If you had 1 summer month...which CO town? (Boulder, Durango: sublet, rental)

[ctr88]

Hi, I'm a single male 38 and I'm thinking of spending a month or so in the summer in a pretty Colorado town just to kick it and enjoy. I'm thinking Steamboat, Crested Butte as my top 2 choices. Possibly Aspen or Durango. For folks who have spent summers in these locales what do you think is the best choice?

I'm looking to do a lot of hiking, Mt. Biking, camping, a little bit of golf (if I can find it reletively cheap), some reading of good books. I'd like to be able to hit a cool bar or two to grab a few pints on occasion and talk to some folks (even better, chicks ). I would LOVE some outdoor live music and festivals while I'm there. I'd like to be around mellow laid back people.

I would probably try to find a inexpensive sublet on Craigslist for the month to save coin, as I'm NOT a trust fund dude

Any recommendations? Thanks!!!

[wanneroo]

Steamboat doesn't really do it for me in the summer.

Vail is pretty good, can't go wrong there. I love Vail. Honestly though in the summer, Aspen is the best, despite all the issues with it. I did about six summers until recently in Vail, but went over to Aspen frequently.

Crested Butte, haven't been there in so long, so I can't comment on it.

[delta07]

Any of those towns would be beautiful in the summer. All are going to be expensive, but Aspen probably has the highest cost of living. Durango is going to be much hotter in the summer than the other towns as well. In terms of summer music festivals, I know Telluride has the best with the Telluride Bluegrass Festival around the summer solstice. Durango isn't too far from there, but you might also look at spending your time there, or nearby in Ridgway. I have a few friends who live there year round a love it! Aspen also has a couple of summer music festivals. I'm not sure about Crested Butte or Steamboat. All of these towns have some cool bars with good microbrews. From what I've heard though, males should bring their own girls, as single women are short in mountain towns. I think that regardless of where you go, you will have a great time. I spent my childhood hiking, camping, and loving the CO mountains. It's a beautiful state!

[jazzlover]

Originally Posted by ctr88

Hi, I'm a single male 38 and I'm thinking of spending a month or so in the summer in a pretty Colorado town just to kick it and enjoy. I'm thinking Steamboat, Crested Butte as my top 2 choices. Possibly Aspen or Durango. For folks who have spent summers in these locales what do you think is the best choice?

I'm looking to do a lot of hiking, Mt. Biking, camping, a little bit of golf (if I can find it reletively cheap), some reading of good books. I'd like to be able to hit a cool bar or two to grab a few pints on occasion and talk to some folks (even better, chicks ). I would LOVE some outdoor live music and festivals while I'm there. I'd like to be around mellow laid back people.

I would probably try to find a inexpensive sublet on Craigslist for the month to save coin, as I'm NOT a trust fund dude

Any recommendations? Thanks!!!

Well, you picked four of the most expensive places in Colorado to put on your list. To tell you the truth, you will not find all of that you are seeking in any of those places, especially if you are not a trustifarian with money to burn. As far as finding "laid back" people, what you are going to find in those kind of towns in summer is mostly uptight tourists trying to make the same kind of escape you are. Some vacation. My suggestion is to look for the more quiet, less well-known out of the way places. You won't have award-winning golf, chicks, fancy bars, etc., but you can find the "real" Colorado and enjoy the landscape for what it is, not what some developer thinks it should be.

Places like Gunnison, LaVeta (though it does have a good golf course), Hot Sulphur Springs, the Conejos River canyon west of Antonito are a few that come to mind.

[Dreaming of Hawaii]

I think both Steamboat and Crested Butte would be great choices. Both have lots to do and are busy with tourists in the summer, but they are still pretty laid back. Both have great hiking and fishing nearby, but I think Crested Butte would be my choice because of its location at the end of nowhere. Both are more of mountain towns, in my opinion, than Durango and Aspen is, well, Aspen.

[ctr88]

Thanks for all the responses. Crested Butte might be the leader. The wilderness surrouding it like Maroon Bells, etc... would make for some amazing hikes. I've heard the mountain biking is very good. And I'd like to take a road trip down to the San Juans, down 160 to Pagosa...Crested is closer to this area than Steamboat.

Ridgeway is an interesting option. I would like that better than Telluride. I visited T-ride in 2006 in the summer, although breaktakingly beautiful, the town felt a little "contrived" and a bit too elitiist. I actually like Aspens downtown better (but I think Telluride is prettier). I've never been to Crested Butte or Steamboat.

