by The Backseat View
Surviving a Colorado national park road trip requires snacks, planning, and enduring smells that even rolled-down windows can’t blow out. Chasing new Epic adventures in nature, time with your family, and escaping crowds make it worth every mile.
This 12-day Colorado road trip, starts and ends in Denver, hitting the Rocky Mountains, Pikes Peak, Garden of the Gods, Great Sand Dunes National Park, Durango, Mesa Verde National Park, Telluride, Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, Aspen, Red Rock Amphitheater and three zoos.
Surviving leaking coolers, no phone service, and backseat drivers means focusing on the new experiences ahead, like racing down a sand mountain and meeting a moose.
Go for the mountains, Stay for the Memories!
DENVER
Arriving in Denver means a day of flight travel, rental car pick up, and checking into The Curtis Hotel. The Curtis Hotel has different themes for every floor, with the 13th floor being Horror.
Any downtown hotel within walking distance of Coor’s Field, 16th Street Mall, historic Larimer Square, and Union Station provides delicious food and entertainment options. Coor’s Field sells $20 standing-room-only baseball tickets and has a delightful strawberry banana snack dipped in chocolate that’s worth the price of admission. Cheering on the home team in a friendly, safe community environment was the perfect way to experience Denver.
Strolling Larimer Square at night with the historic buildings, lights twinkling overhead, and restaurant aromas filling the air was enchanting. Larimer Square is the perfect place to experience the magic of Denver. Denver could entertain for days, but after breakfast, road trips travel on.
The Wild Animal Sanctuary
The Wild Animal Sanctuary in Keenesburg has an aerial mile platform to search for lions, bears, jaguars, and tigers. The animals had over a thousand acres to roam, so they were hard to spot even with rented binoculars. We stayed for hours in the windy air, glassing the fields for lions.
ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK
Leave the world behind and experience the majestic wonder of the Rocky Mountains. Driving the 48 miles of Trail Ridge Road to the Alpine Visitor Center delivers astonishing snow-capped mountain views, alpine lakes, craggy canyons, forests, and flowering meadows. The forest road climbs to the sky through the tundra onto the mountain peaks. Welcome to the chilly land of extremes, so bring a sweatshirt even in summer.
Dreamy mountains can make you feel small and fill you with AWE, as every view inspires you.
While the views steal your breath, or maybe that’s the high altitude and lack of oxygen, the munching moose, grazing elk, and silly marmots steal your heart.
Bear Lake Road
Before breathing in the peace and tranquility of hiking on Bear Lake Road, you need a timed entrance Park Access + Bear Lake Road access permit. The most popular hikes are on Bear Lake Road, so the competition is steep when the permits are released on May 1st at Recreation.gov. The Rocky Mtn National Park Guide deals with the permits, shuttle, hiking, and lodging information.
The Bear, Nymph, and Dream Lake hike is the crowd favorite, best-rated 2 miles of hiking in the park. It is the perfect family hike with views of snowcapped mountains surrounding alpine lakes unless you forget the OFF and get swarmed by the mosquitos living there. Teenagers with access to big lakes are not impressed with these “ponds” and prefer to hike the 2-mile trail beside the lakes, Alberta Falls. The temperamental mountain released booming, bone-rattling afternoon thunderstorms that sent us running back to Estes Park.
Estes Park
Estes Park is a delightful, old-school, original western town providing access to the Rocky Mountains. Estes Park has the best unique independent stores selling mountain gear, t-shirts, and hand-made wildlife décor. The smell of taffy covers the streets as amazing candy displays capture your attention on an afternoon stroll. I love this refreshing, welcoming town that reminded me of old Gatlinburg.
As sunset approaches, nature calls you to applaud the striking colors painting the meadows.
Leaving the soul-settling peace and tranquility of the mountains, even for the next stop on the Colorado national park road trip is hard.
MANITOU SPRINGS
Buckets of charm were poured onto Manitou Springs and next-door Colorado Springs, combined with limitless nature experiences, makes you want to vacation here all week or move here.
