Colorado Road Trip Ideas

Spring is here! Can’t afford a plane trip to the beach? Don’t ski? Consider a “Micro-Adventure”* and perk up with a road trip! Here are a few ideas for modest budget escapes within a 2, 4 or 6 hour drive of Denver. They all offer something unexpected in our passionate pursuit of the good life in adventure, arts, activities and food.

2 Hour Drive

Drive south or west, and in only two hours you’ll find new places to explore!

• Pueblo
  • Sangre De Cristo Art Center, River Murals, Slopper, SteelWorkers museum, be sure to bring your bike to ride for miles along the river!
  • Sip and sample at Pueblo’s newest Wine Bar, Wine Down by The River.
  • Time permitting, take a side trip through the verdant, fertile Arkansas River Valley to see the ‘Castle of the Plains.” Bent’s Old Fort, and La Junta’s beautiful Koshare Indian Museum and Kiva.
  • Another side trip option, is Bishop’s Castle, possibly the most unique man-made oddity in all of Colorado!

• Grand County
  • Winter Park/ Frasier/ Granby/Grand Lake have many lodging options: try airbnb or VRBO if motels are full.
  • Snow Mountain Ranch has affordable lodging and day activities (Nordic Center, tubing hill, Fat Bike Rental)
  • Devils Thumb is pricier, but offers many day activities (Nordic and Fat Bike groomed snow trails, horse-drawn sleigh rides).
  • Grand Lake is a charming small mountain town with a classic Main Street offering shops, a few restaurants and bars. The bowling alley is a low-tech blast from the past! Nearby Nordic Center is friendly and affordable. Rent a snowmobile to explore surrounding  trails!
  • Hot Sulfur Springs: low key, homey lodging, clean hot springs pools – perfect for relaxation.
  • Frasier Tubing Hill is a blast for everyone!
  • Ski Granby is a modest downhill ski area, family-friendly and low key.

• Frisco
  • Frisco Adventure Park has Tubing Hill and Nordic trails
  • Bike trails around Lake Dillon and even over to Breckenridge!
  • Stay in town or nearby Silverthorne or Dillon for inexpensive lodging.
• Breckenridge
  • Skip the crowded slopes and check out the Arts District

4 Hour Drive

Head west, bypass the alluring (but pricey and crowded) resorts and you’ll find yourself in rugged country full of budget and family-friendly adventure options!

• Glenwood Springs 
  • Hot Springs Pool
  • Mountaintop amusements 
  • Affordable accommodations and plenty of eateries
• Take a side trip to Aspen and check out their spectacular new art museum!

6 Hour Drive

For a complete change of atmosphere, a six-hour drive south will transport you to a richly cultured region.

• Santa Fe
  • Full of art, unique Native American culture and regional foods, this place will warm your soul.
• If time allows, take a side trip to Taos for more art and beautiful scenery that inspired Georgia O’Keefe and so many others

*“Micro-Adventures” are good for the soul…