Information for visit (Denver, Woodland Park, Buena Vista: living in, garden, health)

[Jordy920]

Can anybody tell me if visiting Pikes Peak, Seven Falls,Royal Gorge and Garden of the Gods is doable in two full days? We would also like to visit Cripple Creek on the third day. Thank you, we will be visiting in September.

[phetaroi]

As with destination, it depends on how long you want to spend at each attraction. For example, you can drive through Garden Of The Gods in an hour, or you can do hikes and spend a day.

But, I think what you are outlining is reasonable for 2 FULL days.

[Jordy920]

Thank you for the reply.

[otowi]

I concur - two very full days you could fit all that in. If you need to take one out, I'd recommend it be the Seven Falls. It's nice, but the other 3 are more must-see in my view.

[mtngigi]

Agree with otowi - cross Seven Falls off your list. You'll have more time to enjoy the other things you want to do.

Garden of the Gods is a quick stint, unless you do want to get out and hike. The Royal Gorge is a little drive but well worth it at the end.

What I would suggest is a loop trip - leave early to see the Gorge, then from the Gorge, stay on 50 and drive to Buena Vista - then 285 to 24 through South Park (a beautiful stretch of open country ringed by mountains.

You can get to Cripple Creek off 24 by getting on County Rd. 1 in Florissant, spend the night in Cripple Creek, then come back to the Springs via 67 back to 24, for your Pikes Peak adventure.

County Rd. 1 is a very pretty drive - you go past Florissant Fossil Beds, which you might find interesting as well.

Well, all that is assuming you like road trips as much as I do. In Colorado terms, it's a quick jaunt.

[allprolab]

You might consider doing the cog railway for pikes peak. Some get pretty nervous driving the narrow curvy roads with steep drop offs. The cog is a nice scenic ride where everyone can relax and enjoy themselves.

[Marcy1210]

If you do the Cog Railway up Pikes Peak (I highly recommend it), you might want to order your tickets online way ahead of time, and then pick them up at the Will Call window.

I also agree with mtngigi that the loop drive is spectacular. Hwy 285 to Buena Vista is a good drive, then grab lunch in Buena Vista, head east on Hwy 24 through South Park to Florissant, and either take Hwy 1 to Cripple Creek, or go to Divide and turn right at the light, taking Hwy 67 to Cripple Creek. You can also spend the night in Woodland Park if you wanted to.

[otowi]

The loop drive mentioned by others sounds to me like a method to your day 3 Cripple Creek plan. However, if you're interested in gambling or really taking your time visiting all the museums and exhibits in Cripple Creek/Victor, you may need to adjust plans a bit. Also weather does matter as well as your comfort with mountain driving. For example, you could loop via the Phantom Canyon road or the Shelf Road both of which are loved by locals - I typically go counter clockwise - Cripple Creek first then down from there. But not every tourist may be ready for those, while some are more than ready.

[Jordy920]

Thanks for all the suggestions, I'm confused as to how to spend the last few days, I still have Thursday and Friday that I can use to see some nice areas in Colorado, Maroon Bells seems doable also, if anybody has any suggestions on things to see and do in a few days in other parts of the state,please suggest away, as long as we are back in Denver by early Saturday night, we have an early Sunday morning flight. Thanks.

[coschristi]

It's do-able as long as you can "do" the altitude. I'm not trying to be negative, just realistic. A few years ago one of my sons, born and raised here for 16 years came back here after living in Illinois for 2 years. He's a healthy kid, 6'4 and lean, basketball player. His 1st day back was spent in bed recovering from altitude sickness & he had to reschedule his plans for that day. He was really surprised, he didn't think it would happen to him.