Garden of the Gods
The Garden of the Gods is free, so the massive crowd level impacts your awe-inspiring red rock natural experience. This is a 1-2 hour stop, depending on how long you search for parking. Use overflow parking instead of circling ten parking lots. A few one-mile, well-marked paved trails weave around the rocks. Visit in the early morning or late afternoon for a peaceful visit.
Pike’s Peak
Pike’s Peak is 19 miles straight into the clouds to over 14,000 feet elevation. The views at the top are heart-stopping from beauty or fear, that’s your choice. I’ll NEVER drive a car up this mountain again to experience burning brakes, an overheating engine, or cars swerving into my lane to avoid the nauseating drop-off of 14,000 feet.
Next time, I’ll try the Pike’s Peak Cog Railway train for this 2.5-hour stop. Reserve timed entrance and parking tickets in advance. While visiting the wild, inspiring beauty known as “America’s Mountain” brings inspirational views, it swarms with commercialism.
Downtown Manitou Springs
Manitou Springs is heart-warming with imaginative shops selling Bigfoot, leprechaun, old fashioned candy, and bear items. Being founded in 1872, the town has preserved the Victoria and rustic homes along the streets. Experience the historical architecture of the Miramont Castle during tours and tea time. Restaurants line the streets offering every meal choice imaginable.
Grab an ice cream and stroll the sidewalk art displays from gigantic lightbulbs, statues, and colorful rock chairs for the perfect end to the day. We stayed within walking distance at the Villa Motel at Manitou Springs to avoid parking struggles.
CHEYENNE MOUNTAIN ZOO
Opening the doors to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo in Colorado Springs brings immediate laughter. A horde of giraffe greeters steal lettuce straight from your hands. The grizzly bear entertains while swimming through yoga stretches and studying the toddlers pressed against the glass. Funny goats turn wheels to work for moving snacks. Laughter surrounds this zoo with entertaining happy animals.
Delicious barbeque and pizza with fantastic mountain views make the restaurants worth the money for lunch.
The real gem that makes this one of the best U.S. zoos is the personal interaction of feeding elephants and rhinos for $10. Line up 30 minutes before feeding time with cash. Cheyenne is worth a half-day on any itinerary, so buy timed entrance tickets a couple of weeks ahead.
Leaving with Cave of the Winds, Manitou Cliff Dwellings, and Seven Falls left to experience is hard, but it’s time to sled at the next stop on this Colorado national park road trip.
THE GREAT SAND DUNES
WOW, OH, WOW!! How am I in a sand dune a few hours later? What is this place? Sledding from a mountainous sand dune requires ALL your courage and a little insanity. Watching all the sweet families on the bunny slopes turn ant-sized as we climbed the sand mountain only increased my injury anxiety. Y’all, we laughed so hard at each other crashing on the sand, and it was harmless. Sand Sledding is a wild ride!
Bring sunglasses and a neck gaiter to keep sand out of your nose as you soar down the mountain. The sand can be hot, so we sledded after 4 p.m. A small creek comes and goes between the dunes and the parking lot, so wear waterproof shoes. We reserved our sleds at Kristi Mountain Sports in Alamosa, convenient to returning the sleds at the hotel next door to our Hampton Inn.
DURANGO
The next stop is Durango, the classic Wild West historical town that delivers a positive punch with trendy new shops. Deer and buffalo heads line the walls in authentic Western shops. As I moseyed up historic Main Avenue, I had to stop and stare at the 19th-century, ornate buildings. The train museum provides the perfect educational stroll through the past. I wish I had more time for a train ride to Silverton along the Million Dollar Highway.
MESA VERDE NATIONAL PARK
Mesa Verde is a sacred World Heritage Site preserving the 700-year-old community of the Pueblo people built on a cliff. The Pueblo climbed a mountain with kids and supplies on their backs to build a home on the side of the cliff; it’s impressive. Tickets for the Cliff Palace and Balcony House tours go on sale 14 days in advance at recreation.gov and are in high demand.
