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Old 03-25-2019, 03:47 PM
 
171 posts, read 189,145 times
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Great thanks. My wife wants to visit the sand dunes down south and proposed this itinerary. Please let me know if this is feasible as well as safe to drive during the night:
Wednesday(arriving around 5 pm ish) drive to beuna vista from airport (2.5hrs)
Thursday- start the day slow and leave to great sand dunes at 1pm
Drive to great sand dunes (1.50 hours drive)
Hike to nearest dunes, watch sunset, stargaze? Leave as early as possible to beuna vista . Is this route safe to drive after sunset?
Friday- checkout and leave to royal gorge(1.30 hours away)
All royal gorge attractions till evening
Drive to manitou springs and stay there on Friday night
Saturday- checkout, goto pikes peak, garden of gods and head to Denver
Sat night eat dinner and stay near denver airport
Sunday morning flight to catch.
Thanks all again. Sorry for asking too many questions
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Old 03-25-2019, 03:56 PM
 
Location: Aurora, CO
8,603 posts, read 14,877,226 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by srick123 View Post
Great thanks. My wife wants to visit the sand dunes down south and proposed this itinerary. Please let me know if this is feasible as well as safe to drive during the night:
Wednesday(arriving around 5 pm ish) drive to beuna vista from airport (2.5hrs)
Thursday- start the day slow and leave to great sand dunes at 1pm
Drive to great sand dunes (1.50 hours drive)
Hike to nearest dunes, watch sunset, stargaze? Leave as early as possible to beuna vista . Is this route safe to drive after sunset?
Friday- checkout and leave to royal gorge(1.30 hours away)
All royal gorge attractions till evening
Drive to manitou springs and stay there on Friday night
Saturday- checkout, goto pikes peak, garden of gods and head to Denver
Sat night eat dinner and stay near denver airport
Sunday morning flight to catch.
Thanks all again. Sorry for asking too many questions
You'll have to cross Medano Creek to get to the dunes, and the water (if it's running) will be mighty chilly. Either bring waterproof footwear, or plan to run across the creek barefoot quickly.

The NPS has a page listing the current creek conditions here. According to that page the creek will likely only be a couple inches deep in April.
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Old 03-25-2019, 04:33 PM
 
Location: Manitou Springs
1,453 posts, read 1,857,008 times
Reputation: 1728
Quote:
Originally Posted by srick123 View Post
Great thanks. My wife wants to visit the sand dunes down south and proposed this itinerary. Please let me know if this is feasible as well as safe to drive during the night:
Wednesday(arriving around 5 pm ish) drive to beuna vista from airport (2.5hrs)
Thursday- start the day slow and leave to great sand dunes at 1pm
Drive to great sand dunes (1.50 hours drive)
Hike to nearest dunes, watch sunset, stargaze? Leave as early as possible to beuna vista . Is this route safe to drive after sunset?
Friday- checkout and leave to royal gorge(1.30 hours away)
All royal gorge attractions till evening
Drive to manitou springs and stay there on Friday night
Saturday- checkout, goto pikes peak, garden of gods and head to Denver
Sat night eat dinner and stay near denver airport
Sunday morning flight to catch.
Thanks all again. Sorry for asking too many questions
I'm not sure what you mean by "safe". Rt. 285 is a long stretch of open road with not much between it and the sand dunes - it's beautiful to those of us who love that sort of thing, but if you're not used to that kind of driving, you may find it "adventurous" after dark. Many drives in Colorado involve longs stretches of nothingness and lots of miles between towns, gas, food, etc.

Why would you leave Buena Vista so late in the day? If you're not doing anything in BV, leave early and enjoy the drive and the dunes by day so you're not driving at night on an unfamiliar road. From Buena Vista, check out Cottonwood Pass when you get back ... you'll be able to see plenty of starry sky. You can do a night-time soak at Cottonwood Hot Springs (it's only 5 miles from the center of BV) and gaze at the stars while lounging in one of the pools ... heaven: https://www.cottonwood-hot-springs.com/colorado/

The drive between BV and the Royal Gorge is a nice one - you'll enjoy the Arkansas River.

