Trip Report- Family Summer Trip Colorado 2023

[LMB]

Just finished our summer trip to Colorado and after benefiting so much from the forum when planning the trip, I figured I'd share a quick trip report to pass on the kindness
Enjoy!

Background
We were 4 adults and 5 children (ages 2-12) in Colorado for 8 days (tues- wed)
We started our trip based out of Denver and then moved to Vail on Friday for the rest of the trip.
By doing that we were able to hit some beautiful attractions closer to the Denver area first, and then move to Vail which is very scenic for the rest of our trip.
We came with most of the food (Polar Bear to the rescue) and shopped local for the rest. (there is a decent Kosher selection available in Denver).
Brought along 2 Betty Crockers (dairy & meat) and well as a hot logic and we were good 2 go.

In Denver we stayed at the Home2 Suites Hilton Denver Northfield
Overall great experience. It's pretty new and clean, quiet area, not terribly far to drive to the local Jewish community for minyan, groceries...
We chose this place as it appeared to have best reviews for Hilton suites in the area and booked with points.

In Vail we stayed at an airbnb (cash booking) and had a great experience as well.
https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/23769734?c=.pi80.pkaG9tZXNfbWVzc2FnaW5nL25ld19tZXNzYWdl&euid=d2e559fb-b38a-e4aa-2ec3-1e7a93cfceec&source_impression_id=p3_1691977367_oOLpdpJTFJLQnvr0
Was a bit of a walk to Chabad for minyan on Shabbos but was doable.
The place was very clean and spacious. There were lots of books and toys for the kids as well a basement with a soccer table which was great entertainment.
Also had a small private yard and a front porch with stunning views!

Day 1- Tuesday
Arrived in DEN airport late afternoon, picked up our car rental reservation from Hertz in the airport (smooth process) and then drove straight to our hotel.
Once slightly settled we hit the local groceries to stock up.

Day 2- Wednesday

Garden of the Gods- free, no reservations needed
Pikes Peak- needs advance reservations

GOG- was unreal and great for all ages. The children loved climbing on the rocks...
We did parking lot 14 first (as suggested on the forum) to find the Siamese Twins with Pikes Peak in the background. WOW!







That part of the park is a hike vs. other parts which are paved.
Once done there we went back to the central garden area pedestrian walkway (lot 2)for the paved walk. The kids loved this part as there were huge rock formations for them to climb.

We saw a deer here as well.


Once done we continued to Pikes Peak
Was a beautiful drive with heart stopping drops from the sides of the road (no guardrails). (note later in the trip we did the drive up Mt. Evans  and we found it a lot more scenic. If choosing one, we'd go with Mt. Evans).



We saw some bighorn sheep which was very exciting for the kids.









Stopped for some snowballs (in August!) on the drive down



Day 3- Thursday
Rocky Mountain National Park
Need to book in advance at https://www.recreation.gov/ for park entry.
Free if you have a (going in or out of) 4th grader https://everykidoutdoors.gov/index.htm

As we were doing this with little children we didn't plan to do any hikes- just drives and some stops on the way
We started out with taking "Old Fall River Rd" up and made a stop at the Alluvial Fan falls.



Great easy path with beautiful waterfalls/creek. Kids loved climbing over the rocks and getting wet (water was COLD!)

Views from the drive and especially the summit were surreal. Pics don't do justice.



We made a stop for some more snow fun in August 



We then took trail ridge for the drive down and made some awesome stops along the way.



We came across lots of elk, one wild turkey and some marmots.





The one disappointment was that we didn't see any moose as my kids were dreaming of that

On the drive back to Den we met up with some more elk on the road







Day 4- Friday
packed up to leave Denver for Vail
made a stop at the grocery for some Challah, shabbos essentials and to stock up for the rest of our trip (as there's no Kosher in Vail)
Was an extremely scenic drive (we drove with the 6 instead of the I-70) we made some quick stops a the Red Rocks on the way as well as some rapids to get wet.










Then stopped at the Loveland Pass (WOW!)


Arrived at our airbnb and just finished getting ready for Shabbos with little time to spare

to be continued...





















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[trips99]

I hope to go next summer so thanks for the report so far and looking forward to the rest

[LMB]

Day 5- Shabbos

Day 6 -Sunday
Gore Creek
Betty Ford Apline Gardens and Playground
Piney River Trail

Sunday we stayed local in Vail and did a more relaxed day.
We started out at the Gore Creek  and walked to the Betty Ford gardens.
We enjoyed the beautiful flowers, birds...and then continued to the playground.





