shalom22 Posted June 24, 2008 Share Posted June 24, 2008 Howdy y'all, We planning a family vacation to Colorado for September. We will be in the Colorado Spring to Denver area. I already plan on going to Royal Gorge, Garden of the Gods and Pikes Peak via Cog train. I have seen these sites about 13 years ago when I was pregnant with DS, but none of the rest of the family have been there. Any suggestions on sites, hotels, campgrounds, would be appreciated. Also a headsup on weather to expect during that time, because we are thinking about doing some tent camping while there. Thanks,:D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shalom22 Posted June 24, 2008 Author Share Posted June 24, 2008 I checked it out. Gave us some great ideas.:w00t: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
babs Posted June 24, 2008 Share Posted June 24, 2008 September in CO is gorgeous. The Aspens might be changing colors in the Mtns. The nights may be cooler, especially in the elevations. There are so many beautiful places to camp in CO. It is fun to take mtn bikes up the ski lift at some of the resorts and ride down. You can also bike over Vail Pass which is gorgeous (easier to bike from Vail to Breckenridge than the other way as it is downhill.) Hiking can be had almost anywhere in or near the mtns. We love Breckenridge more than the other mtn towns. It is about an hour plus drive from Denver west on I70. Vail is beautiful too - very European look to it. Breck is a typical CO historic mtn town. If you are Christians, I hear Focus on the Family offers a great free tour that has lots of hands on activities geared toward jr. high students, as well as elem. The nicest hotel in C.S. is the Broadmoor. There is also a castle type hotel run by the Navigators called Glen Eyrie in C.S., which is really beautiful and somwhat secluded. ANd you could drive through Rocky Mtn National Park via the Peak to Peak Hwy. You may see Elk and other interesting wildlife up close. If you do so, then go through Estes Park which has the historic Stanley Hotel. Quaint town and is up in the mtns. Denver is a nice larger city - museums, etc... But I would stick to nature as CO has so much natural beauty. If you get up to Boulder you can visit Chautauqua Park and hike up Flagstaff Mtn or visit the Univ. of Colo campus there (called CU). I went to college in Boulder...love CO. Babs Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ailaena Posted June 24, 2008 Share Posted June 24, 2008 Cave of the Winds lantern tour! That would be a fun thing to do in the Springs, if you like that kind of thing. Elitch Gardens would still be open on the weekends in downtown Denver, its usually not crowded at all in the fall, and they have some unusual rides. The Denver Museum of Nature and Science is great, they just remodeled the Denver Art Museum and Landry's has the Downtown Aquarium (slightly overpriced imho). Now the pressure is on and I cant think of anything else! The weather should be great, cool evenings, but NORMALLY not severe. However, Im not sure where you are coming from, so it's relative! I wish I could tell you exactly where to camp, but I can only remember how to get there, not an official name :( Chatfield Dam in Littleton has camping with showers, it's in the city and they are not usually busy after summer. Sorry I couldnt help more! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Laurie4b Posted June 24, 2008 Share Posted June 24, 2008 Rocky Mtn National Park was the favorite part of our whole trip out west. There is a YMCA in Estes (I think that's the name of the town near the park) with basic (cheap) accomodations. We had a room with a double bed for mom and dad and two sets of bunks for the kids. There was an adjoining bathroom with a shower stall. Nothing fancy, but cheap for that area. (We don't camp!) The weather is variable that time of the year. It can be really cold (ie snow). It was in the 40's when we were there in the third/fourth week of Sept. The aspens were peak in the park, but were still green in Denver and Golden. I would try for some of the Indian ruins, too. There are some near Co. Spring, I think. We went to the ones in Mesa Verde. I'm glad we didn't miss them. Also, there are quite a few places to see fossils, dinosaur tracks, etc. near Colorado Springs and Golden. We saw the dino tracks just outside of Golden and they were really cool! Free,too! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Debbie in OR Posted June 24, 2008 Share Posted June 24, 2008 Drive up to Kittridge (outside of Denver up the mountains) and eat at Dick's Hickory Dock. It is a little restaurant that serves the best bbq and baked potatoes in the world but the best part is that it sits beside a babbling Colorado stream and you can eat outside and enjoy the mountains to the West, stream to the East. Perfect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dinsfamily Posted June 24, 2008 Share Posted June 24, 2008 and second all that Babs said. I actually went to the Academy and it is a great place to visit in September too. You can catch noonmeal formation or check out the chapel (which was designed by Frank Lloyd Wright) if that interests you. The weather can be tricky in Colorado during any season...be sure to check the forecasts before you go. Most likely you will have beautiful (possibly even warm, but not by Houston standards) fall weather, but we always had our first (light) snowfall in September. We're hoping to head up there to ski next winter if finances allow...my ODS keeps asking when it will be winter. I have to explain that we don't really have winter (his definition includes snow) here in Tx. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mom to Aly Posted June 24, 2008 Share Posted June 24, 2008 I went there around 18 years ago on honeymoon and we rented a "cabin" at Estes Park, little adorable town, I would highly recommend. Also, I believe in CO Springs, there was a really old movie theater with fold up seats and read carpet. Also there was a sky lift you could take up, and I sat down at the top and a ton of chipmunks came up and climbed all over me and just sat calmly on me--it was wonderful : ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shalom22 Posted June 24, 2008 Author Share Posted June 24, 2008 Thank you so much for the ideas. We can't wait until September, especially after going through summer in Houston. When I went to Colorado 13 years ago, it was in September. The weather was perfect except when we went up to Pike Peak. We rode to cog train up and by the time we were 3/4 of the way up, it start to snow. When we go to the top there was several inches on the ground and blowing snow like a blizzard. They closed the road coming up and we ended up staying in the building drinking hot chocolate until the storm passed. When it did, the sky was so clear and blue, we could see all around us down the mountain. It was just beautiful. If felt sorry for some of the people who went up there in shorts and t-shirts, they were pretty cold. Someone built a little snowman (about 5 inches tall) and everyone was taking pictures of him, including me. Thanks again for your inputs, we greatly appreciate it.:D Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WTMindy Posted June 24, 2008 Share Posted June 24, 2008 Howdy y'all,We planning a family vacation to Colorado for September. We will be in the Colorado Spring to Denver area. I already plan on going to Royal Gorge, Garden of the Gods and Pikes Peak via Cog train. I have seen these sites about 13 years ago when I was pregnant with DS, but none of the rest of the family have been there. Any suggestions on sites, hotels, campgrounds, would be appreciated. Also a headsup on weather to expect during that time, because we are thinking about doing some tent camping while there. Thanks,:D Don't miss the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. It was a great one! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.