Colorado - 1st trip - advice please!

[spotz04]

Flying into Denver, CO, at the end of Aug -- trip duration is 1 week so we have to plan wisely. My first time in CO so I'm pretty excited. It looks like our trip will mostly be on the western side of the Rockies while going from north to south.

This trip is mainly for shooting pics and touring various sites between stopping points. We're planning to do a lot of driving. Already did a search in the forum but I thought I'd through some questions out there.

I don't normally do a lot of hiking, plus I'm thinking the high altitude it's going to really knock the wind out of my old sails. Can probably do short (1-2 mi.) hikes. No kids with us, just two adults.

My current list of where we're considering driving to -

Rocky Mtn Natl Park. - I'm aware of the 9am-4pm road closers for getting to Bear Lake (Bear Lake Rd). Any updates as to how much of a hassle it currently is with traffic and long delays?

Grand Lake area - Trail Ridge Rd. Assuming there's not too many places along this long road to pull over for photos......or..?

Colorado Springs. - ??

Great Sand Dune. - Probably stay overnight in Alamosa since it's close.

Is nearby "Zapata Falls" worth visiting for a pics?
I have GNDs and the Big Stopper.

Pikes Peak. - ??

Aspen/Basalt area - I'm assuming this is mostly a winter tourism area? Is it worth a visit during summer?

Any old ghost towns along the above treks list for shooting pics?

Planning to shoot the Milky Way at least one night. Exactly how bright is the Milky Way on top of the Rockies or some tall peak?
I already scanned the Dark Sky Finder map for low level areas.

Any tips or cautions?

Suggestions greatly appreciated!

[Clark]

Trail ridge road has lots of places to pull over. Take a wide angle lens, you will love it. You may want to try old falls road too, it's a gravel one way road leading from outside Estes Park to the Alpine visitors center.

[spotz04]

Originally Posted by Clark

Trail ridge road has lots of places to pull over. Take a wide angle lens, you will love it. You may want to try old falls road too, it's a gravel one way road leading from outside Estes Park to the Alpine visitors center.

Thanks! I didn't know about Old Fall Rd so now I just looked that up. Being it's a gravel road how badly will the 11 mile drive ding up a the sides of midsize rental car from the rock chips, even if driving either at or below the posted 15 mph speed limit?

[Clark]

Originally Posted by spotz04

Thanks! I didn't know about Old Fall Rd so now I just looked that up. Being it's a gravel road how badly will the 11 mile drive ding up a the sides of midsize rental car from the rock chips, even if driving either at or below the posted 15 mph speed limit?

You go up it pretty slow, and we stopped a lot to go see the stream that runs along it. The road gets narrow in some spots.

[centrarchidae]

There is no scenery in Colorado. Nor wildlife. They've all moved out. Nor is there any air or water, and the entire state burned down.





(j/k)

Seriously, RMNP is neat. Like Clark said, check out Trail Ridge road and bring a wide-angle. Don't be afraid to drive like hell, because no car handles as well as a rental.

Depending upon where you're trying to end up, I'd think about skipping I-70 and taking US40 across. Or take CO9 down through Breckenridge to Fairplay/Alma, and 285 to US 50 through Gunnison and Montrose.

Actually, something like that last part, and taking 550 down to Durango and then driving back east across the southern edge of the state is something that I've been meaning to do for a while. I've never really done that before.

[MCAsan]

Consider a trip into the southwest corner to do Mesa Verde and Hovenweep.


BTW, when we go on trips out west, we rent a 4x4 .....you never know when you head off into BLM land.

[katgrl82]

RMNP-I don't know about the road closures, but I would recommend being at the Bear Lake parking area far earlier than 9 AM anyway. It gets very crowded as this is a popular hiking area. I think Dream Lake is the lake most people go to for sunrise shots. Nymph Lake is better to see on your way back, later in the morning when there is enough light for good reflections. The total round trip hike if you do the Bear Lake-Nymph Lake-Dream Lake-Emerald Lake loop is around 3 miles. Even if you just make it to a couple of the lakes, this is a must do hike. Also check out Alberta Falls nearby.

We also liked Lower and Upper Copeland Falls, a very easy and flat hike to see in the Wild Basin Area of the park.

Take the Peak to Peak highway from Denver, very scenic. Not really a lot of pull offs, but a pretty drive.

Trail Ridge Road has many pull offs. Very nice drive.

