Posted: 4/28/2012 4:55:41 AM EDT
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Greetings from sunny SW Florida! Many folks come to the FLHTF to ask about visiting the Gunshine state, now I am looking for suggestions on a visit to Denver. My Wife and like to visit different parts of the country and immerse ourselves in the community and have been to SF, NY, Boston, WDC, Chicago, etc. This year we will fly to Denver on May 12-19. I am also planning to spend 1-2 of those days in Cheyenne. Now I don't need to visit BassPro, we have those, and I really don't need to visit any local gun shops or ranges. We are looking to eat at unique locales, and seeing and experiencing the real West! What say ya'll? |
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If "unique" dining is your thing, go to the Fort in Morrison during your visit:
http://www.thefort.com/ I'd hardly call Denver the "real West". |
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another one to consider is the buckhorn exchange
if you're interested in western wear rockmount is a famous place the rockies are in town part of that week. you can always walk up and get a ticket. Larimer square in downtown denver has a great collection of restaurants. Linger is another great spot with a great view of downtown. Also, check out Root Down. here's a list of 38 essential denver restaurants Something I like to do is hit the Great Divide Tasting Room for happy hour––oftentimes the Basic Kneads pizza truck is outside (especially on friday). ––great beer and great pizza made in a truck. i don't know what you mean by immersing yourself in the city––are you staying only in denver, or are you going into the mountains? If you're looking for some good fun, stop in Ft. Collins on the way back from whatever reason you're going to Cheyenne to tour the breweries. Odell is my favorite, but New Belgium is bigger and has a better tour. Both have great tasting rooms, as does Ft Collins Brewery |
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Quoted: We will probably spend a day or two in Cheyenne and a day or two in Breckenridge. So we will venture beyond the city.If "unique" dining is your thing, go to the Fort in Morrison during your visit: http://www.thefort.com/ I'd hardly call Denver the "real West". Keep everything in perspective, I am sitting about 12 feet above sea level right now. Also, as a 4th gen Floridian, my exposure to snow is almost none existent. |
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We will probably spend a day or two in Cheyenne and a day or two in Breckenridge. So we will venture beyond the city.
If "unique" dining is your thing, go to the Fort in Morrison during your visit: http://www.thefort.com/ I'd hardly call Denver the "real West". Keep everything in perspective, I am sitting about 12 feet above sea level right now. Also, as a 4th gen Floridian, my exposure to snow is almost none existent. Breckenridge is apt to be quite slow in May, it's after ski season and before summer tourist season. An interesting place to go in Summit County, about 5-6 miles north of Breck, is Sapphire Point off the top of Swan Mountain Road. It's just past the south end of Lake Dillon (aka Farmer's Corner, the junction of Hwy 9 and Swan Mountain Road). Go east on Swan Mtn Rd and up the hill, turn into the parking lot at the top, then follow the short trail out to the point. Outstanding view of the Ten Mile Range, the south end of the Gore Range, etc. |
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oK, new tentative itinerary. Fly into Denver, stay 2-3 days, drive up to Estes Park, stay a day or two, them Cheyenne a day or two. Sound like a good plan? In Estes, be sure to eat at the Wapiti Pub. Get an elk burger - they're delicious! Head into RMNP and drive around. |
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Quoted: is there some reason you want to spend time in Cheyenne? We just want to see some more of the area. Please, suggest something and I'll check it out. Please remember, just because you live in the area, you may be a little jaded in your opinions. I have lived in Florida all my life. I see no need in sitting out in the dirt sweating my ass off, bur some folks might appreciate the beach.....  |
| I'd say for a first visit, do the touristy things––RMNP, Pikes Peak, Garden of the Gods... you might enjoy visiting Summit county (Breckenridge, etc), though as mentioned before, it's off season. Drive over Fremont Pass and visit Leadville/Lake county. Highest mountains in the state are there. Go on down to Beuna Vista and Salida, pretty drive. The Sawatch is quite an impressive mountain range. From Salida go to Canon City, and visit the Royal Gorge. From Canon City, go on to Colo Springs and on to Denver. |
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is there some reason you want to spend time in Cheyenne? We just want to see some more of the area. Please, suggest something and I'll check it out. Please remember, just because you live in the area, you may be a little jaded in your opinions. I have lived in Florida all my life. I see no need in sitting out in the dirt sweating my ass off, bur some folks might appreciate the beach.....
I don't live in CO (yet) but I can say that we did the same thing on one of our trips out there. I thought that Cheyenne would be cool. It's not. There's really nothing there, much less for a couple days. |
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Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: is there some reason you want to spend time in Cheyenne? We just want to see some more of the area. Please, suggest something and I'll check it out. Please remember, just because you live in the area, you may be a little jaded in your opinions. I have lived in Florida all my life. I see no need in sitting out in the dirt sweating my ass off, bur some folks might appreciate the beach..... I don't live in CO (yet) but I can say that we did the same thing on one of our trips out there. I thought that Cheyenne would be cool. It's not. There's really nothing there, much less for a couple days. Gotcha... |
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Quoted: Now we're talkin'! I already looked at Pike's Peak, looks pretty interesting.I'd say for a first visit, do the touristy things––RMNP, Pikes Peak, Garden of the Gods... you might enjoy visiting Summit county (Breckenridge, etc), though as mentioned before, it's off season. Drive over Fremont Pass and visit Leadville/Lake county. Highest mountains in the state are there. Go on down to Beuna Vista and Salida, pretty drive. The Sawatch is quite an impressive mountain range. From Salida go to Canon City, and visit the Royal Gorge. From Canon City, go on to Colo Springs and on to Denver. What about Estes Park? I was thinking a little horseback riding, a rafting trip. We did a raft tour on the Colorado in Moab a couple of years ago. Does anyone think a couple of nights in Estes Park seem like a good idea? Keep it coming..... |
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Now we're talkin'! I already looked at Pike's Peak, looks pretty interesting.
