Colorado Suggestions Needed

WrightOn wrote:
All,
Thank you for the insight. Several years ago, I surprised my wife by flying us into Denver and taking in RMNP (Grand Lake), Dillion, and CoSprings for four days in October. Taking in the beauty of Colorado just got me more excited to bring the camper out.

There will be two families in two Ford diesels making the trip in late June/early July. I'm not interested in seeing RMNP, and with only 6 days in Colorado, I'm trying to cram as many things in as possible. If you would, please click the link - Itinerary - before commenting as much of your questions may be answered in that document. Renting a jeep, taking in a bit of a hike (not too strenuous), mountain "bobsled" track would be fun, and of course all the beautiful scenery is a must.

Since you have 6 days in Colorado, I actually think your plan to head to Ouray is sound. That can be a good base camp setting, there's much to do in that area. You'll be relatively close to Black Canyon of the Gunnison, as well as Telluride. There's all sorts of jeep/atv rentals available in that area. Also a lot of great hiking for a variety of fitness levels. A drive down the US 550 in your TVs to Silverton would be a wonderful day trip, you could see the trains there (IIRC, you can't take the train from Silverton down to Durango and return on a bus). You also are not too far from Grand Junction and could head up there to the Colorado National Monument outside of GJ, which would give you an alternative to Moab and Arches NP. Ouray also has a hot springs and that's also a must! It's very relaxing and there's various pools for different heat tolerance. I would strongly recommend the KOA north of town or Ridgway SP for your stay. Yes, there are some RV parks in Ouray, but I truly think you'll enjoy these recommendations, otherwise I wouldn't recommend them!

Have a wonderful trip! Hope you post a trip report when you get back to Illinois.