop along the lines of:

Pikes Peak
Great Sand Dunes
Mesa Verde
Canyonlands
Arches
Colorado National Monument
Glenwood Canyon
Mount Evans
RMNP

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are those all in Colorado?

many thanks

I am really asking for those who have been out west to suggest the best parks- it's okay if they are in the Dakotas or Wyoming or Montana

we will go for a few weeks.

and the best hotels to stay at with elderly parents.

HtownAg19 said:

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If you have weeks… head north to Rapid City. Wind Cave is the national park but Custer State Park is a must see. Badlands is just outside of town. Then go a few hours north to Roosevelt National Park. Only need a day or two there. Then head west to Yellowstone with Grand Teton afterwards which is a short drive away. If you have a lot of time you could go further north after Yellowstone to Glacier but thatd be getting a bit out of the way. South into Utah Moab is about 4hrs out of Salt Lake. There you have both Arches and Canyonlands. From there head back in to Colorado where in the western part of the state you have Black Canyon of the Gunnison and Mesa Verde. Round out the trip with Rocky Mountain getting closer back to Denver

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perfect- that is awesome. many thanks

is the Custer place where the Battle of Little Bighorn took place?

HtownAg19 said:

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If you have weeks… head north to Rapid City. Wind Cave is the national park but Custer State Park is a must see. Badlands is just outside of town. Then go a few hours north to Roosevelt National Park. Only need a day or two there. Then head west to Yellowstone with Grand Teton afterwards which is a short drive away. If you have a lot of time you could go further north after Yellowstone to Glacier but thatd be getting a bit out of the way. South into Utah Moab is about 4hrs out of Salt Lake. There you have both Arches and Canyonlands. From there head back in to Colorado where in the western part of the state you have Black Canyon of the Gunnison and Mesa Verde. Round out the trip with Rocky Mountain getting closer back to Denver

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We did a similar trip a year or two with my sister and her husband. Maybe our trip will give you a few ideas.

Flew into Rapid City. Saw the ICMB silos. BTW the silo by itself on the plains is where to get the best view of a silo and missle. Not as much to see at the visitor center site, but there is a neat educational movie there.

Badlands is in a lot of ways a drive through park. Be sure and go by the prairie dog villages.

Custer State Park is beautiful. We stayed there a couple of nights in a cabin and it was great. Many say it should be a national park and it is every bit as nice as one. We went for the bison roundup, which was really cool. Kristi Noem rode in the roundup.

Mount Rushmore is a short visit, but really inspiring. Even better if you a North by Northwest fan. Crazy Horse monument is also close by but more of a tourist attraction to get some money out of you. Still worth going to see.

Little Big Horn is a full day trip from Rapid City if you plan to spend any time at the Battlefield. It is totally worth the day commitment and is truly awe inspiring and terribly tragic at the same time. When you look the place over you will understand the tremendous disadvantage Custer was under. My brother is law is a retired light colonel in military intelligence so he had a lot of insight into the battle.

Finally we went to Deadwood. We knew it was a tourist trap but after watching the series we wanted to see it. Unfortunately, what they don't say much is virtually the entire old town burned down long ago and everything is a re-creation. We stayed at the Lodge in Deadwood which has a good casino and restaurant.

LMCane said:

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I am really asking for those who have been out west to suggest the best parks- it's okay if they are in the Dakotas or Wyoming or Montana

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I also like the South Dakota suggestion, but if you will consider states other than Colorado -- consider going to Utah. There you will find five National Parks (these are known as "the big 5"); Bryce Canyon, Canyonlands, Arches, Zion, and Capital Reef. And close to the border of Utah you will find two more NP's; Grand Canyon in northern AZ, and Mesa Verde in S.W. CO. It would be pretty easy to design a trip to many or even all of these by flying in/out of Salt Lake City or Las Vegas. Depending on which route you might take, you could even add in Monument Valley on the northern portion of the Navajo Reservation, Valley of the Gods in S.E. Utah, and Dead Horse State Park near Moab.

Just somethin' to think about....

C

Don't forget black canyon of the Gunnison.

AggieOO said:

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Don't forget black canyon of the Gunnison.

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The fact that I didn't list it isn't because I forgot about it. My intent wasn't to list *everything*. My purpose was to just list the more popular parks. IOW, the parks that people from all over the world come to see. Black Canyon isn't on those people's lists to see.

C

Yet another vote for Custer State Park. Absolutely amazing park.