I'd say for a first visit, do the touristy things––RMNP, Pikes Peak, Garden of the Gods... you might enjoy visiting Summit county (Breckenridge, etc), though as mentioned before, it's off season. Drive over Fremont Pass and visit Leadville/Lake county. Highest mountains in the state are there. Go on down to Beuna Vista and Salida, pretty drive. The Sawatch is quite an impressive mountain range. From Salida go to Canon City, and visit the Royal Gorge. From Canon City, go on to Colo Springs and on to Denver. What about Estes Park? I was thinking a little horseback riding, a rafting trip. We did a raft tour on the Colorado in Moab a couple of years ago. Does anyone think a couple of nights in Estes Park seem like a good idea? Keep it coming..... Estes Park is my jam. Wife and I honeymooned there in '09, and have visited multiple times since. Like I said, eat dinner or lunch at the Wapiti Pub. Great elk and buffalo burgers. Good local beer. Not too expensive. Wake up early one morning and get donuts at the Donut Haus. They're fantastic. Then another morning try the Egg and I. Pretty good. There's more good places, but I'm sure you're tired of food talk. 
There's a horse barn near one of the RMNP entrances. I know they do tours through the park. Unfortunately May is a bit early to do a lot of the cool stuff that I know to do in the park. |
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Skip Cheyenne, it is just a refugee camp for Front Range families to escape income tax...it also happens to be the most hideous part of the state. Run around the Front Range, and go visit the mountains...Wyoming is a trip all unto itself, except for Cheyenne. Gunnison is cool this time of year, Garden of the Gods outside of the Springs is beautiful...drive up Pike's Peak if it isn't cloudy or hazy out. Estes Park is also beautiful. |
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OP, just remember, nobody here is trying to steer you wrong about Cheyenne. would you send someone to Raiford or Yeehaw Junction for 2 days if they were going to visit Florida? Well, that's about what you're planning to do.
there are 100 places in colorado that, on their worst day, are better than spending 5 minutes in Cheyenne. |
if you go to estes then there's the stanley hotel, it's fun to visit and they have historical tours and "ghost tours" lol. also like any tourist trap estes has good ice cream and sweets shops (great fudge and candy apples) on the way to estes from loveland, just west of loveland on hwy 34 there's a great czech restaurant called the bohemian cottage, it looks exactly like a czech cottage and has a green roof. it's great and run by a czech man and his slovak wife, they are very friendly and will visit with you after you're done eating. yes the egg and i is very good, i go to the ones in ft collins, windsor and greeley quite often  if you're in ft collins theres a couple of good bbq places, actually theres lots of good restaurants in ft collins, i remember reading one time the ft collins has the most restaurants per capita in the entire country lol. also if you're down south the air force academy is always fun to see.
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I think if you still feel like a drive that heading back to Denver from Colorado Springs via Highway 24 west to Highway 285 and then north and back into the Denver metro area will show you some other back country of the Front Range. You'll go through some pretty country on 24 and then up through South Park. Its better in September of course when the leaves turn.
That drive would take four or more hours over the 1 hour straight up I25. |
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White water rafting in May.. Tourists are so cute.. 
Ahhh....May 09. We had a blast. We had a very dry and snowless spring this year, so the water won't be all that high and dangerous in May- it WILL be cold. The odds are very high that your testicles will never re-descend from your abdominal cavity. If you can live with that, have fun rafting. By not all that high and dangerous- I expect you have a good chance of making it down the river in one piece. |
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Quoted: Quoted: Quoted: White water rafting in May.. Tourists are so cute.. Ahhh....May 09. We had a blast. We had a very dry and snowless spring this year, so the water won't be all that high and dangerous in May- it WILL be cold. The odds are very high that your testicles will never re-descend from your abdominal cavity. If you can live with that, have fun rafting. By not all that high and dangerous- I expect you have a good chance of making it down the river in one piece. Sounds like we'll have fun! If I was looking for a hot day at the beach I would stay home! |
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Debriefing; Flew into Denver late Friday night. Spent Saturday in Denver. Not much to do...and rainy. So we drove out to Breckenridge and had lunch. Sat. Morning we drove up to Estes Park. Stayed in a small Motel(4-Seasons). Stayed through Wednesday. Hiking, HB riding, rafted near Ft. Collins. They opened up the road over the Cont Divide, so we took the long way around, had lunch in Winter Park and moved on to Colorado Springs. Went to Pikes Peak, hung out in Manitou Springs, went to the Zoo, and drove down to the Royal Gorge and rode the train. Flew out on Sat. morning. Had a pretty good time. Saw some flurries(remember, I live in the sub tropics) and some huge snow drifts. We live in a beautiful country. I love visiting as much of it as I can!! Thanks for the tips folks!  |