Where to travel for Labor Day weekend (hotels, home)
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My wife and I live in NYC and have done a ton of traveling over the past few years, both domestic and international, and there are very few places left on our list. We'd like to travel somewhere for Labor Day weekend but are having a tough time picking between these cities which we haven't been to yet but seem nice: Denver, Calgary, Salt Lake City, Ann Arbor. We'd be staying two nights. Any recommendations?
Ann Arbor - But Honestly if you're considering a Michigan city for a weekend I'd suggest Grand Rapids and/ or Traverse City. University of Michigan football kicks off that weekend you may be hard pressed to get a good feel for the city when it's swarmed with football fans. Aside from that you can pretty much tackle Ann Arbor in an afternoon. Traverse is a pretty fantastic vacation destination with a noted food scene and is close to some pretty spectacular natural beauty, such as sleeping bear dunes, and crystal clear Grand Traverse Bay (which it sits on). Grand Rapids has a decent foodie scene in a bustling downtown, and is just 30-40 minutes from the "Western Michigan Gold Coast" beaches. It is also known for it's brewery scene and beer tourism if you like beer.
I would suggest Denver. It's probably different enough from most of the places you've visited, as the Rockies are quite distinct versus other areas of the U.S. and offers plenty to do. Salt Lake is similar but on a smaller footprint with less to do in my opinion and more a visit along with places like Zion National Park/Bryce Canyon National Park versus a standalone urban getaway weekend.
Location: northern Vermont - previously NM, WA, & MA
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If you're going to the Rockies, fly to Calgary. The Canadian Rockies (Banff & Jasper National Parks) are outstanding and have the most impressive scenery with best chance to spot an assortment of wildlife and really see something different.
Denver will provide the most entertainment options as a city and it's pretty fun, but Colorado's best mountain scenery (Aspen/Maroon Bells and Telluride/San Juan Range) is quite a ways away from Denver. Banff is about a 1.5 hour drive from Calgary.
Denver will provide the most entertainment options as a city and it's pretty fun, but Colorado's best mountain scenery (Aspen/Maroon Bells and Telluride/San Juan Range) is quite a ways away from Denver. Banff is about a 1.5 hour drive from Calgary.
You can clearly see the mountains from Denver and they're certainly close enough for a 1.5 hour trip out to someplace like Estes Park (Rocky Mountain National Park) or Keystone (2800-3000 ft elevations) while still retaining all the benefits of proximity to a major city. Not to mention it's a heck of a lot more accessible over a weekend from NYC than Calgary along with not having the hassles of customs in/out.
Location: northern Vermont - previously NM, WA, & MA
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Quote:
Originally Posted by kyle19125
You can clearly see the mountains from Denver and they're certainly close enough for a 1.5 hour trip out to someplace like Estes Park (Rocky Mountain National Park) or Keystone (2800-3000 ft elevations) while still retaining all the benefits of proximity to a major city. Not to mention it's a heck of a lot more accessible over a weekend from NYC than Calgary along with not having the hassles of customs in/out.
I didn't say there weren't decent mountains near Denver and I know RMNP is easy to get to, but RMNP has got nothing on Banff. In my opinion Colorado's best mountains are much further away from Denver, particularly the San Juan range in the Durango/Telluride area.
If I were living in NYC and wanted to see the Rockies, I'd definitely go with the Canadian Rockies. I honestly feel they are more scenic and superlative. Looks like West Jet has a non-stop to Calgary from JFK and Air Canada has a non-stop from Newark so getting there isn't too difficult. If I wanted to have fun in a city for a long weekend and were choosing between Denver and Calgary, then I would definitely go with Denver for a city/mountain weekend combo.
Last edited by Champ le monstre du lac; 08-19-2016 at 06:03 PM..
Honestly Labor Day Weekend is one of the absolute worst times to visit the mountains around Denver. The crowds are extremely thick and traffic on I-70 west of Denver is atrocious. Estes Park and RMNP will be a madhouse.
If you have no desire to go into the mountains then by all means check Denver out, but if the high country is your goal I'd pick somewhere else.
My wife and I live in NYC and have done a ton of traveling over the past few years, both domestic and international, and there are very few places left on our list. We'd like to travel somewhere for Labor Day weekend but are having a tough time picking between these cities which we haven't been to yet but seem nice: Denver, Calgary, Salt Lake City, Ann Arbor. We'd be staying two nights. Any recommendations?
I'd choose Denver over Calgary, but it's not clear if you're talking "Denver" vs "RMNP" or "Calgary" vs "Banff/Jasper".
I live in the Denver metro. We just went to Calgary and Banff/Jasper. We (well, really I) wanted to see Calgary as it's supposedly the Canadian "Denver". I don't want to bring out the brickbats here, but it's not at the level of sophistication of Denver. Now I know many who will scoff and say "Denver? Sophisticated?", but Calgary is less so. One day would do you for Calgary. It does have a nice pedestrian mall (as does Denver) and the Glenbow Museum, a sort of art museum which we liked, but it's not the DAM by a longshot. It will be a holiday weekend there, too, also Labor Day. We were there on the first weekend in August, Civic Holiday weekend in Canada and the attractions were all quite busy. When we were in Banff, we thought everyone from Calgary had gone to Banff; when we got to Calgary, we thought everyone who stayed home had gone downtown. I'd rate Banff as somewhat "better" than RMNP, bigger anyway and there's Lake Louise.
To summarize, Denver if you want some city attractions, Banff if you want a better mountain park.
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