Suggestions for Week in Colorado
 

We are traveling with our 1-year old daughter to Colorado for a relative's graduation from the University of Colorado at Boulder graduation in early May and plan to spend a week in the state. We are thinking about a few days in Boulder, Vail, and Denver. We are not hikers or skiers and are interested in seeing beautiful mountain views, quaint towns, history, art etc... We have Marriott points so that is why were were thinking of the three places I mentioned, plus we don't want to have to drive more than a few hours with our daughter in the car so Grand Junction, Durango and equidistant areas are out. We have not spent any time in Colorado before.

What would you recommend?

A national organization I belong to is holding their annual meeting in Denver in early June. The local chapter is developing a wiki page with suggestions for trips. Most of those visitors are looking for short excursions, so it may be of use to you, too.

Things to do around Denver

Colorado Springs is great and there is, at least, a Townplace Suites there. We hubbed there for a few days the week before a convention in Denver. And... you can also arrange a tour of the House of Miles.

The Denver art museum just unveiled its large expansion designed by Daniel Leibskind in downtown Denver. The building has gotten some mixed reviews, but it's going to be worth a visit.

Boulder can be pretty busy around graduation time. A "classic" Boulder activity would be to go to dinner or weekend brunch at Chautauqua. It's right in the foothills-has the view down the meadow. The restaurant varies between really good and adequate but is in a cool old building left from the Chautauqua colony. It's often very busy.

If you're into weather, you can tour NCAR. It's in an I.M Pei building that looks out over the valley to the east-great views and interesting exhibits-and free. There are often deer wandering around in the valley below. http://www.eo.ucar.edu/visit/

Also, Rocky Mountain National Park is an easy and very scenic drive, about 40 miles from Boulder. There's a road through the whole park called Trail Ridge road. It gets to about 12k feet at the highest point, so you won't want to go there the first day you're in town-definitely wait to get acclimated first. Even if you don't drive all the way through, it's a beautiful park full of elk and other wildlife. Estes Park, the town outside the park is very touristy, but still scenic and probably worth a wander or a stop for lunch.

A really easy but also scenic drive from Boulder is up Boulder Canyon to Nederland. Nederland is kind of funky...has a bit of a hippie reputation, but the drive to it is pretty.

Both Denver and Boulder have pedestrian shopping malls. I prefer Boulder's. There are often performers on the weekends and the people watching is good. There are some nice shops and a good assortment of restaurants from nice and upscale to cheap and semi-scruffy.

It's usually easy to get tickets to Rockies baseball games, but if it's windy the seats near the edges and top can get really chilly.

If you've got the time on your return from Vail, take the return trip from Vail over Loveland Pass, Hwy 6. Very scenic and mountain-y and steep.

Georgetown is a cute, quaint little town that's just off I-70 on the way to/from Vail. It's a very small town, but has some very nice old Victorian houses. They also have a steam train during the summer.

You might want to tour the Red Rocks amphitheater, which is just west of Denver and has nice views. (GREAT place to go to a concert, too, if there's anything playing when you're there)

Denver Museum of Natural Science is very good and in an area right near the Botanical garden and zoo. The botanical garden is really well done.

One thing-the weather in May can be unpredictable. It can be nice and warm or chilly. It can even snow, although it melts off very fast. Plan for versatility in your clothes.

There are Courtyards, Residence Inns, and now a full service Marriott in Colorado Springs as well. The FS Marriott is a former Marriott from the early 90s that has been reflagged and renovated. More on this old/new Marriott here:

http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/showthread.php?t=529954

Garden of the Gods is a fun excursion just outside Colorado Springs.

You absolutely must go to Rocky Mountain National Park. The scenery is absolutely eye-popping. Unfortunately Trail Ridge Road probably won't be open all the way through yet, but the trade-off is that the crowds won't be ridiculous. You can still get part-way up Trail Ridge Road and get a taste of the park. Bear Lake is accessible year-round as well.

I live near Nederland and agree that it's worth the drive from Boulder as well. Boulder Falls is about halfway up the canyon and is a nice stop. There isn't much in Nederland itself though, so you won't need more than an afternoon.

IMHO, there isn't much to do around Vail if you're not hiking or skiing, especially in early May. Ski season will be over but the summer activites don't get started until June. Worth the trip, sure, but I probably wouldn't spend more than one night there. Camp Hale is about a half-hour scenic drive from Vail, and the Colorado Ski Museum is in Vail.

BTW - Boulder traffic will be a mess during graduation. If you can, try to stay somewhere within walking distance.

If you do head north from Boulder, you might want to stop in Estes Park. The Stanley Hotel is quite unique and has lots of history and good stories about being haunted.

Nice suggestions, Wanderbug!

It makes me want to schedule a trip!

Another Boulder drive would be the road up to the top of Flagstaff Mountain which is one of the mountains just to the west of Boulder, you can get some spectacular views from there...just follow Baseline Road west til it ends at the top of the mountain...

There is also an art museum on the CU campus, in the Sibell Wolle Fine Arts building...although I go to CU, Im not really an artsy person so Ive never been in it, but since you guys said you were into art, that may be up your alley...

Some random thoughts:

I have stayed at (and have recommended to friends) the Renaissance Flatirons, adjacent to the Flatirons Mall between Denver and Boulder. Do check prices before using points, as that location often has very good rates. There is a free shuttle to Flatirons Mall, which has a decent, sandy kids area.

I don't believe any of the Marriott properties in Boulder are within walking distance to CU or Pearl Street Mall (the pedestrian mall in Boulder, which has interesting kids areas). My guess is that there will be a lot of shuttling; hotels should have details. The Boulder Marriott is in a very congested area, and parking is likely to be very tight.

If you haven't gone through a lot of quick elevation changes with your child, be sensitive to potential problems in your planning. Boulder and Flatirons Mall areas are both around 5,000', while Trail Ridge (an easy day trip) tops out around 10,000', IIRC. Gaining and losing 5,000' in a few hours can be rough on ears, young or older.

Even if you are not into hiking (meaning backpacking), there are a many good short hikes which provide much better views that what you might see from the road.

There are some wineries and meaderies around the Front Range, in case those interest you (see the site below).

I find this site particularly useful: http://www.coloradolinks.net/

Considering the challenge of driving in the mountains, if you rent, you may prefer to rent a V6 rather than a 4 cylinder.

The Denver Art Museum is fasinating but has slanted walls which have a vertigo effect on some people. There have been some write-ups in the Denver Post about the issue.

2 nights in Estes Park (as mentioned above) should make for a few easy days in and out of Rocky Mountain National Park. At the time you are going (early May), Trail Ridge Road may not be completely open, depending on recent snowfalls. From Estes, you should have access to most of the east side of the park. Also, the road from Estes south to Nederland to Blackhawk to Golden is a very scenic highway, though going south, some of the best mountain views will be behind you at times.

As previously suggested, be prepared for a variety of weather, especially when heading up into the mountains.

Feel free to PM if you have questions you'd prefer not to post. There are several similar threads in this forum which probably contain additional useful suggestions.

The Boulder Marriott on Canyon is walkable to campus, though it is around a mile or so and the last stretch up Folsom is a fairly steep hill...it is also directly across the street from the brand new Twenty-Ninty Street Mall...nonetheless, there is an excellent bus system in town, RTD, which can be found online here...http://www.rtd-denver.com/ ...