Durango is a wonderful town with lots of actitivites and the wilderness at its doorstep. Durango itself has shops, the narrow gauge railroad and nice taverns and restaurants. Just to the northeast, the Weminuche Wilderness and San Juan and Rio Grande National Forests which have many camping, hiking and fishing opportunities. Our personal favorite is the campground at the Weminuche trailhead with the river alongside it.
Highway 160 from Walsenburg to Durango is quite a scenic drive passing through
Wolf Creek pass. When we drove this route in September, we were caught in a hail storm of all things. But, the journey was worth the trouble.
Leadville is another neat town. It maintains much of its Old West Mining Town atmosphere and is small enough to walk to most everything.
Highways 285 & 24 from Denver to Leadville is another magnificent scenic drive but a fairly easy drive if you are in a RV. That doesn't mean you miss the mountains, but the climbs and descents are practical. The scenery is wonderful.
Glenwood Springs is worth a visit, too. The famous steam bath is interesting, but there's much more to see including Doc Holiday's grave. Glenwood Springs has great shops, restaurants and taverns plus many accommodations. Amtrak also stops here.
Amtrak's California Zephyr goes right through the mountains with stops at Denver,
Winter Park/Fraser Valley, Granby, and Glenwood Springs. What a way to see the mountains! We did this trip during Christmas. Unbelievable!
Area near Mt. Evans is a handy destination if you fly into Denver for a car camping adventure. It's amazing how quickly you are out of the city and into the woods. Take Hwy. 285 or 84 and 285 through Evergreen also worth seeing. Then head to the numerous National Forest Parks near Mt. Evans. Our favorite is Duck Creek where you can camp right on the trout stream. One problem we ran into, however, was lack of potable water at that sight. But, we went shopping at other campgrounds and filled our containers at other parks. This problems may have been remedied by now. But, be prepared for a pretty basic existence in this area despite its closeness to the big city.
Silverthorne is a tiny town right on Interstate 70 and west of Georgetown. While Georgetown is a bit trendy and touristy for our tastes, we love Silverthorne, a old mining town with nifty shops and a couple of eating establishments. The Georgetown Loop Railroad station is nearby.
Rocky Mountain National Park is, of course, a must see. The park is crowded on weekends and in the summer, but everyone should drive through it at least. Estes Park is the major town in the area to check for accommodations.
Maps Estes Park & RMNP
Colorado Springs is located near many interesting sights. Our favorite is the Garden of the Gods and, of course, Pike's Peak. It's also convenient if you are flying into Colorado as an alternative to Denver.
Walden is a small town northeast of sprawling Steamboat Springs in the region known as Northpark. I guess you get the idea we don't like big cities much! Walden is just our piece of cake, though. It has about 3 or 4 motels (our favorite is the Westside Motel which is the only one off Main Street. Apparently, it used to be an apartment complex because the rooms are actually several rooms including complete kitchen for a very reasonable price. It's also quieter than the motels on Main Street. See a picture on our Photo Album and a review on our Cheap Motel Registry.), a couple of taverns, a few eating establishments including the Coffee Pot Cafe where the waitress did an impromptu stand-up comedy routine for us, a couple of stores and a Pioneer Museum. What else could you want? It's also convenient to numbers State Wildlife Areas that are Colorado's best kept secrets if you want to find an ideal spot for fishing. Another "must see" in this area is the Arapaho National Wildlife Refuge.
Any State Wildlife Area is worth seeing. We haven't seen them all, but the ones we have seen are wonderful. They are not marked on most maps, however, so you will need to obtain a handy guide by the Division of Wildlife, Colorado Fishing Season Information and Wildlife Property Directory. Many of these locations are near or on private property but available to fishing fans. Some allow camping, too. And, some are very hard to find. You won't find any big signs to help you on the way. But, once you get there, you will be glad. Our favorite is Verner outside Walden.
The Trout Route or Highway 14 follows the Cache le Poudre River and Canyon. Numerous National Forest Parks line the road and river. Access to wilderness areas are also located on or near the road, our favorite being the one near the Big South campground. The tiny town of Rustic is about the only place for supplies and has a couple of restaurants, too. Our favorite campground, however, is off the highway and to the north on Road 10 at Tunnel campground. What a place. Hiking into the wilderness is nearby, too, including the Mt. Zirkel Wilderness inside of Routt National Forest to the northwest of Walden (see a photo in Our Photo Album. You can also take daytrips to any number of other places. We found Red Feather Lakes too hard of a journey for too little reward, but the drive along the Laramie River was a lot of fun although we ran into some littered sites along the way. Too bad! More fun and rewarding is the challenging hike up Mt. Agnes (see our Photos.)
Next Trip will be to the Gunnison area, the only part we haven't seen. It's supposed to be excellent. But, we've been saving it!

Our Colorado Photos
Mt. Agnes
Falls, Routt National Forest, Mt. Zirkel Wilderness
West Side Motel, Walden
Glenwood Springs

� 1999 small change enterprises
All rights reserved

This page accessed times.
Page created by: wandaron@ix.netcom.com