Colorado Vacation Destinations - Not Quite So Crowded, But Still Cool

[Chewbacca 7765]

4 minutes ago, mchookem said:

2 over 70, me (GenX 😁)...and our young, fit French foreign exchange friend 😄

seriously... nothing crazy, but we do bike all over Denver and area parks, and dad easily rode a segway for the first time in France last month. downhill mountain biking is probably a bit much (plus we have street bikes), but flat or trail biking is fine, as is moderate river stuff, tubing, hiking, etc. 

can you ride any lifts up in summer, for scenic views, summer activities (a la Tahoe) and such?

 

You can ride the Gondola at WP.  And it's free if you have an Ikon pass.  Otherwise you need to pay for it.  The alpine slide is gone as of now.  They are putting a new one in but it's not in right now.  There's putt putt golf at the WP resort base as well, but it's not a great course since it's covered in snow half the year.

There are a ton of flat biking trails in the WP and Fraser area as well as more challenging ones if that's what you want (I can be more specific if this is what you want).  A lot of people like biking the Fraser to WP trail and stopping at breweries along the way for a beer.

Monarch Lake is a ~4 mile hike around the lake that is mostly flat. You can always go part of the way and turn around. It's a beautiful lake and you drive right up to it. There are a ton of hikes in RMNP but unless you get in early, you'll need a timed entry permit.

You can fish in the Fraser River as well as the Colorado. Not sure there is any tubing (would be really cold), but there might be some outfits that will raft you down the CO.  

[Chewbacca 7765]

On 7/10/2024 at 8:15 AM, Paco said:

Grouchy people in Granby?

There are crazy people everywhere.  And Marv was nuts, no doubt about it.

[Dbeasy 15039]

17 hours ago, mchookem said:

so i live here but now i need suggestions 😁

family coming in next month and we have an awesome cabin in Grand Lake for a few days. one day on the lake/renting a boat, one day in RMNP/Estes... but still have one day to fill with whatever. we can travel nearby easy...Fraser, WP, etc. biking or trails would be awesome, but really any summer activity in the area...any specific suggestions? @Chewbacca @6th Street or anybody else? 😊

 

15 hours ago, 6th Street said:

I hear good things about Trestle Bike Park in Winter Park. Mainly from my enthusiast neighbors who won't shut the f about it lol. But supposedly good for all skill levels 

Several in our group did white water rafting and it was good water flow. That was a few weeks ago. A few also did Trestle and raved about it, including my daredevil son who mountain biked for only the second time and went down the black routes like he typically does on anything the first time. Crashed hard and walked with a limp and claw fingers for a few days. 

[Chewbacca 7765]

31 minutes ago, mchookem said:

2 over 70, me (GenX 😁)...and our young, fit French foreign exchange friend 😄

seriously... nothing crazy, but we do bike all over Denver and area parks, and dad easily rode a segway for the first time in France last month. downhill mountain biking is probably a bit much (plus we have street bikes), but flat or trail biking is fine, as is moderate river stuff, tubing, hiking, etc. 

can you ride any lifts up in summer, for scenic views, summer activities (a la Tahoe) and such?

 

Forgot that you can also raft Clear Creek (starting from Empire area - there are a few outfits that do it) as well, but that's a good hour from Grand Lake so might be too far.

[mchookem 16318]

thanks for the suggestions!

[NWBuck 8551]

4 hours ago, mchookem said:

2 over 70, me (GenX 😁)...and our young, fit French foreign exchange friend 😄

French foreign exchange friend? Gondolas and downhills, you say?

 

Just don't try to put your testicles all over them...

[Chopper 17228]

5 hours ago, mchookem said:

2 over 70, me (GenX 😁)...and our young, fit French foreign exchange friend 😄

seriously... nothing crazy, but we do bike all over Denver and area parks, and dad easily rode a segway for the first time in France last month. downhill mountain biking is probably a bit much (plus we have street bikes), but flat or trail biking is fine, as is moderate river stuff, tubing, hiking, etc. 

can you ride any lifts up in summer, for scenic views, summer activities (a la Tahoe) and such?

 

There's a tram in Estes that takes you to the top of a mountain. Almost 9000 feet. There's trails from there. Winter Park's gondola has summer hours as well and you can hike from there. It's at least 1000 feet higher than Estes' tram. Colorado Whitewater Rafting does half or full day raft trips out of Glenwood Springs. Also worth a mention is Indian Springs hot springs in Idaho Springs.

We drove up to Estes today (Monday) from Fort Collins, and it was crowded but manageable. 

Edited July 16 by Chopper

[Chewbacca 7765]

14 minutes ago, Chopper said:

There's a tram in Estes that takes you to the top of a mountain. Almost 9000 feet. There's trails from there. Winter Park's gondola has summer hours as well and you can hike from there. It's at least 1000 feet higher than Estes' tram. Colorado Whitewater Rafting does half or full day raft trips out of Glenwood Springs. Also worth a mention is Indian Springs hot springs in Idaho Springs.

