need CO destination suggestions

cool breeze · 06-30-09, 10:31 PM

Need CO destination suggestions
Its late, im tired and since im using this retard computer called a mac i just lost my full write, im keeping this short for now.

Family needs to find place in CO for late july:
10 people, ages 12-60

most will camp, old people need hotel/motel

taking land cruiser to meet other TX LC peoples in silverton,ouray/telluride trails, would like to stay close to area

others will be in minivan and sedan

looking for something scenic, beatiful blah blah with fishing, hiking, sking? WW rafting and other ****

Need ideas fast guys, thanks

PPFJ60 · 07-01-09, 05:39 AM

Ouray makes a great base camp for that area. Many hotels and camping in town. Many of the camp grounds have cabins with different levels of amenaties. Some cabins are like tuff sheds with beds only while others have kitchenetts.

I stayed here last year. Ouray Colorado :: Ouray Riverside Inn and Camping Cabins Its located on the edge of town with the river running in the back. Very nice hot springs in Ouray that has something for all ages.

Here is a place in Silverton I stayed last year as well. Red Mountain Motel, Cabins, RV Park Its on the edge of town with camping an cabins.

LC4LIFE · 07-01-09, 09:45 AM

I second that. I was there for five days last year over the 4th of July and it was wonderful. Ouray has many hotels/motels and campgrounds to fit all kinds of visitors.

cool breeze · 07-05-09, 11:28 PM

thanks for the suggestions, will relay them to the family.

cool breeze · 07-14-09, 05:13 PM

UPDATE:

My family cant plan for beans so now we are stuck using Denver as our launch point because the old people will be flying into there. I see there are national parks all around to the west, any in particular I should visit/research.

I would like to go to an area that they can drive form the city to meet us while wqe camp there. During the day they could load up in the cruiser and we can go on some trails. Do most parks have 4x4 trails? Fishing is a must but it looks like there should be fishing anywhere. Pike NF looks like they have a nice blend of nearby civilization and variety of outdoor life. Water in the area is a strong desire.

Man, help me out here guys. Your state just has too much appealing things to do that its blinding, i could easily live out there...thinking about it too

black95 · 07-14-09, 08:56 PM

Colorado really does have a lot to offer. You could spend a weeks worth of days and nights on the computer and in trail guides researching what you want to do, and you will most likely plan too much or overwhelm your trip plan.

Here's my suggestion:

1) get to Colorado.

2) Enjoy the scenery and do the touristy stuff, you can stop at hotel lobbies and even some restaurants and pick up brochures for those things.

3) while you are out, stop at a book store (Barnes and Noble, Books-a-Million) and pick yourself up a copy of the Charles A. Wells "guide to Colorado trails". This book is extremely useful, even to those of us that live here, and has numerous trails listed for whatever region you happen to be in. The trail listings even have descriptions and pictures.

From this you can plan day trips, or a full fledged camping trip with the ability to show the family what they are in for. The books have a northern and southern version that cover the whole state, which one you get is up to you (I say get both).........There are a lot of other books like this, But I highly recommend these books, as they are geared toward the offroad enthusiast, while some of the others may be more hiker or backpacker friendly.

By the way, Of all the things Colorado has to offer, water is the most difficult to come by, and will often be the most crowded areas with the highest restrictions.

Don't know your timeline, but you may be able to order these before you get here:

Southern region:
Amazon.com: Guide to Colorado Backroads & 4-Wheel Drive Trails, 2nd Edition: Charles A. Wells: Books

Northern region:
Amazon.com: Guide to Northern Colorado Backroads & 4-Wheel Drive Trails: Charles A. Wells: Books

Interstate 70 is the dividing line

Good luck!!

cool breeze · 07-14-09, 09:09 PM

Thanks for the suggestions, it may just end up happening like that, spur of the moment. We are really tying two trips into one. First is with the family and then we are meeting up with other mudders from TX that do a yearly wheelin' CO trip. I just had to join, here is the google map of the route they have picked, what ya think? Colorado Invasion 2009 - Google Maps

black95 · 07-14-09, 09:16 PM

I think thats gonna be a good time, going to drive through some spectacular scenery--which is easy to do here. Get the books anyway

cool breeze · 07-22-09, 10:38 PM

Thanks for the heads up in the book, i wanted to order one but leaving this weekend it wouldn't get here in time. Im hoping they'll be all over colorado book stores

Now our second week is the outline planned above that we are really looking forward to, what we have no idea is where to go with the fam. They will be flying into Denver so we will have to stay within an hour or two from there. What are your reccommendations, if there are any, for that radius.

Anybody think they may want to meet up with us while we're there to just grab a beer for an afternoon or for the whole trek, we'd love to have some more rigs in the caravan. SO far I think there are 4 confirmed, maybe a couple more.

Appreciate all the help

My cell is 210-365-2000
-Josh