Durango to Estes Park: 160 to 285 or 24
Back again for advice. From Durango, we're planning to take 160E to 285N. It looks like 285 goes to Boulder but there appears to be some steep passes. Looking at picking up 24 at Buena Vista and up to...
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...I would day trip to Estes Park from Grand Lake in the car. Granted I'm not a fan of the tourist trap know as Estes Park so rarely do I go outside of the park...
^^^ This. Based on your info, this is a good suggestion, if you don't already have a destination CG selected. There's the Timber Creek CG inside RMNP, it's all first come/first served and I've never seen it completely full in recent years. There's also 2 commercial CG in the Grand Lake area, as well as a host of USFS CG in and around the Granby/Grand Lake area. The commercial sites are the only ones with FHU, so if you can get by without them, there's certainly options. Also, rather than going all the way in to Estes Park, unless you're really in to the touristy stuff, avoid town and take the Old Fall River Road (11 miles/1 way) back up to Trail Ridge Road, where it comes out at the Alpine Visitors Center, and then back down to Grand Lake.
As to US 285/US 24... US 285 doesn't go to Boulder. It crosses the South Park area of Fairplay up and over Kenosha Pass (an easy pass at ~10000 feet), then drops down into Bailey. Sort of a long hill climb outside of Bailey up to Pine Junction, and somes ups/downs to Conifer and Aspen Park, but it's also 4 lane most of the way. US 285 actually goes into Denver, but intersects with CO 470 on the west side of the Metro, and from there you can choose whatever route you'd like, depending on where you want to go from there.
US 24 splits off from US 285 at Johnson Village outside of Buena Vista. Spectacular drive up the Upper Arkansas River Valley to Leadville, then over Tennessee Pass, and drops down to the Eagle/Vail area and the I-70 corridor.
Both are beautiful drives, they are not overly difficult, the passes aren't overly challenging, just common sense mountain driving to gearing down when going downhill and take it easy.
I would not recommend trying to do Trail Ridge Road with your 32ft gasser pulling a car. You want to avoid stressful. This WILL be stressful, with a MH and toad. Besides a challenge for the driver, there's the throng of tourists that you have to contend with and don't even think about trying to use any of the pull offs or parking lots...there won't be room for the MH and toad. Up there last weekend, it was jam packed on Trail Ridge.
^^^ This. Based on your info, this is a good suggestion, if you don't already have a destination CG selected. There's the Timber Creek CG inside RMNP, it's all first come/first served and I've never seen it completely full in recent years. There's also 2 commercial CG in the Grand Lake area, as well as a host of USFS CG in and around the Granby/Grand Lake area. The commercial sites are the only ones with FHU, so if you can get by without them, there's certainly options. Also, rather than going all the way in to Estes Park, unless you're really in to the touristy stuff, avoid town and take the Old Fall River Road (11 miles/1 way) back up to Trail Ridge Road, where it comes out at the Alpine Visitors Center, and then back down to Grand Lake.
As to US 285/US 24... US 285 doesn't go to Boulder. It crosses the South Park area of Fairplay up and over Kenosha Pass (an easy pass at ~10000 feet), then drops down into Bailey. Sort of a long hill climb outside of Bailey up to Pine Junction, and somes ups/downs to Conifer and Aspen Park, but it's also 4 lane most of the way. US 285 actually goes into Denver, but intersects with CO 470 on the west side of the Metro, and from there you can choose whatever route you'd like, depending on where you want to go from there.
US 24 splits off from US 285 at Johnson Village outside of Buena Vista. Spectacular drive up the Upper Arkansas River Valley to Leadville, then over Tennessee Pass, and drops down to the Eagle/Vail area and the I-70 corridor.
Both are beautiful drives, they are not overly difficult, the passes aren't overly challenging, just common sense mountain driving to gearing down when going downhill and take it easy.
I would not recommend trying to do Trail Ridge Road with your 32ft gasser pulling a car. You want to avoid stressful. This WILL be stressful, with a MH and toad. Besides a challenge for the driver, there's the throng of tourists that you have to contend with and don't even think about trying to use any of the pull offs or parking lots...there won't be room for the MH and toad. Up there last weekend, it was jam packed on Trail Ridge.
