CO travel advice

[keyslover]

We are struggling between Estes Park and Breckenridge/Frisco/Copper Mountain area.  Look at around the first week in June.  No major hiking, smaller hikes, window shopping.   

Torn between being in an downtown and walkability vs out a bit with no one really around and a great view to relax.

We have been before, but bringing the teenage kids.

Our initial thoughts are while Estes will be cool, will it be busier than the other areas?   We are having a hard time narrowing down locations!  Thanks.

[SusanBAnthony]

I was underwhelmed with Estes Park the town itself. It's fine and pretty and everything, don't get me wrong, but I liked Breckenridge a lot more. The main draw for Estes Park is RMNP.

[erbear]

With teens, I’d do Breckenridge. More to do in the town and still great hiking.

[devonpow]

We did a big extended family vacation in Breckinridge the other summer and it was great. We rented a house right on the gondola - the older kids could go into town on their own if they wanted, everything was right there and accessible, easy and beautiful hikes right there

[eddy]

We stayed in Breckeridge last year and loved it. I have a teen and tween. We chose a condo with walkability to downtown. We also could just walk out the door and go on hikes. It was all just really charming. It was a great launching off point for the week. I just couldn't get past how gorgeous it was. Each time I walked out of the condo I was just stunned by the mountains in the distance. 

Also I am so beaten down by inflation of travel prices and was pretty happy with the cost of things in Breck.

[eddy]

Also we skipped Estes, which felt like a sin. I would love to see RMNP someday. But with the reservation system and logistics of it all we decided to skip. Honestly no regrets. We still felt as if we got to experience how beautiful and special Colorado was.

[keyslover]

Jan 14, 2024 20:32:43 GMT -5 eddy said:

Also we skipped Estes, which felt like a sin. I would love to see RMNP someday. But with the reservation system and logistics of it all we decided to skip. Honestly no regrets. We still felt as if we got to experience how beautiful and special Colorado was.

I think that is the issue, it feels like something we "should do".  Like I want it to work and be awesome, but it isn't feeling right. 

Colorado is so beautiful, I am not sure I feel bad missing Estes Park because it is RMNP.  

[campermom]

I’m currently at Mountain Thunder lodge in Breck. I live just about at sea level, please make sure you hydrate ridiculously well and sleep well the days prior! I have no advice about hiking but please check my post history-altitude sickness hit me hard. The urgent care St Anthony’s was great and I had an oxygen system delivered within an hour of calling.

Our location is perfect for checking out the town plus we have a shuttle bus that operates on our request not just at certain times and your seat is reserved. It’s beautiful!

There’s also a pool and 5 hot tubs here.

[mccallister84]

Jan 14, 2024 20:42:55 GMT -5 keyslover said:

Jan 14, 2024 20:32:43 GMT -5 eddy said:

Also we skipped Estes, which felt like a sin. I would love to see RMNP someday. But with the reservation system and logistics of it all we decided to skip. Honestly no regrets. We still felt as if we got to experience how beautiful and special Colorado was.

I think that is the issue, it feels like something we "should do".  Like I want it to work and be awesome, but it isn't feeling right. 

Colorado is so beautiful, I am not sure I feel bad missing Estes Park because it is RMNP.  

H’s family lives in CO. We live on the East Coast. We have been out countless times and never done RMNP. We have done Breckenridge twice and I absolutely love it.

As for altitude sickness, we spend some time in Denver first and have never had problems then with going to Breckenridge. We did have problems going to Pike’s Peak but it is higher.

[pixy0stix]

Estes isn't all that special. If you're not going to RMNP then I'd definitely skip Estes.

[mrspez07]

I don’t love Estes personally. There would be more to do in summit county, their bus system is also great.

I’m a Colorado-lifer, and I didn’t go to Estes or RMNP until I was an adult. It’s cool, but so are so many other places in the CO mountains. To me, it’s not like Arches, or Yosemite or the Grand Canyon, which are the “only” of something unique. RMNP seems to me more like a good “summary” of the Rocky Mountains.

[imojoebunny]

Breckenridge is a great town to stay in lots of great shops and restaurants. My only advice would be that if you are not used to altitude, stay a night in Denver before driving up. My DH and kids were fine, but I had a hard time the first 24 hours. I now know that you can buy oxygen, which I would do, if I went again. We do like to hike, and did a lot of that, but there are fun short hikes from town and bike rentals that follow fairly flat paths. We went Kayaking in a nearby town and I really enjoyed horse back riding through what is a ski resort in the winter. I have been to Rocky Mountain N.P. staying in Boulder. It was a great vacation, too.

[isabel]

Ditto Breck. We live in Denver and do a week in Breck every summer before school starts. It’s just a really lovely place to spend time with kids of all ages. It’s busy enough to find things to do, but there’s also plenty of space and hiking and ways to get away if you like.

