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Northern Colorado road questions?

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My kids really liked hiking the various trails along Black Canyon. There are easy ones that even young ones will enjoy. We like hiking in general anyway, it's something the whole family can do. On 2wheels I sometimes feel a bit selfish.

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Not sure what your plans are, but last year we drove up 65 and on to Colorado National Monument. Scorching hot last July at that lower elevation, but well worth the excursion - both the drive and the park scenery.
 
MidlifeCrisis said:
My kids really liked hiking the various trails along Black Canyon. There are easy ones that even young ones will enjoy. We like hiking in general anyway, it's something the whole family can do. On 2wheels I sometimes feel a bit selfish.

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Not sure what your plans are, but last year we drove up 65 and on to Colorado National Monument. Scorching hot last July at that lower elevation, but well worth the excursion - both the drive and the park scenery.
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I think we are going to play it by ear and weather. Trying to do a the Durango train ride and the Canyon for sure everything else it will depend on how many time we stop to take pictures or check out something neat. Want to go to clear creek falls and drive a few back roads,the Gunnison Pioneer museum, and just enjoy the cooler scenic vistas.
I have way more things on my plate then we will have time/money to do. I think that we will see how the grand daughter does, her mom says she thinks Colorado is 2 hours away.
 
We sometimes have to remind ourselves that it is afterall a family vacation... not an IBA rally or road race. One of my most memorable moments from our last year's trip was a lazy late afternoon with my daughter playing on the shallow bank of the Colorado River, right behind the Holiday Inn Express in Silt/Rifle. We stacked rocks, and caught frogs. No majestic mountains, no winding roads, no spectacular sceneries... just a sheer love of family.
 
MidlifeCrisis said:
We sometimes have to remind ourselves that it is afterall a family vacation... not an IBA rally or road race. One of my most memorable moments from our last year's trip was a lazy late afternoon with my daughter playing on the shallow bank of the Colorado River, right behind the Holiday Inn Express in Silt/Rifle. We stacked rocks, and caught frogs. No majestic mountains, no winding roads, no spectacular sceneries... just a sheer love of family.
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Amen, when my wife and I did our vacation we did the same thing we saw more places then planned missed a few but that was okay. That pic of the canyon is amazing by the way. So many good ideas on here it is hard to pick and choose which ones to make a priority. Thanks everyone. Keep them coming.
 
I haven’t forgotten a thing on the eastern front , do my best to avoid it . Traffic sucks bad enough without asking for it
 
jsb223 said:
It's been a few years but it's nice and scenic...hey it is Colorado.

Not technical by any means.

https://www.google.com/maps/@38.954...n8bRHaANJsLD7euvs8ow!2e0!7i13312!8i6656?hl=en
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Thank you. Trying to find roads that are less scary for them. Not sure if the younger two can handle the Million dollar Highway. We will see!:deal: I am worried on that one that I will hear slow down slow down in triplicate.:headbang: Who knows where we will end up at but I know it will be fun regardless.
 
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kickstand~prophet said:
Thank you. Trying to find roads that are less scary for them. Not sure if the younger two can Million dollar Highway. We will see!:deal: I am worried on that one that I will hear slow down slow down in triplicate.:headbang: Who knows where we will end up at but I know it will be fun regardless.
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550 can be intimidating especially when it gets busy and locals follow too close for comfort.

145 between Cortez and Placerville Hwy 62 then right turn to Ridgeway was a beautiful ride. And hardly any traffic.

:zen:
 
jsb223 said:
550 can be intimidating especially when it gets busy and locals follow too close for comfort.

145 between Cortez and Placerville Hwy 62 then right turn to Ridgeway was a beautiful ride. And hardly any traffic.

:zen:
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I rode that way but it has been a long time ago with Tim. We ate in Delores by the river. Really nice, I do not remember the road very well so that might be a options to redo. Thank you. I do recall the foot traffic was terrible thru Telluride. But the water fall was amazing.
 
Keep the ideas coming folks. If my health does not fall apart again I will be headed out next week.
 
jsb223 said:
550 can be intimidating especially when it gets busy and locals follow too close for comfort.

145 between Cortez and Placerville Hwy 62 then right turn to Ridgeway was a beautiful ride. And hardly any traffic.

:zen:
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I was up that way (Dolores) over Fathers Day. Only rode up as far as Rico due to a jazz festival in Telluride. We were to that if you didn't have tickets you couldn't even go into town. Camping wise there is a campground off of 145 towards Dunton, you turn at Stoner. It isn't on the beaten path and it is quiet. You can see where the BFR crashed down on 145 about 15 miles up the mountain from Dolores.
 
If you have little ones with you, you might consider spending a leisurely afternoon at one of the many Ski Resort towns on one of your "off" days. We stopped by Vail last year and Winter Park this year, but there are many others. Check their online calendar to see if one nearby your itinerary has some special event going on the week you are there.
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MidlifeCrisis said:
If you have little ones with you, you might consider spending a leisurely afternoon at one of the many Ski Resort towns on one of your "off" days. We stopped by Vail last year and Winter Park this year, but there are many others. Check their online calendar to see if one nearby your itinerary has some special event going on the week you are there.
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Looks neat the little one is 10. Shes already excited about going and weather looks decent so far that way. Got my fingers crossed.
 
tshelfer said:
Drew - Don't know if I've ever passed this website along to you. Great information about literally thousands of NF campgrounds. There are also pictures of some, so you can get a feel for what the campground looks like. https://www.forestcamping.com/
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Just went thru the site. Great info Tim thank you. I found a few spots that I might try. Still think that one in Almont is a prime candidate. :deal:
 
There used to be all these camping guides that were put out by Rand McNally, Coleman, and others. I still have a collection of those, although they've all been out of print for years, so their information is hopelessly outdated in some cases. The NF official website will give you some info, but ForestCamping.com is better, more detailed. And somebody is keeping it up; I often see updates from within the past 2-3 years.

