Colorado Itinerary
IMO, Colorado is made for road trips. There are tons of things to do here, but they are all far apart from one another. You can hire me as your Boulder Tour Guide, but this article is for you guys that want to go off on your own. Here are some tips for travelers looking to do Colorado stuff that Google doesn’t provide much help with.
Natural phenomena:
Colorado is full of them. With that said, one of the least talked about canyons in the US is the Black Canyon of the Gunnison. The Grand Canyon gets all the credit and the Gunnison is more or less forgotten about. The Gunnison has nice trails, is way less trafficked and is absolutely huge. You will not be disappointed just because it is the US’s second biggest canyon. This picture doesn’t do it justice: this just a portion of it.
Hot springs:
There are many hot springs locations in Colorado, but some are better than others. Check out Orvis Hot Springs in Ouray or Hot Sulphur Springs in…Hot Sulphur Springs.
Orvis is fully nude or clothed (common) located on the outskirts of the mountain town of Ouray, also known as the Switzerland of America. It’s completely secluded, well managed, not creepy, clean, not chlorinated, and very relaxing. No phones allowed, thus no pictures. For those of you that want extra relaxation, check out the quiet tub. Mid $20 range.
Hot Sulphur Springs is…run down to say the least, but that is part of the charm. The town is basically closed m-th and located about 1hr from Steamboat (another great location). The hot springs themselves are located in a pretty shabby outpost on the side of a hill, basically. There are 16 tubs, one grotto (pictured below), none of them chlorinated, minerals everywhere you walk, clothed, and the sun is shining directly down upon you. I loved it. Very rustic, would go back. Mid $20 range. Here is my brother:
Ski Town:
Check out Steamboat. Parking for three hours and one minute in Vail will cost you $75. You can get street parking for free in Steamboat. Steamboat is half cattle ranch, half ski bum. It’s not that posh. I like that. It’s also host to two hot springs locations, one of which has a good gym attached to it (Old Town Hot Springs), in addition to some good hiking (shown below).
The people are nice and you won’t feel the least bit out of place in a t-shirt and jeans. Interestingly, Steamboat also creates more Olympic athletes than any other city in the US.
Public parking in Vail:
Historical Stuff:
Check out the site of the Sand Creek Massacre, which is also just a stone’s throw away from America’s newest national park: the WWII Japanese Internment Camp. These two sites offer more by way of story than things to see but the stories, especially the Sand Creek Massacre one, are so compelling that they are worth the 3 hour drive from Boulder. I basically can’t say enough good things about the Sand Creek Massacre site.
If you’re anything like me, you’ll be thinking and talking about these two sites for months after you visited them, in contrast to the other places where you have a fun time and then it’s over. These two places make you think and feel!