[Wallflower]

Estes used to be a lovely little town with artsy shops. I'd go up with a friend and between the drive up, lunch, shopping, and the drive back to Denver, we'd have a really nice day. But it's been several years where those cute shops have been lost to touristy, cheap stuff.

And definitely read up on how to prepare for the altitude.

[expectantsteelerfan]

I opened this post because dh and I are attending his cousin's wedding in Estes Park at the end of July, so I was hoping to see people say that they liked Estes Park, but oh well lol. We aren't going to have a ton of time for stuff other than wedding/family stuff anyway...we fly in Friday, the wedding is Sat., and we fly out Sunday. We thought about bringing the kids and staying longer to do some of the fun stuff in CO, but it didn't work out logistically.

Anyway, does anyone have any tips for dealing with the altitude when you are flying in? I've never been anywhere in the US off the East coast basically, New Orleans is the furthest into the US that I've been, so I really have no experience with altitude or dealing with it.

[devonpow]

Jan 15, 2024 8:22:22 GMT -5 expectantsteelerfan said:

I opened this post because dh and I are attending his cousin's wedding in Estes Park at the end of July, so I was hoping to see people say that they liked Estes Park, but oh well lol. We aren't going to have a ton of time for stuff other than wedding/family stuff anyway...we fly in Friday, the wedding is Sat., and we fly out Sunday. We thought about bringing the kids and staying longer to do some of the fun stuff in CO, but it didn't work out logistically.

Anyway, does anyone have any tips for dealing with the altitude when you are flying in? I've never been anywhere in the US off the East coast basically, New Orleans is the furthest into the US that I've been, so I really have no experience with altitude or dealing with it.

it’s different for everyone. We live in Boston and none of us had any trouble with altitude in our trips to Colorado, so it’s not a given it will make you sick. Standard advice (which we follow) is drink a shit ton of water, avoid alcohol the first day or so, take it easy with physical exertion, etc. Estes Park is beautiful, you will have a great time!

[pixy0stix]

Jan 15, 2024 8:22:22 GMT -5 expectantsteelerfan said:

I opened this post because dh and I are attending his cousin's wedding in Estes Park at the end of July, so I was hoping to see people say that they liked Estes Park, but oh well lol. We aren't going to have a ton of time for stuff other than wedding/family stuff anyway...we fly in Friday, the wedding is Sat., and we fly out Sunday. We thought about bringing the kids and staying longer to do some of the fun stuff in CO, but it didn't work out logistically.

Anyway, does anyone have any tips for dealing with the altitude when you are flying in? I've never been anywhere in the US off the East coast basically, New Orleans is the furthest into the US that I've been, so I really have no experience with altitude or dealing with it.

Estes is fine. It's a mountain tourist town so you can find stuff to do.

As for altitude, drink more water than you think you need and severely limit your alcohol intake. Better yet, don't drink alcohol at all if you're not going to give yourself time to acclimate.

[campermom]

Jan 15, 2024 8:22:22 GMT -5 expectantsteelerfan said:

I opened this post because dh and I are attending his cousin's wedding in Estes Park at the end of July, so I was hoping to see people say that they liked Estes Park, but oh well lol. We aren't going to have a ton of time for stuff other than wedding/family stuff anyway...we fly in Friday, the wedding is Sat., and we fly out Sunday. We thought about bringing the kids and staying longer to do some of the fun stuff in CO, but it didn't work out logistically.

Anyway, does anyone have any tips for dealing with the altitude when you are flying in? I've never been anywhere in the US off the East coast basically, New Orleans is the furthest into the US that I've been, so I really have no experience with altitude or dealing with it.

I live at sea level. I’m
Still on an oxygen here and there and definitely through the night, and I’ve been here since we flew in on Friday. If I had it to do over again I’d make sure I was drinking like 100 oz of water a day the 3 days beforehand and skipped any alcohol the day of flying or day of arrival. Bring pain relievers for headache, and if you have a script for zofran leftover, bring that too. Buy gatorade-the rehydration one. My boyfriend’s Apple Watch has an oxygen measurement-I dk how accurate it is but it’s helping me gauge when to go back home and get back on the oxygen. I spent the first full day at our place on oxygen. I was down to 84% and it was probably lower that first night before I got medical care.

If it gets bad-I was vomiting and couldn’t keep water down; then had a hard time speaking and using my left hand-go to urgent care in Breck or the ER. The store bought oxygen bottles aren’t enough. The urgent care works w an oxygen delivery company and they were great. My insurance might not cover it, it was about $300 for the equipment and delivery/pickup.