Almont is nice. Although for car camping instead of bikes, I'd look hard at the sites toward the right as you & I came in. You get a great view of the river there.

There's a campground a little farther up called Cement Creek that we've been going to since 1961. It's 3 miles off the highway on a gravel road. Beautiful creek, beautiful campsites if you can get one of the ones that backs up to the creek. The ones away from the creek don't have a lot of shade. High, picturesque granite cliffs on the other side of the road. And if you don't mind getting your teeth jarred, you can drive a long way up the road past the campground and enjoy some nice vistas; also some of my favorite walking trails are right there. There are 2 problems with this campground: (1) The state cut off the water a few years ago, so you have to fetch your water from the little grocery store out by the main road, or drive up to Crested Butte and use the ranger station's water. (2) People on dirt bikes and 4-wheelers love that dirt road, and some use the campground as a base. No problem for me, except that there's often a LOT of noise from small engines revving as they go up the road. It isn't as quiet as it used to be. The campers are usually careful about their noise. but kids from town don't think about it, and make an awful racket as they go by.

If you want to free-camp, there are all sorts of places along that road (Cement Creek Road) on the river side, just before & after the campground. The outhouse is nearby, and the campground doesn't have water anyway, so all you're really losing is the picnic table.
 
tshelfer said:
There used to be all these camping guides that were put out by Rand McNally, Coleman, and others. I still have a collection of those, although they've all been out of print for years, so their information is hopelessly outdated in some cases. The NF official website will give you some info, but ForestCamping.com is better, more detailed. And somebody is keeping it up; I often see updates from within the past 2-3 years.

Almont is nice. Although for car camping instead of bikes, I'd look hard at the sites toward the right as you & I came in. You get a great view of the river there.

There's a campground a little farther up called Cement Creek that we've been going to since 1961. It's 3 miles off the highway on a gravel road. Beautiful creek, beautiful campsites if you can get one of the ones that backs up to the creek. The ones away from the creek don't have a lot of shade. High, picturesque granite cliffs on the other side of the road. And if you don't mind getting your teeth jarred, you can drive a long way up the road past the campground and enjoy some nice vistas; also some of my favorite walking trails are right there. There are 2 problems with this campground: (1) The state cut off the water a few years ago, so you have to fetch your water from the little grocery store out by the main road, or drive up to Crested Butte and use the ranger station's water. (2) People on dirt bikes and 4-wheelers love that dirt road, and some use the campground as a base. No problem for me, except that there's often a LOT of noise from small engines revving as they go up the road. It isn't as quiet as it used to be. The campers are usually careful about their noise. but kids from town don't think about it, and make an awful racket as they go by.

If you want to free-camp, there are all sorts of places along that road (Cement Creek Road) on the river side, just before & after the campground. The outhouse is nearby, and the campground doesn't have water anyway, so all you're really losing is the picnic table.
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I looked at the info on Cement Creek as well as Snow blind and Erickson Springs. All three look mighty tempting. Tim do you have any knowledge of the two latter camp sites?
 
Three more days then headed out, any other ideas from you knowledgeable folks let me know. Thank you for all the great info so far.
 
kickstand~prophet said:
I looked at the info on Cement Creek as well as Snow blind and Erickson Springs. All three look mighty tempting. Tim do you have any knowledge of the two latter camp sites?
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Don't know them, Drew. They're both on roads I haven't previously explored. Since you're still window shopping, there's another nice CG we haven't hit in years - Pitkin. It's a lot of dirt road from US 50 to the tiny town of Pitkin, after which the campground is a couple of miles beyond. Quiet, secluded, I think there's a nice stream through the camp. There are also some interesting roads to explore. The campground road goes over (I think) Columbine Pass, and to Tincup. It's 2WD all the way, although the pass is 1 lane & can be a bit unnerving. I did it in a minivan, so it's not that challenging. There's another dirt road from the campground that goes up over Waunita Pass. Quite a lovely and pleasant drive, although last time I was there, we got caught in a cattle drive led by a very grouchy old cowboy.
 
tshelfer said:
Don't know them, Drew. They're both on roads I haven't previously explored. Since you're still window shopping, there's another nice CG we haven't hit in years - Pitkin. It's a lot of dirt road from US 50 to the tiny town of Pitkin, after which the campground is a couple of miles beyond. Quiet, secluded, I think there's a nice stream through the camp. There are also some interesting roads to explore. The campground road goes over (I think) Columbine Pass, and to Tincup. It's 2WD all the way, although the pass is 1 lane & can be a bit unnerving. I did it in a minivan, so it's not that challenging. There's another dirt road from the campground that goes up over Waunita Pass. Quite a lovely and pleasant drive, although last time I was there, we got caught in a cattle drive led by a very grouchy old cowboy.
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Good info. Will try to get a trip report done when I get a chance to. Should be a good trip. Cannot wait to see their faces on the million dollar highway.:eek2:
 
You certainly need the downtime, Drew. Enjoy. As for the Million Dollar Highway, maybe look more at the road and less at their faces. :eek2:
 
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