The kids all enjoyed.

Later in the day we drove up the Piney River road.
We intentionally left late in the day as we were hoping to spot wildlife during the drive and at the lake itself but we were unaware that the entrance (and probably exit too) to the lake closes at 6PM.
The drive was very very bumpy (you need a good car) but we did come across our fair share of elk deer and bears! (no moose again  )











We were relieved to be back before it got dark as there were obviously no lights on the path (literally a road in the forest) and the place was teeming with animals...

Day 7- Monday
Shrine Ridge Trail
Frisco Marina- Lake Dillon and Playground
Sapphire Point Overlook
We drove to Shrine Ridge trail and some of the adults got out to do the hike (beautiful easy trail, very scenic with lots of alpine flowers) the rest of the group just drove the remainder of the road down(Shrine Pass Road through White River National Forest) until the end of it on the other side.
It was a pretty bumpy ride. The last 3-5 miles before you get to Red Cliff is very rough with rocks sticking up and potholes, almost felt like we were driving in the wrong place to no mans land.
Was extremely scenic though with gorgeous alpine flowers...
We told the kids we were taking them jeeping with our own jeep 

After that we drove to Frisco to take a canoe on Lake Dillon.
We had the wait because it was a bit cloudy so we went to the Frisco playground until it cleared up.
The rain never came and after some time we got onto the water and had a great time there.



The kids also enjoyed playing with the sand at the beach.



On the way home we made a stop at the Sapphire Point Overlook (surreal!)




The kids also got busy there trying to feed the many chipmunks running around.



Day 8- Tuesday
Copper Mountain
Turquoise Lake
Hanging Lakes Trail
2 of the adults went to the Hanging Lakes trail- advance reservations required (it is more of a difficult hike, not for little children)
They were blown away. Beautiful hike with lots of water throughout the trail and culminates with powerful waterfalls at the summit.





The rest of the group went to Copper Mountain Resort.
We purchased the family pass for the kids which includes 4 full activity passes.
The adults were able to go along on the go-carts and coasters as passengers on the kids passes. So we were all covered with the family pass.
The alpine coaster there is the 2nd longest one in North America.
They also have go- carts, bungee trampoline, obstacle coarse, bumper boats, chairlift, zipline, mountain biking for rent and some other things to do.
Note all attractions close at 5PM sharp.

After that we drove to turquoise lake. Beautiful scenic lake.
Kids had fun throwing pebbles...



Wednesday- Day 9
Mt. Evans
On the last day of the trip we drove to Mt. Evans (advance reservations required).
It's a stunning drive with beautiful lakes on the way up. There are steep drops on the sides and it's a narrow road with no guardrails but it's worth the drive!







We saw lots of wild goats on the drive up and many more at the summit.







On the way down we stopped at echo lake for a lunch break.



After that we drove to Denver for minyan and supper (Brooklyn Pizza- was delicious!) and we were off to the airport for our flight home!
All in all was a beautiful trip that was enjoyed by all ages!

[David61]

Stunning and very helpful. Thanks!

[Gvann]

Can this get added to the colorado master thread of trip reports? This is amazing, especially for family planning! Will likely be stealing your itinerary next summer

[yungermanchik]

Can this get added to the colorado master thread of trip reports? This is amazing, especially for family planning! Will likely be stealing your itinerary next summer

Added to the wiki of Colorado Master Thread and the Master Thread of Trip Reports

[LMB]

thank you!
glad to pass the kindness forward!

[David61]

Can you drive Piney River road with a minivan? or do you need a Jeep?

[LMB]

we did it with a jeep and it was pretty bumpy
but we did see some regular cars driving the way back so I guess they were ok

[shlomooo]

@LMB stunning trip report! love all those pictures! Working on a similar  trip ( albeit shorter stay ), by Piney River rd is it this one? https://www.pineyriverranch.com/our-gallery/the-road-to-piney/

Also, what is about? is it just a nice drive in the woods?

Thanks!

[LMB]

We just did the drive to the ranch/lake
Because it was evening the entrance to the lake was closed already [but we chose that time because evening and dawn is when you have better chances of seeing wildlife]
Enjoy your trip!