If I come again I’d stay in Denver a night or 2 to help acclimate, but this was supposed to be Friday-Monday with skiing sat and sun. We extended it a day. If I come again there is a medication I’ll get from my doctor ahead of time, and I’ll take the paperwork from this trip to get them to order oxygen ahead of time.

ETA if I come again it will be when I have more time, and no kids at home to worry about if I need to extend the trip due to missing out on the fun!

[mrspez07]

I also think it depends how high into the mountains you go and that your body can handle. Breck has a lot of housing that sits up on the mountains around it, so you’re climbing even higher. I had friends that owned a place at 9-10,000’ and even being a native denverite, I’ve not felt great multiple times up there.
campermom, if you still aren’t feeling well, going back to Denver would be a good option, even just being lower in the mtns might help. no reason to be miserable!

[RoxMonster]

I come from sea level and have been to CO three times. The first time we flew into Denver and stayed for a couple days. Even so, it was very hot (July), I was dehydrated from the plane and foolishly had margaritas with dinner. I didn’t feel great but felt a lot better after getting in the AC and taking a nap for a couple hours. We went to RMNP a couple days later and I was Ok - not sick but still more winded than usual when hiking at 11K+

The other two times, we have driven to CO. One time we went straight to Dillon which was 9K+. I was better at hydrating ahead of time and didn’t do any alcohol that time. I still got winded when we arrived just walking across the hotel lot but that got better as time went on.

Also I haven’t been to Breck (actually looking at planning a trip there this summer). But I wasn’t the biggest fan of Estes Park itself. LOVED RMNP and being in the park but could take or leave EP.

[definitelyO]

campermom - I am so sorry! that is the worst case of altitude sickness I've heard so glad you were able to get O2 and hopefully are able to enjoy a little of your vacation.

and aligned with the rest of the CO posters - Breck over Estes.

[campermom]

definitelyO and mrspez07 I’m actually doing pretty good today. I skied 4 runs w breaks yesterday and 2 runs today. The next thing to figure out is if we can make it back to Denver in our rental. Flight is in the morning. 70 is closed right now and an avalanche occurred earlier apparently. This is actually terrifying

[namasteak]

We go to Estes Park 2-3 times a year but honestly don't spend much time downtown. They have lots of fun little festivals through out the year (which we enjoy) but we mostly just hike and do activities at the YMCA up there. For us the trip isn't about shopping or eating out so we are ok with a smaller downtown.

[JayhawkGirl]

Jan 15, 2024 23:28:24 GMT -5 namasteak said:

We go to Estes Park 2-3 times a year but honestly don't spend much time downtown. They have lots of fun little festivals through out the year (which we enjoy) but we mostly just hike and do activities at the YMCA up there. For us the trip isn't about shopping or eating out so we are ok with a smaller downtown.

Same. It’s one of our happy places, but other than going into town for ice cream and taffy, and maybe a dinner, we are in the park or taking drives to other nature spots.

Agree about pre-hydrating. So much propel, liquid IV, Gatorade and water for the week or more before and so much there.

[doctoranda]

Breckenridge (and Frisco) are great!

[namasteak]

Jan 15, 2024 23:42:06 GMT -5 JayhawkGirl said:

Jan 15, 2024 23:28:24 GMT -5 namasteak said:

We go to Estes Park 2-3 times a year but honestly don't spend much time downtown. They have lots of fun little festivals through out the year (which we enjoy) but we mostly just hike and do activities at the YMCA up there. For us the trip isn't about shopping or eating out so we are ok with a smaller downtown.

Same. It’s one of our happy places, but other than going into town for ice cream and taffy, and maybe a dinner, we are in the park or taking drives to other nature spots.

Agree about pre-hydrating. So much propel, liquid IV, Gatorade and water for the week or more before and so much there.

You'll appreciate this - one of the cabins at the Y is named Rock Chalk

[eddy]

Also if you do Breck, check out if they are white water rafting on the Blue River. THey only do it for like a month a year because of river levels. It was so so amazing. We didn't have to deal with the bigger tourist drop sites at other places. We had the river to ourselves and caught some great rapids. Super special.

In regards to altitude sickness. I was really nervous about it. We pushed water a ton before the trip and each day all of us drank LMNT for extra hydration/minerals. We stayed in Boulder one night. When we got to Breck we did notice we all had headaches, but by the next day we were just fine. We were really careful with alcohol. It ended up being just fine. I noticed that I got winded very easily. OUr condo was on a hill and the walk back always was a bit humbling for how much I would be huffing and puffing by the end lol. That was really all we noticed. We just needed to work a bit harder for our oxygen.

[sunshineandpinot]

campermom I hope you got on your way! I70 seems to close and reopen often. We sometimes fly into Eagle to avoid the drive but that's not always reasonable.

[JayhawkGirl]

namasteak love that!!