1 week Colorado road trip I just took
I just got home to the Denver area from an amazing road trip through Colorado with the focus being the southwest. I wanted to share this journey for people looking for Colorado road trip advice.
Disclaimers: 1. It was a bit more driving than many people on Reddit advise. Increasing timeline from 8 days to 10 days would have been nice. 2. I would not do this for your first trip to Colorado. This is for visiting the west side, but there is a ton to see in the center of CO without having to drive so far. 3. It wasn’t perfect! Daily plans were not made in advance and we faced a lot of rain during our “main events” but still had an amazing time.
Day 1: MAROON BELLS - Left Denver at 8 am. Drove to Aspen through Independence Pass. Shuttled to Maroon Bells and hiked Crater Lake. Ate dinner and slept in a hotel in Basalt.
Day 2: BLACK CANYON OF THE GUNNISON - Stopped in Carbondale for coffee. Took multiple stops in Paonia for lunch, wine, and at Big B’s cider for a drink and stroll. Got the the national park. Set up camp. Drove the South Rim and did the majority of the overlooks. Campfire dinner.
Day 3: OURAY - A couple more canyon pics and then headed to a Montrose diner for breakfast. Spent a few hours at Orvis hot springs. Checked into a Bed and Breakfast in Ouray. Walked around the town and ate an amazing dinner at Brickhouse 737
Day 4: SILVERTON - Drove Million Dollar Highway. Stopped at many overlooks and abandoned buildings. Walked around the outdoor railroad museum and downtown of Silverton. Ate lunch. Drove back to Ouray (with more picture stops). Took a final stroll around Ouray. Drove to an AirBnb in downtown Telluride. Rode the gondola to the ski resort and back. Ate dinner down town.
Day 5: TELLURIDE - Hiked bear creek. Went to the history museum. Did a self guided historic walking tour with bar hopping in between. Rode the gondola again. Movie night at the BnB.
Day 6: MESA VERDE - Drove Lizard Head Pass. Cliff Dwellings tour. Cliff Dwellings Loop and Mesa Top Loop. Drove to Durango for a stay at a cheap hotel. Walked around downtown for food and drinks.
Day 7: CRESTONE - Stopped in Pagosa springs for lunch and a quick waterfall hike. Camped out.
Day 8: HOME - Lunch in Salida and returned home
Tips:
-Maroon Bells is beautiful but very crowded. If I would have done this trip backwards the crowds would have frustrated me.
-Maroon Bells parking for the shuttle is $50 on top of tickets so consider parking elsewhere and taking the free shuttle to the shuttle or just getting a Maroon Bells parking pass. Make sure you get either shuttle passes or a parking pass well in advance.
-Basalt is not great. Stay in Carbondale (or Glennwood if you’re willing to drive further).
-If you are stuck in Basalt eat at Heather’s Savory Pies and don’t worry about the other bars and restaurants
-Book your National Park camping reservations in advance
-Sunset Watch at Black Canyon isn’t necessary for sunset
-Views of Painted Wall were my personal favorite part of the park
-Check the weather before you go to sleep camping because it does still rain in Colorado. LOL we let chairs get soaked overnight because we are just not used to having to worry about rain in this state.
-Orvis hot springs was nice and inexpensive. It’s clothing optional but on this day the majority of people were in bathing suits. Everyone was cool.
-Do yourself a favor and book yourself a reservation a Brickhouse 737 in Ouray. Order the trout dip, venison, and rabbit bolognese.
-Do yourself a favor and add an extra night in Silverton
-Food in Telluride is not good and very expensive. I’m sure good spots exist, but if you’re there for an extended time cook some meals yourself.
-Don’t skip the Gondola in telluride even if it’s cloudy and rainy your entire stay (us)
-Book a tour to get down into the ruins at Mesa Verde. Cliff Palace is the most popular. They try and scare you with the ladder climbing but it’s nothing if you’re regular health.
-If you didn’t do yourself the favor of adding a night in Silverton, consider adding a camping night in Mesa Verde to lessen the drive
-Durango is probably a cool place to visit or even live for mountain biking and river stuff, but it wasn’t my favorite town
-If you’re visiting from another state and want normalcy do the Sand Dunes or Salida for the last night instead of Crestone