Thanks for the input jazzlover...what do you think of Ridgeway?

I'm also thinking about Bend OR or Missoula MT for a month in the summer, vs. the aforementioned CO towns. Crested Butte seems more "right in the mountains" than Bend or Missoula. I've been to Missoula but not to Bend.

[Scott5280]

I would spend the summer in Aspen for sure, something I did myself a few years back.... Prices are very high, but if you can afford it,you will not only be surrounded
by amazing landscapes..You will meet some of the coolest people...Gorgeous girls,uber
hip atmoshere...Aspen of course has it's share of a$$- holes, but generally most locals
are very laid back...Hang gliding, biking,hiking...very sports oriented....Steamboat is really fun as well...much cheaper

[delta07]

Originally Posted by ctr88

Thanks for all the responses. Crested Butte might be the leader. The wilderness surrouding it like Maroon Bells, etc... would make for some amazing hikes. I've heard the mountain biking is very good. And I'd like to take a road trip down to the San Juans, down 160 to Pagosa...Crested is closer to this area than Steamboat.

Ridgeway is an interesting option. I would like that better than Telluride. I visited T-ride in 2006 in the summer, although breaktakingly beautiful, the town felt a little "contrived" and a bit too elitiist. I actually like Aspens downtown better (but I think Telluride is prettier). I've never been to Crested Butte or Steamboat.

Thanks for the input jazzlover...what do you think of Ridgeway?

I'm also thinking about Bend OR or Missoula MT for a month in the summer, vs. the aforementioned CO towns. Crested Butte seems more "right in the mountains" than Bend or Missoula. I've been to Missoula but not to Bend.

Missoula is in a valley, but Bend sits right at the base of the Cascades. You really get the feel that you are right in the mountains, especially if you find a place to rent on the west side of town. It's similar to living in Boulder, Ridgway, or Crested Butte. Bend is really a beautiful town!

Ridgway is a pretty cool town. Very small, but has a great feel to it. There is a lot of cool history nearby in the towns of Ouray and Silverton. It would be really hard for me to decide on just one place to spend a month, especially since all of the places you are talking about are great.

If your idea in spending a month in one of these places is to look at it for a future move, then that would change things. Many of the mountain towns you are thinking about in CO are great for visiting, but hard to live in. You could never afford to buy a house, food is expensive, and you have to fight with the tourists for everything. This is one of the reasons I moved to Bend. It has the feel of a mountain town, but not nearly the headache. But, of course, if you are just looking for a great place to chill out for a month, any of the places you are considering would be fantastic!

[Mike from back east]

Was down in Buena Vista the other day, seems there is a lot there in the summer, though not sure of the book thing. Allows access to other areas without too long of a drive.

If books are big, don't rule out Boulder. Lots of bookworms there, coffee houses, beer stubes, ladies, major college town, decent vibe, parks, but not to cheap either.

Was impressed with Ouray for the mountains. Durango may be hotter in the summer, but a fair amount of cycling, rafting, a couple of small stage theaters, variety of foods.

[ctr88]

Mike, just looked at Buena Vista on a map, looks like it's fairly close to a bunch of fourteeners in the Sawatch Range. Interesting.

Delta07, I am also scouting out a place as a future 2nd home area. I'm very impressed with what you are saying about Bend OR. What you are saying makes a lot of sense. Bend is more of a real sized town vs. the smaller, resort-ish CO ski towns. Another nice thing about Bend is it seems to have a lot of lakes, especially up towards the Mt. Bachelor area. Colorado really doesn't have a lot of natural lakes in any part of the state. A nice thing about Whitefish or Missoula MT is the lake access.

Looking at prices of rental houses on the Bend Craigslist, they are lot more affordable than Crested, Aspen or Steamboat. Same with Missoula.

I drove through Ridgeway on a road trip in 2006, the beauty of the stretch of highway between Ridgway and Telluride was stunningly beautiful.

Sounds like you are sold on Bend as your most favorite western U.S. mountain city.

I have to say one place back east that rivals all the places we are talking about is Vermont. That whole state is a little green gem-like paradise in the summers. One thing I think it totally has over anywhere in the Western U.S. is the quaintness of it's small towns and the beauty of its natural (non dam) lakes. And I have been in every state in the West.