To answer above - have 8-9 days, certainly driving will be necessary but with two little kids who haven’t driven anywhere in over a year we don’t want to overdo it. Plan on doing easy hikes, whatever interesting sites/cultural things we can find (Mesa Verde looks neat), maybe hot air balloon or non-white water rafting, etc. Most of the more adventure-sports type stuff won’t work with kids. Maybe rent bikes if there are easy paved trails for the bike rider kid.
Mesa Verde is very cool and a simple hike that would be no problem for kids. There is an old narrow gauge train from Durango to Silverton that the kids would probably love.
We spent about half a day wandering around Mesa Verde during our trip two years ago. I agree with the above. Pretty cool. If you do go there, I suggest you make reservations for the guided tours. When we were there, there were several hikes restricted to the park’s guided tours only. You’ll also want to start early (before 9am) because it’s a slow drive up to the top where the trailheads are. It would take a solid two days to see most of the park.
The train ride to Silverton that Paul McCourt mentioned is fun - for about an hour… It’s not very comfortable, so if you do that trip, you might consider a one-way train ride and shuttle the other direction.
If you do visit Colo, and stay in one of the high elevation cities, be prepared to get winded - a lot. I’m in better shape than most, but where I live, it’s basically sea level. When I was wondering about Breckenridge, I was taking breaks and wondering what the hell was happening to me, and that was after being above 6000’ elevation for a good week. I suspect it would take a solid two weeks before getting acclimated to the 8000-9000’ areas.
In Montana, one of the prettiest places on earth (IMHO) is the Glacier National Park. You could fly into Missoula, then head that way. There are places to stay in the Park, but you could stay in Kalispell or Whitefish too. The whole area from Missoula to Whitefish, and south through the Seely-Swan Valley is stunning (I lived in Seely Lake for several years).
I just looked at the Park’s website, and it looks like they will start taking online reservations for entry April 29.
Mesa Verde is well worth it and as mentioned above, the guided tour is the way to go.
I concur, Saxon definitely sucks. ![[snort.gif]](/uploads/db3686/original/2X/b/bdc3944606213c4dca6c1169cf0a166c8bc4f8c9.gif "snort.gif"){kind=small}
1 Like
Only LOSERS hang out in Telluride.
1 Like
As mentioned above, June weather in Wyoming often sees 40 degree swings in temps, with wet, heavy snow thrown in just for good measure (fwiw, I live in Cheyenne and have lived in Wyoming since 1979). So, expect this and pack accordingly (lots of cold or cooler weather clothing “layers” available for each of you, including clothing designed to keep you dry - nothing more miserable for many folks than being wet and cold).
As also mentioned, our national parks likely will be slammed this summer. I understand from my Glacier NP Facebook group that Glacier NP is instituting a “reservation” system for traveling Going to the Sun Road (the only road that actually traverses the entire Park). I think I read a similar approach being taken in Rocky Mountain NP (Colorado) this summer. I am not sure whether Grand Teton or Gellystone NPs are doing something similar, but start looking at their websites. We actually already have reservations in cabins at Colter Bay, in GTNP, for mid-June, for three nights. We made the reservations a couple of months ago, and spots were going fast. I think lodging actually in (within those parks’ boundaries) either Gellystone and Glacier tends to be fully booked further in advance than, say, Grand Teton NP, but again, they all tend to book well in advance. One option available to those of us living relatively “near” these National Parks is to remain flexible and call the reservations system in the Park within a week or two of wanting to travel to them to book lodging where someone who previously booked since has canceled, opening up the room or cabin. That really probably isn’t an option for you.
Finally, have you considered looking at Air B and Bs or other similar rentals in anyone of the mountain towns in Colorado or Montana (both states tend to have been June weather than Wyoming). Towns like Montrose CO - even though many would not consider a “mountain” town, can put you closer to the mountains and far away from the “crowds” you find in the “front range” of Colorado and in a place that will very much feel like you are hanging out in the Rocky Mountain west. From a place like Montrose, you can drive to some of the neat Utah country, and lots of neat Colorado country. You can get up to Glenwood Springs and their huge hot springs pool the kids likely would enjoy. So many options, in all directions. Good luck and have fun!!
I’ve been dreaming of going to the mountains for several years, but my whole family loves the sea, so… I have to sacrifice my desires for them. I love my wife and children very much and I can easily choose what they like best, because I am always happy when they are happy. For example, I know that my wife dreams of staying at the Jungle Vista Hotel, but she doesn’t talk about it, because she worries that it will be too expensive for me. But I am glad that I found out about her desire and that she is so worried about me, so I will surprise her for the Christmas and we will fly there to rest. Don’t think that I’m henpecked, just the key to a good family is taking care of each other without waiting for something in return
Just returned from Zion national park. Beautiful park. Great hiking ( particularly with little kids). Many of the hikes have paved trails. Saw many children on the hikes. Seemed to be plenty of hotel vacancies in town of Springdale (gateway into park).
Highly recommend!