15th Anniv in Colorado?

[LAR]

Hi All,

I need a little help.... My wife and I are celebrating our 15th Anniversary this June and are thinking of going somewhere in Colorado. If we're not vacationing at the beach (florida, california, hawaii, Caribbean, etc), we've gone to Europe. we've never been anywhere between Chicago and the West Coast and so are thinking about doing an outdoor 'granola' type of long weekend in Colorado.

Ideally, we'd find a great Marriott or Hyatt property (hotel not timeshare) in a cool town (restaurants, bars, shopping) that you can fly Continental from Newark directly to where we'd have outdoor activities near by such as horse riding, hiking, mountain biking, and whatever else looks fun.

We're totally clueless about this area of the country!

Any suggestions?

Thanks so much!
LAR

[riverdees05]

What part of June?

[LAR]

June 5-9.

Thanks for asking...

[suesam]

We love Breckenridge. It is an awesome little town with lots of things to do.Fun restaurants, etc. You might want to consider a timeshare because the Hyatt and Grand Timber Lodge are very, very nice and luxurious. GTL has a restaurant on site as well as fabulous hot tubs. Can't remember if the Hyatt does or not. June should be easy to rent if you do not have a trade, or you could possibly do a Getaway.It is a little chilly in the mountains in June. I have only stayed at condos in Breck so do not have any info about the hotels. You would have to fly into Denver and rent a car to drive to the mountains. It would take a couple of hours but is sooooo beautiful. We did this for my 40th birthday a few years ago and it worked very well. We did it in a long weekend as well.
I personally think this would be an awesome anniversary trip. I do not know much about the rest of Colorado we are stuck on Breck. I am sure others will reply to give you other options.

Good Luck
Sue

[riverdees05]

You might consider Estes Park, gateway to Rocky Mountain National Park. It is fairly close to Denver International Airport, it think around 50 +/- miles. I am sure you could do a search and come up with a good place to rent. There will still probably be a lot of snow around that early in June.

[Rose Pink]

Colorado has quite diverse scenery from place to place. You will need a car to get anywhere. The mountain mining towns are quaint--some turned into upscale ski resorts. It would be hard to pick just one. Breck is great, Vail is great, the little towns of Ouray and Silverton are fun. Southern Colorado (Durango, etc) are interesting. You may want to check out the state's website to find ideas. Some of the places have natural hot springs you can soak in.

I would caution you about altitude sickness if you are not used to higher elevations. TUG had quite a few posts on that in previous years. You may want to do a search. There are things you can do to prepare yourself and precautions you can take to thwart or diminish it.

Early June may still have snow in some places.

[rickandcindy23]

Living in Colorado all of my life, there are three spectacular places to go for a long weekend.

#1 choice by far for me would be Glenwood Springs at the hotel with hot springs and pool (why can't I think of the name of that one?). It's perfect for rafting in early June, if you are up for the excitement of it.

#2 choice would be Breckenridge. The town is quaint, lots of restaurants and shopping. But someone else suggested a timeshare, even for a shorter stay, and I second that because they are abundant early June.

#3 would be Estes Park, as another person mentioned. The area is nice, you are close to Denver for a drive down to the city (we have a wonderful museum and lots to do here), and there is much to do right in town. Trail Ridge Road through Rocky Mountain National Park might be open by then. Their goal is to open it by Memorial Day, but a few years there has been so much snow in June, they had to delay the opening until much later.

I also love Durango, Vail, Winter Park and Steamboat Springs. I guess that is why we stayed in Colorado when we married 35 years ago.

Keep in mind that early June, no matter where you go, is a snowy time for Colorado. You might luck out and get weather in the 70's the entire trip, but the temperatures are cold at night.

[PStreet1]

As a 40 year Colorado resident and having owned a home on the slopes in Breckenridge, I, too, recommend Breckenridge------and Beaver Creek, and Vail, and Steamboat Springs. BUT, that said, we absolutely love Durango and Pagossa Springs. I love the access to Native American ruins in that corner of the state; I love the 14,000 mountains which are everywhere there; I love the million $ highway; I love the hot springs; I love the steam train.....there really isn't anything I don't love. For a granola weekend, give the southwest corner a careful look.

