|
|
|
| |
Utah and Colorado: The Red Rocks and Rockies of
Seven
National Parks
15 Days/14 Nights
Utah and Colorado are incredibly rich in wondrous
landscapes, National Parks and other spectacular natural
phenomenon. Before and after luxuriating at the Sundance
Resort right outside Salt Lake City, we’ve designed this
trip for you to explore America’s most vibrant National
Parks: Rocky Mountain National Park, Zion National Park,
Bryce Canyon National Park, Capitol Reefs National Park,
Arches National Park, Canyonlands National Park and the
Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. Nature par
excellance!
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
Day 2: Denver to Estes Park, Colorado and Rocky Mountain
National Park
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 3: Estes Park to Grand Junction, Colorado and
Colorado National Monument
Sheer walled canyons, towering monoliths, colorful
formations and soaring eagles will greet you as you
enter the Colorado National Monument just outside of
Grand Junction Colorado. A spectacular driving tour
reflects the best landscapes of this plateau and canyon
country. Hiking, sightseeing and biking await,
Overnight: Grand Junction, Colorado
Day 4: Grand Junction to Provo, Utah
Robert Redford’s Sundance Resort invites you to “come
stay with us. Watch the moon climb over Utah’s Mt.
Timpanogos from your Sundance patio or enjoy a fireside
dinner with friends in a mountain home.”
You can retreat where centuries ago the Ute Indians
retreated to escape the summer heat and enjoy the
natural abundance. As Robert Redford says about his very
special resort, “this place in the mountains is the
perfect host for inspiration.”
Overnight: Provo, Utah
Day 5: Explore Provo, Enjoy Sundance t
Spend another day enjoying the resort.
Overnight: Provo, Utah
Day 6: Provo to Zion National Park
At Zion National Park, the grandeur of natural land form
unites with brilliancy of color.” From sunrise to
sunset, the changing scenes pass before you in awesome
hues as the light plays upon the rock and immerses you
in a dazzling light show. If you’d rather ride than
drive, this park has a convenient shuttle system with
frequent runs throughout the day.
Overnight: Springdale, Utah
Day Seven: Zion National Park to Bryce Canyon National
Park
Bryce Canyon National Park is not a canyon at all, but a
series of horseshoe-shaped amphitheaters. The eroding
force of frost coupled with the dissolving power of rain
has shaped the colorful limestone rock into bizarre slot
canyons, windows, fins, and spires called "hoodoos."
Tinted with colors too numerous to name, the whimsically
arranged rocks create a wondrous landscape of mazes.
Overnight: Bryce, Utah
Day Eight: Bryce Canyon National Park to Capitol Reef
National Park
Capitol Reef was named by early pioneers because the
formations reminded them of the nation’s capitol. The
Waterpocket Fold, a 100-mile long “wrinkle” in the
earth’s crust, extends out from Thousand Lakes Mountain
to the Colorado River. Traveling the Park’s Scenic
Drive, you’ll marvel at the slip rock scenery,
punctuated with colored cliffs, domes, canyons and
arches.
Overnight: Torrey, Utah
Day Nine: Capitol Reef National Park to Arches National
Park
The densest grouping of stone arches in the world that
make up Arches National Park can be explored in a few
hours. Over 2,000 arches range in size from a three-foot
opening (the minimum considered to be an arch), to
Landscape Arch which measures 306 feet from base to
base. Towering spires, fins and balanced rocks
complement the arches, creating a remarkable assortment
of landforms in a relatively small area.
Overnight: Moab, Utah
Day Ten: Canyonlands National Park
Canyonlands National Park is one of nation’s last
relatively undisturbed areas. The landscape of canyons,
mesas, and deep river gorges carved out of vast rock
deposits is filled with remarkable natural features. The
park is known as "high desert," with elevations ranging
from 3,700 to 7,200 feet above sea level. Temperatures
may fluctuate as much as 50 degrees during a day. Island
in the Sky offers the most expansive views from
overlooks along the paved scenic drive. A drive out to
Grand View Point gives you access to an area evident by
its name.
Overnight: Moab, Utah
Day Eleven: Moab Utah to Black Canyon of the Gunnison
National Park
The unique and spectacular walls of the Black Canyon of
the Gunnison National Park rise 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 this landscape.
Overnight: Montrose, Colorado
Day Twelve: Montrose to Leadville, Colorado
Walk in the footsteps of Doc Holliday and Baby Doe Tabor
in the now restored 40 square blocks of this completely
restored historic town that was once home to the OK
Corral and thousands of prospectors who came to strike
it rich.
Overnight: Leadville, Colorado
Day Thirteen: Leadville to Colorado Springs and Pike’s
Peak
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
Day Fourteen: Denver
If you’ve already explored central Denver 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 15: Depart Denver
|
|
|
|