We drove up to Estes today (Monday) from Fort Collins, and it was crowded but manageable. 

Glenwood is not close to Grand Lake.

[mchookem 16318]

2 hours ago, NWBuck said:

French foreign exchange friend? Gondolas and downhills, you say?

 

Just don't try to put your testicles all over them...

 

 

[topochico 1049]

Via Ferrata if you have one close enough. It really doesn't require a ton of muscle strength or skill, but super fun. The 70+ y/o may elect to pass if not in shape, but everyone else should be fine. Definitely do the guided tour though.

https://www.coloradoviaferrata.com/about-via-ferratas/colorado-via-ferratas/

Edited July 16 by topochico

[crash_davis 23094]

Highlights of my stay so far. Got to the AirBnB (9000 feet) in between Arvada and Nederland on July 6th.

- It was 40 degrees Sun night, July 7th. That was amazeballs coming from Austin.

- Then the heat wave moved through. The temp difference from Golden/Denver to my AirBnB at 9000 ft is about 15-20 degrees difference. It takes 30 mins to get anywhere but not worrying about AC is a wonderful thing.

- Chief Mountain is a wonderful short hike and reasonable vert to see amazing views. 1.5 miles up, and then 1.5 miles straight down. Views at 11,800 feet were amazing to see all the surrounding 13k and 14k peaks.

- We are staying right next to Golden Gate State Park. Over a few days, we've seen 4-5 different moose including a mom and her born this season baby. Saw 2 or 3 different bull moose. One was hella big and pissed as hell. The other 2 were docile and cool as can be. 

- Tubed Clear Creek in Golden and got my ass beat. Flipped over head first on my back, feet over my head going down a rapids. Scraped up my back pretty good. That's no Guadalupe River float. It'll kick your ass if you hit a rapids the wrong way.

- Played golf at Fossil Trace was an amazing golf course with fun views and incredible views.

- Looking to hiking Quandary again this weekend. We could climb other 14ers but love that Breck is just up the road. Great place to chill and eat after conquering Quandary.

- Will be playing Arrowhead and Bear Dance golf courses this and next weeks.

- Continuing to do awesome hikes every day after "work".

 

Here's one of the chill bull moose. He was chomping on Aspen leaves not caring that we were 15 yards from him.

 

[Carl Spackler 3479]

15 yards is too close to a bull moose -- even one that seems docile at the time.  Those critters are unpredictable and can turn nasty in an instant.  Nice pic, though.

Edited July 17 by Carl Spackler

[Chewbacca 7765]

8 minutes ago, Carl Spackler said:

15 yards is too close to a bull moose -- even one that seems docile at the time.  Those critters are unpredictable and can turn nasty in an instant.  Nice pic, though.

Yep.  15 yards is asking for something bad to happen.

[NWBuck 8551]

4 hours ago, Chewbacca said:

Yep.  15 yards is asking for something bad to happen.

[Macanudo 12974]

I've been less than 15 yards from a moose (not on purpose) and I never want that to happen again.  I was mountain biking and surprised a mama and a calf.  I consider myself lucky that I didn't get hurt.  

Now, I may or may not have shit myself but wounded pride is acceptable compared to getting my ass kicked by a moose.

[Pdawg88 1115]

Shart thread is that way ⬅️

[SmokeyTheBear 5562]

On 7/14/2024 at 7:17 PM, mchookem said:

so i live here but now i need suggestions 😁

family coming in next month and we have an awesome cabin in Grand Lake for a few days. one day on the lake/renting a boat, one day in RMNP/Estes... but still have one day to fill with whatever. we can travel nearby easy...Fraser, WP, etc. biking or trails would be awesome, but really any summer activity in the area...any specific suggestions? @Chewbacca @6th Street or anybody else? 😊

Monarch lake/cascade falls trail between Granby and Grand Lake. Was there a couple days ago and one of my favorite hikes in the area.  

[NWBuck 8551]

11 hours ago, Macanudo said:

I've been less than 15 yards from a moose (not on purpose) and I never want that to happen again.  I was mountain biking and surprised a mama and a calf.  I consider myself lucky that I didn't get hurt.  

Now, I may or may not have shit myself but wounded pride is acceptable compared to getting my ass kicked by a moose.

A Møøse once bit my sister ...

[mchookem 16318]

first time in Grand Lake. average.

[Chopper 17228]

Sometimes you find some of the most interesting things on the local subreddit. This is the glory hole store in Fort Collins.

This guy did a similar thread near the beginning of the pandemic but quickly deleted it so I'm sharing with you all, for the hell of it, and in case any of you boys need to get away from the family while you're in town. 

link in case it's still up and spoilered due to length

www.reddit.com/r/FortCollins/comments/1gvgfyr/i_havent_worked_at_the_book_ranch_in_4_years_but/?sort=old

Spoiler

 

 

Edited 17 hours ago by Chopper