Visiting Colorado in July

[Jmitchelltfo]

Spending a week with my wife in Colorado. She won't consider camping, and with fibromyalgia I totally understand. So, I found an AirBnB close to Mesa Verde NP and also west of Pikes Peak around Cripple Creek to spend several days apiece. Hot tubs and comfy beds to help keep pain levels down for my wife, and hopefully we will hit some great trails along with some hiking and hot spring hunting along the way.



I definitely want to try and hit Imogene Pass while we are in the Mesa Verde area and then cross Independence Pass on the way to our second AirBnB. I'm sure we won't scratch the surface for awesome places.....but if we could make the most of our trip without doing a ton of back tracking that would be ideal.



Anyone from Colorado that can share hidden gems for hot springs or trails that might not be overly crowded in July would be greatly appreciated.

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[24Carbon150]

The two areas you named your staying are quite far apart. The term not crowded and Colorado in July in the same sentence is quite the oxymoron, that’s not a reality. I live here and everywhere you go it’s crowded. Most of the hot springs are booked up months in advance. The only advice I can give you is if your going from Mesa Verde to cripple creek the million dollar highway between Durango and silverton is a pretty scenic drive, thatll take you through Ouray (cool town sitting in spires of Rocky Mountain formations). The only other advice I can give you is bring a lot of patience , traversing the mountains that time of year will surely test them with the bazillion rv’s and travel trailers on the roads that time of year.

 

[jakearb]

The above advise is the best. There aren't many places in July that aren't swarmed. The highway I live off of southwest of Denver goes from a 15 minute drive from the grocery store to my house to a 45-60 min drive on Friday afternoons all summer because of campers and tourists. Definitely bring a lot of patience.

 

[Jmitchelltfo]

The two areas you named your staying are quite far apart. The term not crowded and Colorado in July in the same sentence is quite the oxymoron, that’s not a reality. I live here and everywhere you go it’s crowded. Most of the hot springs are booked up months in advance. The only advice I can give you is if your going from Mesa Verde to cripple creek the million dollar highway between Durango and silverton is a pretty scenic drive, thatll take you through Ouray (cool town sitting in spires of Rocky Mountain formations). The only other advice I can give you is bring a lot of patience , traversing the mountains that time of year will surely test them with the bazillion rv’s and travel trailers on the roads that time of year.

Million Dollar highway was on the route for the same day as Independence Pass.

I appreciate the input.
I will try to be patient. I got a good dose of that last October when I took my wife to Salem Mass for Halloween. We made early reservations for our tours and somehow avoided all the crazy crowds.

 

[PatchManager]

The areas that you will be driving through are beautiful. I think you would find the book below very useful for your trip. It is very well done, divided into sections, provides excellent descriptions, and will certainly show some less busy areas not easily accessible by RVs. It does include hardcore 4x4 trails, but also trails/roads that are easily accessible by your truck. If you are uncertain about a trail/road, you can often find a video on YouTube where someone as filmed their experience.

Guide to Colorado Backroads & 4-Wheel-Drive Trails (FunTreks Guidebooks)

 

[Jmitchelltfo]

The areas that you will be driving through are beautiful. I think you would find the book below very useful for your trip. It is very well done, divided into sections, provides excellent descriptions, and will certainly show some less busy areas not easily accessible by RVs. It does include hardcore 4x4 trails, but also trails/roads that are easily accessible by your truck. If you are uncertain about a trail/road, you can often find a video on YouTube where someone as filmed their experience.

Guide to Colorado Backroads & 4-Wheel-Drive Trails (FunTreks Guidebooks)

Thanks for that! I was considering another subscription to OnX. That book might be enough to take care of this trip and …….also give my wife something to do in the passenger seat besides crush candy and telework on her phone.

 

[NVRANUF]

@Jmitchelltfo

You'll be mostly in the southern part of the state... so I'd recommend:

• Swinging through Garden of the Gods (you can drive or walk around)
• And you might as well take a drive up Pikes Peak. It's something you'll never forget, and if the altitude gets to be too much on Pikes Peak, just turn around and go back down.
• The Royal Gorge Railway is also a nice ride. It just takes you up the gorge a few miles and right back to where you started so you can do it easily in a few hours.
• If you are so inclined there is also the Air Force Academy tour (Unfortunately there aren't public tours of NORAD anymore).
• There is also the U.S. Olympic Museum

 

[Jmitchelltfo]

@Jmitchelltfo

You'll be mostly in the southern part of the state... so I'd recommend:

• Swinging through Garden of the Gods (you can drive or walk around)
• And you might as well take a drive up Pikes Peak. It's something you'll never forget, and if the altitude gets to be too much on Pikes Peak, just turn around and go back down.
• The Royal Gorge Railway is also a nice ride. It just takes you up the gorge a few miles and right back to where you started so you can do it easily in a few hours.
• If you are so inclined there is also the Air Force Academy tour (Unfortunately there aren't public tours of NORAD anymore).
• There is also the U.S. Olympic Museum

Thanks for the info! I've been to Colorado and the Fort Carson area several times, but this will be my wife's first visit, so I know she will be on overload with the how big and beautiful everything is compared to the Ozarks.


We will definitely be doing the AF Academy tour, then hit the commissary for some cheaper groceries. (perks of being retired army). GoG and railway tours are hopefully going to be done early in the day so we can try to avoid the big crowds.

My wife is also into haunted/murder history stuff, so we will be taking a couple tours of mining/ghost towns.

 

[NVRANUF]

Too bad you won't be in the northern part of the State... Your wife might like the Stanley Hotel "The Shining" tour.

 

[24Carbon150]

The irony is that the Stanley hotel has nothing to do with the filming of the movie the shining, but a lot of people think that’s where it was filmed. The only tie between the Stanley hotel and the movie the shining is that Stephen King was inspired to write the Shining while staying at the Stanley…..lol

 

[OGKC]

https://www.cograilway.com/
Get your tickets now as they fill up fast for that time of year. It is a great experience. Remember the elevation change changes the temperature drastically. Shorts and t shirt at the bottom. Winter coat at the top. Or at least a jacket with some wind blocking potential.
hats very tightly fitting or with a chin strap. We lost 2 kids hats while on top a few years ago.

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