Denver Trip Advice Request

[RuperT]

My wife and I have decided to visit Denver for summer vacation, along with our 15 year old son.
So far we’re looking at staying in Lakewood, as it seems accessible to most of our areas of interest. We are expecting to spend less time in downtown than outside the city; we anticipate more time at scenic tourist activities than urban tourist activities, although we’re not hikers really. My wife is also worried about traffic downtown. Plus downtown hotels seem pricey.
The boy is crazy about trains, so we’re looking at a train trip around the Georgetown loop, or Royal Gorge. We’re leaning toward the latter I think, as Canon City seems to be interesting.
Colorado Springs also seems to have cool things to check out. Maybe it won’t hail again...
I’ve seen some mention of renting a car away from the airport to save money, but we worry about making the flight, and it seems like the airport’s far enough that Uber would take a decent bite of the savings.
Any recommendations would be most welcome; hotels, destinations, restaurants (Jets is on the list).
Thanks fOOlks.

[gilraen]

Our airport is in the middle of nowhere. Up to you if you want to mess with Uber or just rent at the airport (although I know that the rental prices in town are way cheaper, but I guess it depends on the type of car and what kind of deal you can find online).

From what you are describing - you don't want to be downtown. You just want to be close to a major highway.

Royal Gorge Bridge & Park are really cool, I haven't done the railroad - I know it's a longer ride than Georgetown Loop, and the train is more modern. With either trip, you get to see mountain scenery that you can't see any other way, so it's really cool (but I like mountains more than I care about trains, YMMV )

There are always summer concerts and events happening in mountain towns - most are 1.5-2 hrs away, so not too bad of a day trip. You'd have to check your specific vacation dates. There are plenty of easy hiking options - or you can just take the gondola up the mountain in Keystone or Breckenridge and enjoy the view.

Colorado Springs - I'm the only person in my family that apparently somehow missed out on visiting Garden of the Gods, but it's supposed to be awesome

[MonkeyFinger]

Well, the Royal Gorge is nice and they have an amusement park there out there by Canon City. Burned down a bit several years ago but all rebuilt now. For a boy that's crazy about trains though, I'd seriously consider the Georgetown Loop. It's a cool old steam train, goes through awesome mountain scenery, doesn't last "too long" and from what I recall is reasonably priced. The Gorge train is modern, longer trip, more like a train you'd take cross-country. Pricey food if you eat dinner on it but it is a nice treat / experience, something reminiscent of olden days. But you are just down at the bottom on a gorge running along a river, so keep that in mind. Plenty of large viewing windows for that, however.

The walking bridge is cool over the gorge, think I still have bruises on my arm from my wife crushing it, not looking down the whole way. Then we took the gondola back, which was packed. Had a moment half way over where an older lady asked the guide "How far down is it?" He answered "About eight and a half seconds, ma'am". She about passed out.

[Zaxxon]

Aside from the old loops, if you want to combine trains and mountains there's a train up to the top of Pike's Peak in Co Springs.

Breckenridge is a favorite mountain town of ours, and it's not terribly difficult to get to from Denver.

Mount Evans Scenic Byway can be a fun drive to the top of a 14er. If you want to hike up, you can bag Grays and Torreys together as novice-friendly mountains.

[MonkeyFinger]

The Cog Railway? They shut it down after last year, it be no more. Can't afford the upkeep after what, 128 years of operation?

[Zaxxon]

Bah. I should have checked. That's a shame.

[MonkeyFinger]

Yay, totally sucks. We've been up it several times, great tourist showcase, even if last time when my daughter came out we didn't make it all the way to the top. Too much snow up there! They thought they could clear it in time but we were an early train and no such luck.

[Isgrimnur]

Cog Railway

After 126 years of operation, The Pikes Peak Cog Railway has decided not to reopen this spring for the 2018 season, or for the foreseeable future. Over the past several months, the railroad has undergone a major evaluation and it has been determined that the infrastructure and equipment has run its course. The railroad is in the process of determining next steps and action plans for the future. For further information, please check back periodically; you may also add your name to our e-mail list by sending a message to info@cograilway.com..

[Skinypupy]

If you make it down to the Springs, Garden of the Gods is very cool. As is the Air Force Academy visitors center and chapel, assuming they still allow civilians (been a long time since I’ve visited).

And you can always visit the Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame while you’re there!

[Isgrimnur]

I was able to visit the chapel when I went to the Academy six years ago. The basement area was roped off, but the main area was open.

[Unagi]

If your kid is into trains - I can't recommend enough:

http://www.durangotrain.com/

The Durango & Silverton


Check it out - it's worth the trip up I70 into the mountains. Don't go all the way to Denver with a kid that's super into trains and miss this.

[MonkeyFinger]

If your kid is into trains - I can't recommend enough:

http://www.durangotrain.com/

The Durango & Silverton

Check it out - it's worth the trip up I70 into the mountains. Don't go all the way to Denver with a kid that's super into trains and miss this.

