Grand Lake Colorado

[jamharrison]

Traveling to Grand Lake area next summer in a Class A which I have not driven it in the mountains yet...Coming from Omaha, NE. via I-80 and considering going to Laramie Wy. then head south via hwy 230 then hwy 125 curious if anyone has come down that way from I-80. I realize its about 40 miles longer then going thru Denver just trying to avoid the steep grades. Any thoughts?

[BarryG20]

I don't think the route is bad I don't recall any major passes to go over though I have never taken it pulling our 5th.

Previous poster is right about the tourist trap towns but many of the parks have that issue with neighboring towns. to make it worse on the west side it is also relatively close to 3 ski areas that are also quite tourist trappy as far as I am concerned and is a fairly popular hunting, atv and snowmobiling area. They may be touristy places but plenty of people seem to spend money in them as they are all still open. As far as nothing to do there well that is fairly subjective. No there are not a bunch of roads that criss cross the park to get you into every nook and cranny of it but that is also part of the good part that if you are willing you can get away from it all there which can mean a hike of mile or two or as was put 40 miles whatever floats your boat.
We tend to not go there (the park) hardly ever even though it is only about 2.5 hours from our house just too many people/vehicles for me but again if willing you can get away and we do once in a while up there. Regardless it is a beautiful area east side or west side. i

Not sure why the pp feels the park is such a long way from Grand Lake the west side entrance station is only a few miles outside the city limits. Though the park is one of the largest at about 400 square miles so it does take a while to get through it. Add 4-5 million visitors a year and as large as it is unless you get off the beaten path it seems crowded.

[agesilaus]

We stayed at or near Grand Lake for a 4 or 5 days this summer. Came in thru Denver, not as bad as expected. And left via the route you are talking about. Now let me say that I am very insensitive to grades but I don't recall anything serious going out 125. Seemed a lot longer than 40 miles tho, we were heading up into Wyoming. The route is mostly empty. So keep your fuel gauge above half full.

I'll have to say that RMNP is somewhat disappointing in the things to do category when compared to other major parks. I was expecting more on the west side but it wasn't there. This is especially aggravating since you can see all those fascinating valleys that cannot be accessed unless you are a tough 40 mile backpacker. Which few of us are.

Grand Lake and the other towns along there are basically strip mall tourist traps. It's a fair drive to get into RMNP from there too.