traveling in colorado

Leadville is pretty dope, with quite a few great mountains in the surrounding area including Mt. Elbert. Also rich with history if that appeals to you, as they have a couple great little museums.

Also the highest incorporated town in the United States at 10,200', so kinda cool just to say you've been there.

That was on my short list.

Thanks

Glenwood Springs, soak away your injury.

Head to the Arkansas River valley and stay in Salida or Buena Vista. I would also recommend Steamboat Springs.

Steamboat Springs isn't within 3 hours, but Grand Lake is. It is on the West side of Rocky Mountain, so it gets 1/6 the visitors with twice as much water as Estes Park (and thus more moose). Winter Park is a fun town on the way. Leadville is a great area, but the town isn't much to write home about. By late June independence pass should be open, so you could drive to Aspen and be close to your 3 hour perimeter (the pass alone is worth the drive) and the Maroon Bells are worth a visit (most photographed mountains in the state). If you go to Glenwood (pretty close to your 3 hour perimeter) the hot springs are great (there are also good hot springs in Salida) and the hike to Hanging Lake is worth a visit. The towns in the upper Ark valley (Salida and Buena Vista) have a funky vibe to them and are good to visit. If you've ever wanted to try white water rafting, this is the place [recommend Browns Canyon or Bighorn Canyon for newbies (stay out of the numbers or the royal gorge)]. There are lots of opportunities.

Thanks for the tips so far--

Any good reasons to see Fort Collins?

Likely will be in Alamosa for the dunes experience. Thoughts on that town?

Agree with Leadville. Several 14ers in the area (Elbert and Massive right there and Harvard, Yale, Princeton, Columbia, La Plata, Huron, and more to the south) Plus you can eat at Qunicy's.

Lots of micro breweries in Fort Collins and Old Town is nice. Horsetooth mountain park is a good hike (so are Arthur's Rock and Grey Rock) and the reservoir is fun for water sports and has decent fishing. The Poudre canyon is neat and has decent rafting early in the summer. There are a lot of good hikes up on Cameron Pass. Mishawaka is a funky little bar up in the canyon with live music (although there tend to be a lot of dirty hippies up there).

The town of Alamosa is a pit, but the dunes are pretty neat to see once [the other side of the Sangre's are nicer if your interest is hiking (Westcliffe is a funky little town, emphasis on little, but the trails are great with very few people on them compared to the northern front range)]. Alamosa is closer to 4 hours from Denver, but Westcliffe is about 3.

[quote]joedirt wrote:

Mishawaka is a funky little bar up in the canyon with live music (although there tend to be a lot of dirty hippies up there)...[quote]

As opposed to clean ones???

Thanks.

I'd recommend Estes Park on a weekday. It's a big tourist trap on the weekends. And still kind of a tourist trap on the weekdays in the Summer. But I think it's worth it. Then go into RMNP, lots of good hikes there. Take Trail Ridge Road over the continental divide and drop into Grand Lake, which is a fun little town that always reminds me of The Great Outdoors. There are also good hikes on that side of the divide. Mt. Ida is one of my favorites.

Other people have recommended the Buena Vista area, and you can't lose there either. However, I just find the drive from Denver to Grand Lake a lot more beautiful than the drive from Denver to Buena Vista.

Is the Adams State campus worth a look? Any museums or interesting architecture?

say hello to my "Bud-Tender"

There is nothing all that extraordinary about the Adams State campus. They redid some of the athletic areas and put some dorms for the athletes adjacent to the stadium a few years back, which is nice, but other than that, the campus is not exceptional. Pretty much the least interesting campus in the state with the possible exception of UNC.

Frisco has a good feel, is cheaper, and its central location makes it a good launching pad to several other ski resorts, 14ers, trout streams, etc that you can make day trips to.

Thanks for all the ideas--

just a couple more questions:

Since it looks like I'll wind up heading south a bit, does Colorado Springs have anything I could accomplish in a four hour block have anything worth checking out?

TennesseeMatt wrote:

Head to the Arkansas River valley and stay in Salida or Buena Vista. I would also recommend Steamboat Springs.

^this^

Vastly superior to Leadville.

Colorado Springs has Garden of the Gods and Pikes Peak. Both are cool but driving up a 14er is kind of lame and personally I thought GoG was a bit overrated. If you weren't injured I'd recommend the manitou incline but won't be as much fun/challenging if you're not running it. Colorado Springs itself is kind of the worst. It's just a ton of urban sprawl and mega churches and traffic... Would definitely go to Fort Collins (schedule a New Belgium brewery tour well in advance!) and any of the other towns others have listed before the Springs.

If you have 4 hours in Springs, Garden of the Gods is worth a quick hike. Ute Valley Park is also nice if you are looking for something in town. The Cheyenne Mountain Zoo is a beautiful zoo, as is the Broadmoor facility. You could also drive into Manitou and grab a bite to eat and walk around town. Driving up to Pikes Peak and back would kill all of your time, so you wouldn't be able to do much up there other than take a picture.

thanks for the help everyone.