StaceyinLA Posted July 29, 2017 Share Posted July 29, 2017 (edited) We will be going up through CO, coming from NM, and heading to Casper, WY. It looks like we'll travel through (or near - we will be on the interstate) Pueblo, Colorado Springs, Denver, and Fort Collins. Any must-sees in those areas that aren't too far off the interstate and welcome dogs (or at least have places we can park in shade and leave car running with a/c on for a short time - we'd be able to lock it). Edited July 29, 2017 by StaceyinLA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seasider Posted July 29, 2017 Share Posted July 29, 2017 Garden of the Gods in CO Springs. 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DragonFaerie Posted July 30, 2017 Share Posted July 30, 2017 I second Garden of the Gods. Manitou Springs is a cute little town to visit near Colorado Springs. You could also drive up Pike's Peak. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bethben Posted July 30, 2017 Share Posted July 30, 2017 Garden of the gods is not too far off the highway. I've seen dogs there. The Air Force academy has tours-again, not too far from the highway. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StaceyinLA Posted July 30, 2017 Author Share Posted July 30, 2017 Well that seems unanimous! I'll put it on the list for sure! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Word Nerd Posted July 30, 2017 Share Posted July 30, 2017 It's a shame you'll be driving through Colorado but staying on I-25 without making any excursions into the mountains. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StaceyinLA Posted July 30, 2017 Author Share Posted July 30, 2017 It's a shame you'll be driving through Colorado but staying on I-25 without making any excursions into the mountains. Yes I know it is, and I might change up the route to do that, but I'm not sure - it adds a lot of time driving and we will really need the stops to get out, especially with the dogs. Since our end stop is Seattle, I plan to see plenty of mountains. I know it's not the same, but we really just want to see what we can without adding too much time/driving to the already 40-hr trip. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StaceyinLA Posted July 30, 2017 Author Share Posted July 30, 2017 Colorado is killing me. There are a LOT of neat things to do, and we just won't have a lot of time. I'm thinking we'll do these stops around Colorado Springs, then we are thinking of stopping in the Fort Collins area because it'll be a good distance for us to make another stop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Splash Posted July 31, 2017 Share Posted July 31, 2017 (edited) Estes Park and Rocky Mountain National Park would be a good place to visit close to Fort Collins. Would be a nice days visit. In Manitou Springs by Colorado Springs my kids enjoy the cliff dwellings. http://www.cliffdwellingsmuseum.com/ Also the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo is fun but can't take dogs. Edited July 31, 2017 by Splash 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrsBasil Posted July 31, 2017 Share Posted July 31, 2017 Fort Collins is a great city for dogs. Many of the restaurants allow for dogs on their patios. You can takes dogs and minor children to most breweries too. All of the outdoor areas in Front Range Village are dog friendly and there's a fenced dog park. Not the best for seeing anything cool and I think other than Doug's and Cafe Athens it's all national chain restaurants, but might not be a bad place to stretch your legs and let the dog run too. It's a pretty quick drive from the highway. We like to drive Hwy 14 and stop along the river. Rocky Mountain National Park is a fun place to visit, but it's about an hour off I-25. You can your dog into the park, but not on the trails. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenmom5 Posted July 31, 2017 Share Posted July 31, 2017 in Colorado Springs - i'd seriously make the effort to go to Garden of the Gods. http://gardenofgods.com/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StaceyinLA Posted August 1, 2017 Author Share Posted August 1, 2017 (edited) Fort Collins is a great city for dogs. Many of the restaurants allow for dogs on their patios. You can takes dogs and minor children to most breweries too. All of the outdoor areas in Front Range Village are dog friendly and there's a fenced dog park. Not the best for seeing anything cool and I think other than Doug's and Cafe Athens it's all national chain restaurants, but might not be a bad place to stretch your legs and let the dog run too. It's a pretty quick drive from the highway. We like to drive Hwy 14 and stop along the river. Rocky Mountain National Park is a fun place to visit, but it's about an hour off I-25. You can your dog into the park, but not on the trails. Thank you! We are definitely planning to stop in Fort Collins and waste a little time. I guess how much depends on how much we do in Colorado Springs (and the list is getting quite long). Looking at the map, Fort Collins looks really neat. I'm super excited about the brewery visits, but I won't be able to imbibe because I'll be driving. in Colorado Springs - i'd seriously make the effort to go to Garden of the Gods. http://gardenofgods.com/ We are definitely planning to do this unless the crowds prohibit it. Apparently there have been record crowds there this summer. I hope they're all back to school or something by the time we drive through! ;-p Edited August 1, 2017 by StaceyinLA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 1, 2017 Share Posted August 1, 2017 I-25 is the armpit of the state. But there are a lot of side-trips or short-back-road routes you could take instead that won't slow you down too much. I'm not just picking on I-25--it's pretty much the truth about any I-your highway number here. Just as an example, you could get off I-25 and go through Broomfield, Lafayette and go up US-287 to Fort Collins. It is a much prettier drive and won't cost you THAT much time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Word Nerd Posted August 1, 2017 Share Posted August 1, 2017 Yeah, my least favorite place in Colorado is I-25. Everything I can think of to suggest would require a detour off of it except Garden of the Gods. It's too bad Viestenz-Smith mountain park just up the road from Loveland near the Dam Store was destroyed in the floods a few years ago. I loved that park. