slisk250
Straight Flush
Raft the Royal Gorge. There are options that are safe for the kids.
Colorado vacation suggestions (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter IaHawk
- Start date
Our go-to Mexican used to be the Mission Bell. I see it's now Cactus Cantina -- any good? Thanks...
(My wife grew up a couple of blocks from the Broadmoor...)
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Mr. Cheese
Full House
The Air Force Academy is interesting to see and Pikes Peak is always cool to drive up.
If you're in Fort Collins, I'd also recommend Coopersmith's Pub and Brewery. Good food, plus they make some great dark brews, like Raven's Tail (Tale? I forget which...) Ale. (Or at least they did a couple of years ago...)
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Less so now that's it's paved all the way, though.
The cooler part is driving down, if you know what you're doing. There's a checkpoint part way down where you have to stop and they eyeball your brakes to see if you're in danger of losing them, and make you take a break (npi) if they need to cool down first...
Mr. Cheese
Full House
Oh that's a bummer. I think I was there last in 2007 or 2008 when there was still some gravel. Manual transmission and engine braking for the win on the way down
fish72s
Flush
If you can't ever make it to see real, wild Alligators, you can see them here :
http://www.coloradogators.com/
I've driven by this place dozens of times but never gone in.
http://www.coloradogators.com/
I've driven by this place dozens of times but never gone in.
One Eyed Dollar
Flush
Tons of great ideas in here so far! Whatever you manage to fit in, it will be a great trip. My kids are about the same age (8&11) so I'll try to throw in some ideas for stuff that they like too.
Boulder
I agree that the Celestial Seasonings tour is fun (and free!) and totally worth it for the mint room alone.
The Fiske Planetarium is also really neat if your kids like space, and there's often a Groupon deal for it.
Motomaki is one of my favorite places to eat up there. Sushi burritos are great!
Estes Park
I agree that the Fall River Road is a great drive through RMNP. Is your 10-year-old in 4th grade? If so, you can get a free national parks pass: https://everykidinapark.gov/ The Junior Ranger program is cool too. The Alluvial Fan is a fun place to climb around the rocks and play in the water.
Definitely take the Peak-to-Peak scenic highway on the way there. You can also make it a loop and go out the west side of the park and down through Grand Lake and Winter Park to get back to I-70. This adds some drive time but you get to see some more scenery. And you can stop in Idaho Springs at the original BeauJo's location for some Colorado style pizza. We love their food and that location is in a cool old building.
Denver
The Denver Zoo is fine but personally I don't find it to be that unique or special. I'd probably pick the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo over it just because the setting is so different.
The Denver Children's Museum is a great place to wear the kids out. They have a cool new outdoor area opening soon that looks awesome.
The REI flagship store is just down the road from there and worth a visit. It also overlooks Confluence Park where the Platte River and Cherry Creek come together. You'll see a lot of people playing in the water there and riding inner tubes. And right next to it is My Brother's Bar which has some of the best burgers in town. Then walk up the hill to Little Man Ice Cream.
Definitely check out Red Rocks. Walk around and see the museum.
Edit: if your kids like dinosaurs there are several good spots near Red Rocks to see: the Morrison Natural History Museum and Dinosaur Ridge. Lots of fossils in that area!
Colorado Springs
My kids like the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo a lot.
Garden of the Gods is great and there are some places where the kids can climb on some rocks and have fun.
We like Manitou Springs a lot too. Cave of the Winds is neat if you like cave tours (I really like caves). Keep an eye out for Man-Bear-Pig! There are some cool cliff dwellings nearby too (they're a recreation, not authentic, but the nice part about that is that you can climb all around in them unlike Mesa Verde): https://www.cliffdwellingsmuseum.com/
Pikes Peak is a great view and worth the drive up.
Have fun!
Boulder
I agree that the Celestial Seasonings tour is fun (and free!) and totally worth it for the mint room alone.
The Fiske Planetarium is also really neat if your kids like space, and there's often a Groupon deal for it.
Motomaki is one of my favorite places to eat up there. Sushi burritos are great!
Estes Park
I agree that the Fall River Road is a great drive through RMNP. Is your 10-year-old in 4th grade? If so, you can get a free national parks pass: https://everykidinapark.gov/ The Junior Ranger program is cool too. The Alluvial Fan is a fun place to climb around the rocks and play in the water.
Definitely take the Peak-to-Peak scenic highway on the way there. You can also make it a loop and go out the west side of the park and down through Grand Lake and Winter Park to get back to I-70. This adds some drive time but you get to see some more scenery. And you can stop in Idaho Springs at the original BeauJo's location for some Colorado style pizza. We love their food and that location is in a cool old building.