You could time your Garden of the Gods visit so that you're doing that on your way back to Denver. In other words, make that your last stop on the way out of town, allowing plenty of time to explore.

Not sure what you mean by "go to Pikes Peak" ... are you planning to drive to the top? I think 3 hours is a good estimate of time for that. All depends on how many stops you make and then spend at the top.

Ask as many questions as you want ... it's not a problem.

Last edited by mtngigi; 03-25-2019 at 04:36 PM.. Reason: added text
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Old 03-25-2019, 06:37 PM
 
171 posts, read 189,145 times
Reputation: 149
Quote:
Originally Posted by bluescreen73 View Post
You'll have to cross Medano Creek to get to the dunes, and the water (if it's running) will be mighty chilly. Either bring waterproof footwear, or plan to run across the creek barefoot quickly.

The NPS has a page listing the current creek conditions here. According to that page the creek will likely only be a couple inches deep in April.
Sure will keep that in mind. Thanks for bringing that to our attention.
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Old 03-25-2019, 06:41 PM
 
171 posts, read 189,145 times
Reputation: 149
Quote:
Originally Posted by mtngigi View Post
I'm not sure what you mean by "safe". Rt. 285 is a long stretch of open road with not much between it and the sand dunes - it's beautiful to those of us who love that sort of thing, but if you're not used to that kind of driving, you may find it "adventurous" after dark. Many drives in Colorado involve longs stretches of nothingness and lots of miles between towns, gas, food, etc.

Why would you leave Buena Vista so late in the day? If you're not doing anything in BV, leave early and enjoy the drive and the dunes by day so you're not driving at night on an unfamiliar road. From Buena Vista, check out Cottonwood Pass when you get back ... you'll be able to see plenty of starry sky. You can do a night-time soak at Cottonwood Hot Springs (it's only 5 miles from the center of BV) and gaze at the stars while lounging in one of the pools ... heaven: https://www.cottonwood-hot-springs.com/colorado/

The drive between BV and the Royal Gorge is a nice one - you'll enjoy the Arkansas River.

You could time your Garden of the Gods visit so that you're doing that on your way back to Denver. In other words, make that your last stop on the way out of town, allowing plenty of time to explore.

Not sure what you mean by "go to Pikes Peak" ... are you planning to drive to the top? I think 3 hours is a good estimate of time for that. All depends on how many stops you make and then spend at the top.

Ask as many questions as you want ... it's not a problem.

Sure thanks for that new option you suggested with regards to stargazing will look into it !!!
As far as pikes peak is concerned we are planning to drive up to the summit.
Do we need chains for our tires? And is a 4X4 mandatory or recommended to get to the summit? We might take the shuttle if our car can't get there.
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Old 03-25-2019, 07:02 PM
 
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If weather has been good, a regular car can get to the summit. 4x4/chains are not necessary.
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Old 03-25-2019, 08:43 PM
 
171 posts, read 189,145 times
Reputation: 149
Ok. Will keep a look out for the weather and rent accordingly.
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Old 03-26-2019, 07:14 AM
 
Location: Santa Fe, NM
1,836 posts, read 3,164,857 times
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You may not be able to drive to the top of Pikes Peak. I think they are limiting the number of people parking up there due to the construction, and are forcing some to take the shuttle.
https://coloradosprings.gov/pikespeakshuttle
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Old 03-26-2019, 12:23 PM
 
171 posts, read 189,145 times
Reputation: 149
Ya i saw that. We will try to catch the shuttle
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Old 03-26-2019, 02:34 PM
 
6,821 posts, read 10,510,104 times
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The road to the top is not currently open - it might be by the time you come though - depends on weather.
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