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SJ. Posted August 1, 2017 Share Posted August 1, 2017 If you need to stop for lunch: http://pubdogcolorado.com I have no idea if the food is good, but you can take your pup! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Splash Posted August 1, 2017 Share Posted August 1, 2017 If Garden of the God's is too busy and you miss, you can go to Red Rocks which is of C470. It would add a bit to drive but it is very pretty as well so you'd still get to see the red rocks. You could have lunch in Morrison, there are several restaurants there where you could eat on patio with dog. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StaceyinLA Posted August 1, 2017 Author Share Posted August 1, 2017 I-25 is the armpit of the state. But there are a lot of side-trips or short-back-road routes you could take instead that won't slow you down too much. I'm not just picking on I-25--it's pretty much the truth about any I-your highway number here. Just as an example, you could get off I-25 and go through Broomfield, Lafayette and go up US-287 to Fort Collins. It is a much prettier drive and won't cost you THAT much time. I might consider that just for that shorter leg of the trip. We just can't afford to do that everywhere or we'd be on the roads for a week! I would LOVE to do much more sightseeing, but we just don't have much time. We really considered driving through the mountains once we got past Denver, but it adds at least 4 hours to that day, and with 40 hours of driving total, I'm not up for it. I will definitely look at this though - seems doable and we'd at least get to see something nicer. So where would I get off I-25? Would that be before or after we would exit for GOTG? Could I do that leaving GOTG headed to Ft. Collins? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StaceyinLA Posted August 1, 2017 Author Share Posted August 1, 2017 It DOES look like we are gonna spend a good bit of time in CO. Guess we need to get on the road really early so we aren't getting to Casper at midnight! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted August 1, 2017 Share Posted August 1, 2017 120th. North of Denver. Go west a few miles and in broomfield go north on 287. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StaceyinLA Posted August 1, 2017 Author Share Posted August 1, 2017 120th. North of Denver. Go west a few miles and in broomfield go north on 287. That can't put me on there for long then - isn't Fort Collins only about an hour and a half past Denver? That might be perfect just to be able to do a little extra sightseeing without adding lots of time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StaceyinLA Posted August 1, 2017 Author Share Posted August 1, 2017 Also, quick question - looks like the Red Rocks canyon trail is only about 3 miles from GOTG. Is this the one I should be looking at if GOTG is packed? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wapiti Posted August 1, 2017 Share Posted August 1, 2017 It may go without saying, but don't forget to check the traffic map on your phone and do what you can to avoid rush hour on I-25 around Colo Springs, Denver and Ft Collins. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scrapbookbuzz Posted August 1, 2017 Share Posted August 1, 2017 Rocky Mountain National Park! Right next to Estes Park. That place is AMAZING! 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bethben Posted August 1, 2017 Share Posted August 1, 2017 Rocky Mountain National Park! Right next to Estes Park. That place is AMAZING! If I had one place to go, I would also head to Rocky Mountain national park. It is amazing. It too may be crowded and some of the sites in the park can't accommodate large amounts of traffic. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MrsBasil Posted August 1, 2017 Share Posted August 1, 2017 Rocky Mountain is amazing. It's a under 2 hours from Denver and, for right now, and 1.5 from Ft. Collins. But double check when you go. The shortest way from Fort Collins is Hwy 34, but 34 was wiped out during the flood in 2013. It's been opened for tourist season and closed or down to one lane during other parts of the year. You can get there via 36 too. Just check the CDOT website before your route it out! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StaceyinLA Posted August 2, 2017 Author Share Posted August 2, 2017 (edited) If I had one place to go, I would also head to Rocky Mountain national park. It is amazing. It too may be crowded and some of the sites in the park can't accommodate large amounts of traffic. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Are dogs welcome there? I feel like we looked it up and the route from Denver to Casper, WY that included that was a LOT longer, like it would add several hours to our trip that day. Is it really worth it? Would it be worth skipping everything else to go that route? Edited August 2, 2017 by StaceyinLA Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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