Vernal to Estes Park (and/or Denver)

TravelHawk wrote:
We love scenery and secondary routes, and I'm fine with mountain roads and high passes when they are worthwhile. But in a class A + towed, some roads are not worth the fuel or hassle.

So, of the several routes between Vernal UT and Estes Park (or general Boulder/Denver area), what is recommended to consider, or avoid?

I could go north from Vernal to I-80 in various ways, or south to I-70 in various ways. Both of these Interstate segments would be new to us. Or I could go east on US-40 to...where?

If you're an experienced mountain driver, then Trail Ridge is doable. One frequently sees various sizes and types of motorhomes and trailers up there. Just depends on when you're passing through, the day of the week, time of day, etc, as well as your comfort level on driving on a shelf road with no guardrails and significant drop offs. Some times/days are busier than others. Over the next several weeks they are planning on doing chip seal work from Many Parks Curve (about 7 miles up from the east entrance) all the way to the Alpine Visitor's Center, so there will be delays of 30 minutes or more in both directions. They are also finishing up some curve/wall construction closer to the Alpine Visitor's Center, with a traffic light set up there (yup, at 11000 feet!).

An alternative for you could be to take US 40 from Steamboat, up and over Rabbit Ears Pass, then get on CO 14 and take that down into Walden in Jackson County and North Park. Gorgeous scenery that way, Walden is a funky little town to stop. Continue on CO 14 through Gould and up and over Cameron Pass and take it down the Poudre Canyon, following the Cache la Poudre River on it's trip down to the flats. Again, beautiful views, diverse terrain, you'll be going down hill so GREAT fuel mileage! It's about 60 miles down the canyon, from the top of Cameron to the intersection with US 287 outside Laporte, but it's not all just being in a walled canyon. There's lots of open meadows and straight portions that offer a wide variety of views along the way. There's actually only just a few places where you'll have walled canyons...appropriately named the Big Narrow and the Little Narrows. Roadway is fine, just very curvy. And there's lots of picnic areas as well as USFS campgrounds along the way.

Once you get down and on US 287 into Fort Collins, you can go out to I-25 down to Denver or stay on US 287 and go down to Longmont and on to Boulder.