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Originally Posted by BigWhiskey1855
What's everyone's favorite sightseeing near Denver and surrounding areas? I went out last year, but this is my wife's first time. Currently planning on Meow Wolf, Red Rocks, Garden of the Gods, and Rocky Mountain National Park? Anything else that I'm missing worth checking out?
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i only did GotG once. it was nice, but unless i missed something, it wasn't worth going to colorado springs for. its the same rock formations that make up red rocks, and red rocks is better, imo. unless you're doing something else down there, i dont think its worth the trip just for GotG. there is the cog railway at pikes peak though. its a train that takes you to the top of the mountain, 14,000+ feet, one of the tallest mountains in the country.
meow wolf is really cool. a regular touristy visit there is about an hour and a half to 2 hours. if you REALLY want to get into it, theres a TON of stuff to discover and you could spend literally the entire day there finding things and trying to solve the mystery.
red rocks is a public city park when not actively being used for a show. generally its open until about 1pm if there is a show that night. there is a visitor center at the top with some info about the history of the area, a hallway with a list of all past shows, and then an exhibit room with some memorabilia from performers and photos of the venue past and present. give yourself at least an hour there.
RMNP requires a reservation to enter, along with the standard park entry fee due to overcrowding. trail ridge road has some incredible views with a visitor center at the top. if you keep going past the visitor center, you'll be heading towards the west gate for the park, near grand lake. estes park is nice little town right outside the park, but it can get very busy because its right by the park and close to the front range where most of the population lives. grand lake is smaller and less fancy, but less crowded because its on the far side of the park. if going to RMNP/estes, i would highly recommend taking the peak to peak highway there and/or back to denver. it goes from blackhawk (the las vegas of the rockies) up to estes park and has some great views of the continental divide. blackhawk and central city are cool little towns to drive/walk through even if you don't gamble. also, nederland is a nice little spot along the peak to peak highway.
personally, i would recommend going out to breckenridge over colorado springs. breck is a beautiful little mountain town. lots of charm and character with buildings dating back to like the 1870s. there is a main street with a ton of shops and eateries.
take the scenic route out there. take I70 to loveland pass, which climbs to 11,990ft as you pass over the continental divide. theres a parking lot at the top if you want to stop and take a look around (recommended). on the way down the other side, you'll very shortly pass by arapahoe basin ski resort, where it is not uncommon to be able to ski through june and even until the 4th of july.
once you come down loveland pass, turn on swan mountain road, which will take you around the back side of dillon resevoir. there is a pulloff for sapphire point overlook, which gives a great view of breckenridge, which is like 15 minutes away.
its about an hour and a half to 2 hours to breck, depending on how many stops you make and for how long. its, imo, the best place to visit in terms of being a reasonable distance with great views and not needing to worry about a reservation or massive crowds like RMNP (which is still great).