Denver
The Denver Zoo is fine but personally I don't find it to be that unique or special. I'd probably pick the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo over it just because the setting is so different.
The Denver Children's Museum is a great place to wear the kids out. They have a cool new outdoor area opening soon that looks awesome.
The REI flagship store is just down the road from there and worth a visit. It also overlooks Confluence Park where the Platte River and Cherry Creek come together. You'll see a lot of people playing in the water there and riding inner tubes. And right next to it is My Brother's Bar which has some of the best burgers in town. Then walk up the hill to Little Man Ice Cream.
Definitely check out Red Rocks. Walk around and see the museum.
Edit: if your kids like dinosaurs there are several good spots near Red Rocks to see: the Morrison Natural History Museum and Dinosaur Ridge. Lots of fossils in that area!
Colorado Springs
My kids like the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo a lot.
Garden of the Gods is great and there are some places where the kids can climb on some rocks and have fun.
We like Manitou Springs a lot too. Cave of the Winds is neat if you like cave tours (I really like caves). Keep an eye out for Man-Bear-Pig! There are some cool cliff dwellings nearby too (they're a recreation, not authentic, but the nice part about that is that you can climb all around in them unlike Mesa Verde): https://www.cliffdwellingsmuseum.com/
Pikes Peak is a great view and worth the drive up.
Have fun!
I live in Loveland so Estes and Fort Collins are right in my neighborhood.
Estes Park: Another vote for driving Fall River Road. Then have some chili at the visitors center and watch the marmots through the scenic windows. I don't have kids, but we have had visitors that have done a horseback ride and enjoyed it. We also like to rent kayaks at the Estes Lake marina and paddle around the lake. I can also give you some of our favorite restaurants (off the typical tourist path) if you'd like. We also love to do hikes in the Bear Lake area in RMNP - it can get busy if you don't get there early - but the crowds start thinning the further you hike from the parking lot. And there are a couple of good mini-golf parks with good mountain views if you're into mini golf - a good visitors with fams activity.
Fort Collins: Do you like beer? Besides the big boy New Belgium and Odell breweries (great tour at NB, great patio at Odell) there are dozens of smaller breweries that are doing very interesting things. Some of my favorites are Funkwerks (saisons), Snowbank, Horse & Dragon (great coffee stout), Maxline (great everything), Scrumpy's for hard ciders... really soooo many options. It's also totally corporate but the Budweiser plant does have a great patio with baggo for the kids, descent food - and since they're part of the InBev megacorp there are better beer options than you might think (Space Dust, Goose Island, etc) - plus sometimes the Clydesdales are in the barn which is pretty cool. Downtown Fort Collins is also a pretty good stop with lots of non-chain boutiques and restaurants in older brick buildings.
Estes Park: Another vote for driving Fall River Road. Then have some chili at the visitors center and watch the marmots through the scenic windows. I don't have kids, but we have had visitors that have done a horseback ride and enjoyed it. We also like to rent kayaks at the Estes Lake marina and paddle around the lake. I can also give you some of our favorite restaurants (off the typical tourist path) if you'd like. We also love to do hikes in the Bear Lake area in RMNP - it can get busy if you don't get there early - but the crowds start thinning the further you hike from the parking lot. And there are a couple of good mini-golf parks with good mountain views if you're into mini golf - a good visitors with fams activity.
Fort Collins: Do you like beer? Besides the big boy New Belgium and Odell breweries (great tour at NB, great patio at Odell) there are dozens of smaller breweries that are doing very interesting things. Some of my favorites are Funkwerks (saisons), Snowbank, Horse & Dragon (great coffee stout), Maxline (great everything), Scrumpy's for hard ciders... really soooo many options. It's also totally corporate but the Budweiser plant does have a great patio with baggo for the kids, descent food - and since they're part of the InBev megacorp there are better beer options than you might think (Space Dust, Goose Island, etc) - plus sometimes the Clydesdales are in the barn which is pretty cool. Downtown Fort Collins is also a pretty good stop with lots of non-chain boutiques and restaurants in older brick buildings.
bsdunbar1
4 of a Kind
Don’t forget “Casa Bonita” in Denver!!
View attachment 263897
(Real place, made “infamous” by South Park.....)
OMG NOOOOO. My niece lives in Denver and every time we go there she tries to drag me to that place.
In all honesty though it is a cool place for kids.
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