[LAR]

Is early June considered off season in Breck and Vail? Are people actually still skiing? I was hoping to get there off season and do mountain biking and horse riding...

thanks very much to all of you for your comments. It's very helpful!!
LAR

[susieq]

We were in Pagosa Springs in early June a few years back, (June 4 - 11). Weather was just great for just about everything ~ only exception was the day we went up to the Continental Divide to check it out & have a picnic up there. Nix on the picnic ~ there was three feet of snow up there!! That was just a wonderful vacation though. We spent a day at the Hot Springs in town, and took a day trip to the Four Corners.

Whatever you decide, have a great Vacation!!

Sue


Oh ... and Happy Anniversary!! (today's our 37th!)

[PigsDad]

Originally Posted by LAR

Is early June considered off season in Breck and Vail? Are people actually still skiing? I was hoping to get there off season and do mountain biking and horse riding...

thanks very much to all of you for your comments. It's very helpful!!
LAR

Early June is still not quite prime season yet. No, people are still not skiing -- they all shutdown about Apr. 15th due to national forest rules (except for Arapaho Basin which can stay open until July or August some years). But the weather can still be quite cool, and not all of the snow will be gone from some of the trails, etc.

If you are looking to enjoy some of the summer alpine activities at the ski resorts such as mountain biking where they bring you to the top on the lift and you ride down, or the alpine slides, etc. -- those typically do not start operating until mid- to late-June.

But you can still have a wonderful vacation here. You will most likely fly into Denver and have to drive to your mountain location. The roads will clear so you don't have to worry about that.

Kurt

[x3 skier]

I may be prejudiced because I live there part time, but I would suggest Steamboat Springs. Its more of a "real" town. Its about a three hour drive from the Denver Airport with some pretty mountain views, either through Berthoud Pass and Winter Park or through the Eisenhower Tunnel and Rabbit Ears Pass.

With all of the snow we are getting this year, kayaking and tubing the Yampa River through town should be spectacular (if a bit cold). If the snow melts enough by early June and they start running the Gondola again, you can take a bike up in the Gondola and ride down. Check www.steamboat.com later in the season and they have a schedule of summer events.

Cheers

[LAR]

Thanks everyone!

I suppose I'm narrowing it down to either Breckenridge or Vail and considering that they are not so far apart, I'm now thinking that lodging may make the difference. I'm partial to Marriotts and want a full service hotel (though I need to look at the Timber Lodge that was mentioned).

Considering the location (close to town/restaurants) and the facilities (nice room, pool, spa?, onsite restaurant/bar, etc), does any have a preference between the Marriott Mountain Valley Lodge at Breckenridge and the Vail Marriott Mountain Resort & Spa ?

Appreciate all the feedback!
LAR

[4dabirds]

Coming from the southern part of the state, we are partial to Telluride, Durango, and Pagosa Springs (in that order).

Jazz Fest is June 5th in Telluride and the town fills with people... lots of great little bars, eclectic people, and great restaurants. Even though the area has become crowded with multi-million dollar homes in recent years, Telluride still feels like a community - not just a resort.

I would recommend two nights in Durango... spending one day exploring Mesa Verde. Then two nights in Telluride.

HaPpY Vacationing!

Kim

[LAR]

What do you think the temperature is likely to be June 5-9 ? still sweater weather?

[PigsDad]

Originally Posted by LAR

What do you think the temperature is likely to be June 5-9 ? still sweater weather?

It will be cool in the evenings for sure. During the days, you have the chance of it being 40s or 80s, and anything in between.

With the higher altitude and the lower humidity here, we get huge temperature swings during a day. For example, a few years back we were at the zoo in Denver on a weekend in May. On the drive there we passed a time/temp sign at about noon and it read 88 degrees. It was a beautiful sunny day. A front moved through, it got a bit windy, and then started to snow! On the way back at about 4pm, the same sign displayed 34 degrees!

Be prepared for anything in Colorado.

Kurt