Argh, forgot about that one! Totally awesome indeed. Heads up to Silverton where you spend some time before heading back down. Around half of the cars are open and half enclosed from what I recall. And since it winds around with the river through the canyon, there are times on curves where you can see the entire length of the train.

When we rode it, we had spent the previous day hiking in Mesa Verde, in shorts and sweating. Awesome place, btw. Drove to Durango that evening and booked the train for the next morning. Walked over to the station for the early morning depature and it started to snow... something hardly anyone on the train was prepared for. Fought off hypothermia on the way up and when the train emptied we all almost cleaned the town out of souvenir sweatshirts. Was able to stay fully awake on the trip back down.

[RuperT]

Thank you for all the replies. My wife’s a champ at research, and your responses bear out much of what she’s found. Mount Evans Scenic Hwy was something she hadn’t found yet (her Colorado Fodors Guide arrived today, though, so it was only a matter of time ).
It’s a real bummer we missed the Cog, and sadly the Durango is closed until at least July for fires, and we’re in town June 22-27. Breckinridge is also risky now, I think.
I’m looking forward to visiting Colorado again. I spent a Christmas at Estes Park once; we saw Private Eyes in the theater. There was a disappointing lack of snow, and I got sick on Creme de Menthe brownies.
Thanks again,
Rob

[Xmann]

Just be aware that Mountains Evans is 14,000+ ft at its peak. The drive up can be nerve wracking and you could get some mild elevation sickness such as a headache and just feeling crappy. Same thing if you decide to go up Pikes Peak.

I'm a huge fan of Eagle and Vail. This time of year walking around Vail Village is fun and they have summer concerts and different activities going on all the time. Nearby Avon has some nice craft breweries and decent restaurants.

Same can be said about Winter Park and further down the road at Steamboat Springs.

Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs is a great spot to spend an afternoon if you find yourself in that direction.

Downtown Golden is a favorite of my wife and I. Granted we always go through the Coors Factory tour first and get some free beer, but a stroll downtown is fun too.

Pearl Street Mall in Boulder is fun and the sights are good for people watching. The Celestial Tea Factory is a good time and great tour if you are in Boulder.

If Boulder is on your list, head to Nederland. Really cool small mountain town with frozen dead guy (look it up), nice craft brewery, couple good local restaurants, and unique town to walk through.

This time of year is great for any of the mountain towns because of festivals. Always something happening on weekends.

And lastly, Red Rocks. The top of the amphitheatre is beautiful and walking around the visitor center and looking at all the artists who have performed there is pretty cool.

Sent from my Galaxy S9 using Tapatalk

[Jeff V]

(Jets is on the list).

Oh hell no! How in the world did anyone from Colorado let this pass? They serve it at the food stands at my local water park...to say it's below average food service dreck would be a complement.

You should be able to find a terrific restaurant that makes their own, good beer 3 meals per day for however many days you are there. It's what you do in Denver when not climbing mountains.

[EvilHomer3k]

My wife has been to Colorado 4 times now. I've been twice. Even if you don't like hiking, go to St. Mary's Glacier. It is not far from Denver, the hike is short, and the view is fantastic. Of all the places my wife and I have been the view at St Mary's was the best and the hike was the shortest (it is pretty much straight up the mountain though). If you are willing, you can climb up further than most and the view gets even better.

As was stated, the drives up to the peaks can be quite nerve wracking. You look down and see a drop of several thousand feet. It's not really dangerous unless you mess up but seeing it can be quite off putting unless you are used to it.

Golden is a lovely place. A stroll downtown in Golden is a very enjoyable time. Visit Bob's Atomic Burgers. They don't sell beer but it's still worth the visit (which is very high praise from me).

Any brewery tour is usually a fun time if you like beer. Even if you don't seeing what goes into beer production can be fun.

Another great place to go is Red Rock. Even without going to a concert it's one of the highlights in Denver. It's less hiking than you'll get in many places but still a decent amount.

[Zaxxon]

Second the St Mary's rec. It's awesome, as well.

[RuperT]

Hey, I thought I saw Jets mentioned as a decent local pizza place, but maybe it was a warning huh? I hesitate to even bring up such a contentious subject as pizza.
I wish I enjoyed beer, dammit.

[Zaxxon]

If you want to try 'Colorado' pizza, go to Beau Jo's in Idaho Springs. As a Chicago native, it's not my thing. But it's also not terrible.

[EvilHomer3k]

I loved the Colorado style pizza at Beau Jo's. It's different than Chicago, Detroit, and New York style but I think it's great. My wife even brought me home some this weekend (she went to Red Rocks to see Bryan Adams with her mom).

Another eating recommendation. One morning, skip the breakfast places and get yourself a gas station breakfast burrito. We had them at several different places and they were good at every single one. Some were better than others but I never had one that I didn't like.