So my wife and I decided to visit Colorado in May. We know it will still be chilly but that is OK. We went to Alaska in late May 2008 and we had a blast even though it was pretty cold still. We will be flying into Denver on May 8 and flying back out to Houston on May 14. We are looking for some ideas for places to visit, whether it be in Denver or a day trip type distance from Denver. I expect us to head to Rocky Mountain National park and spend a few days around there, just to give some ideas of what we already have in mind.

We are open to all ideas! Thanks!

Hey 76 TLT, welcome to the Colorado Forum! My sister is a Texan, Ft. Worth style.

Definitely plan a day in Estes Park/Rocky Mountain National Park. You probably won't be able to get too high up on Trail Ridge Road though, it's usually not fully open till Memorial Day Weekend. That's a good thing too, you'll miss a lot of the crowds that are up there in summer time.

Some other things you might check out:

There are a lot of things to do in the Colorado Springs area such as visiting the Air Force Academy, Garden of the Gods, Pikes Peak, etc. It's a neat drive down there from Denver too.

Hit Coors Field for a Rockies game. Even if you're not into baseball that much it's a great facility and lots to do around there in Lower Downtown.

If you like to gamble a bit, a day trip/evening up in the Blackhawk/Central City area is a lot of fun. There are some Vegas-style casinos tucked into the mountainside up there and all no-smoking inside.

If you like hiking there are a ton of trails in the Boulder area. Despite what "they" say about Boulder it's a beautiful place and great area to hike.

Or you could just plan a couple days over at my place, I've got the '78 Z/28 up on jack stands and ready for some frame wire wheeling, steering and suspension work. I've got beer....;)

There's a lot to do in this area, from the cities to the mountains. Have a fun and safe trip.

If it were me, I would only spend a day or 2 in the estes area and head for the Durango, Silverton, Ouray, Telluride area, tons of stuff to do and the scenery on the million dollar highway is awsome, 550 is listed as one of the top 10 rides anywhere on the planet, by car or motorcycle.
Maybe I have just spent to many days in Estes park since I live in northern colorado, dont get me wrong now, Rky Mtn Natl park is great also, but the really good parts (in my opinion anyway) will be still snowed in while you are here, if I head toward estes park its just to pass through there on my way over trail ridge road to the Grand Lake area.
Like FF said, the Springs area is good too, with Cave of the winds, Royal Gorge, Pikes Peak, cripple creek and lots of other stuff close by.

Later
Mike

i dont think trail ridge will be open by then????

Thanks guys, good info. We know it's before the "peak" time to go, but we like to miss the crowds and figure we can still find plenty to do.

And while I'd like to swing by and help you Keith, the wife might not be so thrilled with that idea. :D

do the million dollar highway drive, its unbelivable.

do the million dollar highway drive, its unbelivable.

I went to Trip Adviser and looked at reviews for this and there were so funny. Basically they were all "Scared as hell", "Feared for my life", etc. LMAO!! :D

trail ridge in a decent car is alot scarrier for some.... but it costs money to do.

we used to see how fast we could go over independence pass too. about 50 degrees makes the road just cold enough that the tires wrap nicely around the turns lol

If you come up north there is the Pawnee National Grasslands, it great if you like open places and there are some great views. Its east of Ft. Collins about 30 miles. Not sure if it would be worth a whole day trip but if your in the area its very nice and you can tour the Budweiser plant in Collins as well.

South of Colorado Springs you could hit the Royal Gorge, Florence if you like antiques, then south to Bishops Castle. Its near San Isabel Lake and should be a great drive by then.

If you find that you're really really bored, try to get access to the secret bunkers underneath the airport. That'll liven things up.

LMAO!! My friend said the EXACT same thing - LOL!!

So it snowed a little when we were in Estes Park :D Don't think even the locals were expecting 12" of snow in mid-May. Luckily my wife LOVED the snow since she had never seen anything like it. We made the most of it and rented sleds and snow shoes and had fun for the few days while we were in the Estes Park area. We'll definitely head back again someday in June/July and enjoy Colorado during a different time of the year.

We started in Canon City and headed to Colorado Springs and then Estes Park and ended in Denver for 1/2 day (visited the Botanic Garden, which was AWESOME).

http://i304.photobucket.com/albums/nn168/Getz_Family/Colorado/DSC_0304.jpg

Colorado looks so cool. Me and my wife are wanting to visit, we are considering moving there.

It was amazing and the air was so damn clean. We loved our trip, snow or no snow. At one point we stopped off at Eldorado Springs to do some hiking and you could see the wildflowers getting ready to bloom. It was still gorgeous but we arrived just a a few weeks too early. I'd love to live there but the wife doesn't like the cold THAT much ;)

We don't mind the cold, so long as there is snow. And the WINDCHILL is what I hate. The midwest is horrible for that.

Yeah, we are weenies from the Texas gulf coast so snow is a foreign concept to us. :D You'd have to ask some of the "natives" about the windchill. Guess it depends on where you are. Lots of wind coming off the mountains but lots of trees to help break the wind. Hmmmmmmmm...