With less than 200 people a day getting a dwelling tour, that leaves 2,000 daily visitors to educate themselves in the visitor center. The park is over 82 square miles, translating into an average of 3 hours of driving to experience the park views. After a bit of history, we finally arrived in Telluride.
TELLURIDE
Telluride is the crown jewel of Colorado and the best small town in America. Telluride is REAL, with locals planning parades, asking, “Where are you from?” and horses trotting by on the main street.
It’s refreshing.
Telluride visitors have the Mountain Village with gondola rides in and out of Telluride. The Mountain Village has all the cars and visitor lodging, allowing Telluride to stay original. There’s something about taking a gondola to the Village Market that feels like a dream. The condos and hotels are closer to the free gondola than the homes in Mountain Village.
It’s the welcome feeling at the bakery, Baked in Telluride, with locals, including you, telling you what to try. It’s hearing “HEY ALABAMA!!” yelled across the Brown Dog Pizza restaurant by a friend you made earlier. Telluride is dog heaven. Dogs shop the stores, enjoy treats, and ride the gondola on their family vacations.
After two days, Telluride feels like HOME. Plans to hike, ride mountain bike trails, and float the creek were abandoned to soak in the mountain views.
Bridal Veil Falls
Bridal Veil Falls is the most popular 2-mile hike at the edge of town, with three waterfalls surrounded by mountain peaks. Arrive early to avoid the crowds and prepare for a muddy waterfall area.
I want to live in a dog-run fairytale town with flowering window boxes and have breakfast at the bakery. Telluride FOREVER will live in my dreams and be a part of my soul. I don’t want to leave, so I’m stomping to the Black Canyon of the Gunnison, the next stop on this Colorado national park road trip.
BLACK CANYON OF THE GUNNISON NATIONAL PARK
The roaring of the river and the cliff views of the canyon are impressive and a little frightening. The cliffs are steep and deep, and the canyon is narrow. That’s 8,000 feet down, and nobody thinks we need a fence on this trail or a guardrail on the road. We have been stuck in the car too long on each other’s nerves for me to enjoy the edge of an 8,000-foot cliff with teenage boys. One accidental shove and someone’s going over, so no cliff trail hikes today. This 2-hour stop is over. Surviving a road trip means knowing when to turn the car around and head to Aspen.
ASPEN
Iconic Aspen is elegant, ritzy, and classy, with the best luxury living. The shops are as famous as the town, with Gucci, Versace, Prada, Louis Vuitton, and Valentino. Wedding-type flower arches adorn the shop doors, while art galleries and statues line the streets. Five Star restaurant dining with a semi-formal dress code defines Aspen. Paradise Bakery is the center of the town, with everyone gathering for ice cream, cookies, and live music.
It felt like visiting a movie set with tourists renting extravagant houses and the store workers bused in from nearby towns. A 5-lane highway runs through the city, making constant noise with all those buses. The Tyrolean Lodge is the most affordable place to stay, and we loved the free bikes, small kitchen, and location in the middle of town.
The Rio Grande Trail with bike rentals at Aspen Bike Tours & Rentals follows the Roaring Fork River and is perfect for a bike ride or walk. Ashcroft is a ghost town located outside town in the most beautiful meadow for touring the days gone by.
Hiking the famous Maroon Bells to Crater Lake with the mountain reflecting into the lake and the deer wandering by was my favorite 3-mile hike. Buy parking spot reservations for early-morning hikers or ride the shuttle bus starting around 8 a.m.
The Lower Hunter Creek Trail in town has bridges, huge rocks, and a rushing creek without much elevation, so it’s my guy’s favorite hike.
I enjoyed a peak into the movie star’s Aspen vacation town, but we were ready to head into Denver.
There’s no tired like Colorado national park ROAD TRIP TIRED, so a quick stop at the Red Rocks Amphitheater and the Denver Zoo, then Hello Delta! Thank you for reading my Colorado Road Trip Guide.
You have to visit to fall in LOVE with Colorado!
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