Mile-high fun in Colorado
Colorado’s reputation as a fourseason destination was well known to us, but experiencing three in one day came as a spectacular surprise on the last day of a nine-day road trip in late September.
The autumn colours that surrounded the ski resort town of Breckenridge when we set out transformed into a winter wonderland crossing the mountainous terrain. Before reaching Denver, we mingled with bare-limbed fitness buffs at the iconic Red Rocks Amphitheatre and enjoyed a summery patio lunch in charming Morrison.
Armed with insider information, as guests of Colorado Tourism Office, our travel adventure ranged from trendy eateries and museums in the Mile High City to cowboy culture on a horseback ride at Estes Park’s Sombrero Ranch. Arriving in Denver to uncommonly cool weather (5-10 C), our attire went from a tuque and three hoodies to swimsuits lolling in the sweet Strawberry Park Hot Springs of Steamboat Springs.
Here’s a day-by-day look at our journey:
DAY 1
Following a three-hour flight from Detroit to Denver, we board a convenient bus transfer from the airport to the city’s vehicle rental hub of a dozen operators.
Accommodation is at the new/ old, hotel-meets-art gallery Maven Hotel in downtown Denver, a stone’s throw from Coors Field.
We’re greeted at the hotel lobby by a giant hand hanging from the ceiling and a full-size Airstream trailer repurposed as a food takeout. The eclectic, 172-room Maven is the cream of Denver’s formerly industrial LoDo, or Lower Downtown neighbourhood. The building, which is still under development, used to be a dairy.
Walking the colourful neighbourhood, we discover Rockmount Ranch Wear, the iconic, authentic western clothing shop famed for being the first to replace shirt buttons with snaps, proves fun shopping and a bonus cowboy-fashion history lesson.
Union Station stands out as the neighbourhood’s centrepiece. While a working Amtrak station whisking visitors to ski country, it’s been transformed into a hotelbar-restaurant hub that makes it a lively spot. We grab pre-dinner cocktails at the mezzanine-level Cooper Lounge and dine a few blocks away at TAG, known for its cross-cultural culinary prowess.
DAY 2
We return to Union Station’s bustling Snooze for breakfast including a Brewmosa, a blend of craft Belgian-style wheat beer and fresh orange juice.
A free shuttle bus on downtown’s 16th Street takes us to the Denver Art Museum, where a native exhibit is outstanding. Next-door is the intriguing Canadian-content Clyfford Still Museum. Still, who spent his boyhood in Alberta, was one of America’s first abstract impressionist painters who, upon his death, instructed that his remaining works either be destroyed or kept together in a single museum.
The nearby gardens of the state capitol prove a pleasant diversion. Dinner is at the Acorn within the Source, a lively artisan food market in an 1880 brick foundry building.
DAY 3
Time to roll through rock cuts, thick evergreen forests and snowcapped mountains. We spot a dozen fly-fishermen in roadside streams and encounter countless curves during the 100-kilometre route northwest of Denver via Boulder and scenic Route 7 to the pretty foothills town of Estes Park. Fans of The Shining know it as the reallife home of the Stanley Hotel and paranormal tales are numerous.
We enjoy the historical ambience at the beautiful Crag’s Lodge as well as its outdoor hot tub, a soothing reward following a sometimes rocky horseback ride at Sombrero Ranch.
DAY 4
Stunning Rocky Mountain National Park is Estes Park’s main attraction. Busy year round, it is best to enter early for parking or catch the hiker shuttle bus to trailheads. We start easy with the Bear Lake trail, which circles a small lake and is a favourite of families, seniors and shutterbugs.
Next it’s the more challenging and uphill 3.5-kilometre (round trip) Dream Lake hike culminating in a spectacular scene much like a miniature Lake Louise.
Este Park’s annual two-day Elk Fest is a few days away but area elk grant us and other tourists close encounters crossing the road.
DAY 5
If Colorado is the cradle of craft beer, then surely Fort Collins is its mecca.
Colorado is home to 300 craft breweries and Fort Collins is home to dozens including two of the most iconic, New Belgium and Odell, as well as one of the newest, Purpose Brewing and Cellars. We tour all three.
DAY 6
Downtown Fort Collins is vibrant with intriguing, independently owned shops and foodieheaven restaurants. Our hotel, the historic Armstrong, is the starting point for several city blocks of exploration.
DAY 7
The three-hour drive along Route 14 from Fort Collins to Steamboat is stunning, with sage and hill vistas and rock-cut roadways.
Steamboat Springs is a famous destination for its two hot springs, both of which are open year-round, hiking and its Olympic-training ski jumps.
We enjoy a magically-lit soak in Old Town Hot Springs, which doubles as a fitness centre and pool in Steamboat Springs.
DAY 8
Set in the hills, surrounded by pine and aspen, Strawberry Park is an absolute wonder with its series of five mineral water hot springs pools — the higher they are, the hotter they get with the hottest, a steamy 39 C. The coolest pool was great for a swim before being lured back to the sweet heat. The popular park is open year round, 10 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. with extended hours to midnight Friday and Saturday. Skinny dipping is allowed after dark but guests must be at least 18 years of age. A two-hour curvy drive down Route 9 takes us to Breckenridge, almost 3,000 metres above sea level. The air is now noticeably thin for a couple from the Great Lakes basin.
DAY 9
It’s a beautiful morning in Breckenridge, bordered by the Rockies Tenmile Range, with the ski runs as obvious as the chair lifts that stretch over city streets.
It started as a gold-mining town and is now preserved in a historic district downtown.
En route to an evening flight out of Denver, we have time for our jaws to drop and hiking hearts to pound at Red Rocks, a natural amphitheatre adopted by legions of fitness buffs when a show’s not in town.