Colorado Springs Garden of the Gods is gorgeous early morning or late evening when the rocks glow more red. Pike's Peak is also worth a stop.

Aspen While I hate the town(too touristy, yuppie, expensive, crowded), the Maroon Bells nearby are gorgeous and worth a stop. There is also the Ashcroft Ghost Town nearby. Its actually on a road the runs parallel to the road to Marroon Bells.

I would recommend a drive up Independence Pass as well. Beautiful drive with a few pull offs. There is also a ghost town near the summit, the town of Independence.

We also like the ghost town of St. Elmo, south of Leadville. We mostly do Jeeping in Colorado and go to many out of the way ghost towns, lakes, and scenic vistas, but there are some places you can go in a rental car as well.

Our favorite area of Colorado is the southwestern area near Ouray. We love RMNP as well though. Everywhere in Colorado is scenic, the distances are vast though so you have to pick and choose which area to visit. I highly recommend the Photographing the Southwest book on Colorado. Lots of tips on places to photograph, how to get there, and when in the day to be there. I have a bunch of Colorado pics in my gallery linked in my signature if that helps at all.

[spotz04]

Thanks for all the tips and suggestions, everyone, this is really great info and it'll take some strategic route planning.

I think the southwest corner will have to wait for another trip someday due to the limited time factor.

[spotz04]

I changed our vehicle rental reservation to a standard SUV as we'll likely be going offroad. My worry though is that SUVs don't have a trunk so securing my backpack of camera gear concerns me. I reserved a "full size Jeep Cherokee or similar" from National.

Any places within Denver's city limits worth photographing? The current plan is to spend a full day in the city since we're hitting the US Mint tour (no cameras, no nothing allowed inside, wallet & cellphone only) and a Rockie's ballgame in the evening.

[bps]

Just stop in and buy a really cheap blanket that's a similar color to the interior of the SUV. Should cost you around $10 and the perfect way to camouflage the the things you'll keep in the back of the SUV.

Bryan

[centrarchidae]

Originally Posted by spotz04

Any places within Denver's city limits worth photographing? The current plan is to spend a full day in the city since we're hitting the US Mint tour (no cameras, no nothing allowed inside, wallet & cellphone only) and a Rockie's ballgame in the evening.

Union Station (from the outside - it's close for construction) and a bunch of other old buildings in lower downtown, if you're into architecture shots.

The 16th Street mall is fun during daylight, if you're into peoplewatching and candids. I would not go at night without guns and friends with guns.

[spotz04]

Originally Posted by bps

Just stop in and buy a really cheap blanket that's a similar color to the interior of the SUV. Should cost you around $10 and the perfect way to camouflage the the things you'll keep in the back of the SUV.

Bryan

Great idea! Those fleece blankets are inexpensive.

Originally Posted by centrarchidae

Union Station (from the outside - it's close for construction) and a bunch of other old buildings in lower downtown, if you're into architecture shots.

The 16th Street mall is fun during daylight, if you're into peoplewatching and candids. I would not go at night without guns and friends with guns.

Good to know about the mall. I haven't looked up the crime rate for Denver yet as to which areas to avoid anytime of the day.

[patrick j]

I'd skip Colorado Springs and Pikes Peak. The sand dunes are pretty fun, those are worth a visit. Definitely go to Aspen, although it is a tourist area, it's a tourist area for a reason, check out the Maroon Bells (you probably need to take a bus, it is a fee area). Someone else mentioned Independence Pass, that's a good, although slow, drive, a couple of miles down the west side is the Lost Man trail/lake, that's a nice hike if you have time. Also if you have time while in the area, drive up the road to the trail to Snowmass Mountain (not the ski area, Snowmass Creek road, I think there is a Conoco station at the corner) and stroll up the trail for a couple of miles, nice Aspen forests and some beaver ponds. From the Aspen area you could drive down to Carbondale and hang a left, go over McClure Pass and maybe up Kebler Pass and down to Crested Butte. More of a fall drive, but still ok in the summer.

[spotz04]

Due to the limited time factor and the vast distances between everything we're going to have to save Aspen and points out that direction for our next trip. There's so much to see in CO that I'm finding one needs at least two weeks to cover much of it.

[tdoshi9]

There are alot of cool things in the springs. Garden of the gods, pikes peak is awesome but take the train, cave of winds, air force academy. Take 67 into it through deckers, woodland park, gown 24 into springs. And in a few weeks it will be amazing. 11 mile is really pretty lake. Taylor park is heaven!