Colorado Rocky Mountain High
10 Days / 9 Nights
Click here to
see the Destination Distinctive Accommodations for this
trip!
Welcome to Big Mountain
Country! As
soon as you’re deep into the landscape, you’ll recognize
the inspiration for the John Denver song, “Rocky
Mountain High.” During the next ten days, you’ll be
seeing some of the most majestic mountain country in
America; places where volcanic action pushed the peaks
higher and rivers cut canyons and deep crevasses.
Unspoiled by the disturbance of building and
development, lakes and rivers in the Rockies run cold
and clear.
Beginning in Denver,
the “mile high city,” named because the steps of the
capitol building are exactly one mile above sea level,
you’ll be traveling to explore natural wonders in
several different Colorado locations.
Pike’s Peak is the highest peak in the west.
You can take the cog railroad to the top or
drive. We
recommend the railroad!
Although near each other, the natural formations
of the Garden of the Gods and the Florissant Fossil Beds
are very different.
Driving through the Black Canyon of the Gunnison
National Park, you’ll understand the power of raging
water to cut through earth.
After a ghost town and
some hot springs, you can visit Mesa Verde National Park
where the hillsides are virtually covered with the cliff
dwellings of the ancients who lived in the region
thousands of year ago.
When you’ve explored posh Vail, one more natural
wonder, Rocky Mountain National Park awaits.
Savor and enjoy your trip through Colorado; the
landscapes couldn’t be more different from rest of the
United States.
It’s the contrast that makes America so
interesting.
Day 1: Arrive Denver
Welcome to Denver,
Colorado’s Mile High City.
The Colorado State Capitol has a brass cap
positioned at 5,280 feet above sea level, exactly one
mile high.
The 16th Street Mall connects the Capitol
Building with LODO, the cultural district, which a
century ago was home to Bat Masterson, Calamity Jane and
other frontier icons. The
Colorado State
History Museum, which explains the dramatic
geology of the region, the
Denver History Museum, the Denver Visitor Center, and the
Molly Brown
House, home of the “unsinkable” local heroine
with a really interesting story, are all nearby.
Try one of the interesting restaurants in LODO
for dinner.
Overnight: Denver, Colorado
Day 2:
Explore Denver
If you explored the Golden Triangle Museum District
yesterday, today you may want to get out into one of
Denver’s great neighborhoods.
The Santa Fe Arts District has Denver’s largest
collection of art galleries. Cherry Creek has the best
shopping and dining in Denver.
Quaint Old South Pearl Street has a Farmer’s
Market every Sunday.
The Highlands neighborhood was recently featured
in National Geographic Traveler and Travel + Leisure
Magazine. Golden,
Colorado, the state’s first capital city, is today a
great western town at the base of a mountain with huge
buttes ringing the town.
It’s also the home of Coors Beer.
Overnight: Denver, Colorado
Day 3: Denver to Colorado Springs
70 miles
Today, it’s Pike’s Peak or Bust in Colorado Springs. You
can drive up or take the Pike’s Peak Cog Railway.
Continue your journey at the Garden of the Gods
through red rock landscapes and at Florissant Fossil
Beds National Monument which encompasses some of the
oldest fossilized material in the US.
You can also have lunch at the famous Broadmoor
Hotel, tour the Mollie Kathleen Gold Mine and experience
the Royal Gorge Bridge and Park.
Overnight: Colorado Springs, Colorado
Day 4: Colorado Springs/Pueblo/Alamosa
165 miles
You can expect a very scenic drive today as you travel
portions of five Colorado Scenic Byways on you way to
Alamosa. The
Gold Belt Tour takes you through old mining towns and
Canon City, home to the Royal Gorge Railroad if you
didn’t visit there yesterday. Explore the strong arts
community and Historic Arkansas Riverwalk in Pueblo on
the Frontier Pathways Byway which also illustrates early
settlement in Colorado.
The Highway of Legends crosses the Santa Fe Trail
in southeastern Colorado. Los Caminos Antigous is
closest to Alamosa.
Great Sand Dunes National Park, just north of
Alamosa, features the tallest sand dunes in America set
in a mountain-ringed preserve.
Overnight: Alamosa, Colorado
Day 5: Alamosa to Durango
150 miles
The entire route between Alamosa and Durango is a scenic
road through the San Juan Mountains.
When you reach Durango, if you
think you’ve
seen it before, it’s the picture perfect Old West town
that has starred as the background for Butch Cassidy and
the Sundance Kid, City Slickers, Cliffhangers and many
other movies.
So authentic that you might expect a gunslinger
to step right into the street any minute.
The nightly show at the Strater Hotel is right
out of the old West.
Overnight: Durango, Colorado
Day 6: Durango/Mesa Verde National Park
40 miles
The expansive dugout area sheltered by massive rock
cliffs covered with adobe brick “houses” at Mesa Verde
National Park appears to be the individual home units of
ancient cliff dwellers. Grab your sense of adventure as
you go up and down ladders and through the tight spaces
of Cliff Palace, the largest dwelling area. The 6-mile
Mesa Top Loop Road driving tour takes you through 700
years of Mesa Verde history.
If scenery rather than archeology is your
interest, ride the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge
Railroad up into the San Juan Mountains.
Overnight: Durango, Colorado
Day 7: Durango to Black Canyon of the Gunnison National
Park 170 miles
Today you have the pleasure of driving the San Juan
Skyway on your way to Montrose and the Black Canyon of
the Gunnison National Park. The unique and spectacular
canyon walls rising nearly 3,000 feet in some places
were formed by the action of water and rock scouring
down through hard crystalline rock.
Narrowing to only 40 feet in some places, no
other canyon in North America combines the narrow
opening, sheer walls, and startling depths offered by
the Black Canyon of the Gunnison.
Overnight: Gunnison, Colorado
Day 8:
Gunnison to Vail 160
miles
Vail, Colorado with some of the best skiing in the
world, has also become a great summer destination.
Take the gondola ride up the mountain to get a
spectacular perspective of the rugged Rockies or hike
the terrain. Together the pedestrian streets of Vail
Village and Lionshead make up a tapestry of special
boutiques, art galleries, sports stores, market and
restaurants all masterfully landscaped in the most
pristine of settings.
Overnight: Vail, Colorado
Day 9: Vail to Rocky Mountain National Park to Estes
Park
130 miles
Just north of Denver, Rocky Mountain National Park is a
living showcase of grandeur with countless breathtaking
vistas ranging from 8,000 to 14,259 feet. You’ll also
see delicate alpine flowers, clear lakes, rushing
mountain waters, bighorn sheep, ptarmigan, coyote, and
elk. There
is one major loop road through the park and every square
inch is scenic.
A great way to end your exceptionally scenic view
of Colorado.
Overnight: Estes Park Colorado
Day 10: Estes Park to depart Denver
70 miles
We wish you a safe and pleasant journey home, taking
with you great memories of your Rocky Mountain High.
