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Colorado Summer Road Trip


fuggled

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I'm looking for any recommendations for a Colorado road trip in early August.  Schedule is flexible, but I'm thinking something like 10-14 days.  We'll be driving up from Dallas (me, wife, kids 6 & 10) and rough plan is to take a loop through the south part of the state to hit the national parks.  Rough idea is something like this:

  • 2 nights: Great Sand Dunes
  • (maybe Durango or Pagosa Springs)?
  • 2 nights: Mesa Verde
  • 2-3 nights: Telluride or Silverton/Ouray - not sure which route to take
  • 2 nights: Black Canyon
  • Then either east to Poncha Springs/Buena Vista or back south through Telluride or Ouray

We'll do a mix of car camping and hotels/rentals.  Probably camping at Great Sand Dunes and Black Canyon and staying at the lodge in Mesa Verde.  Everything else is up in the air and there are plenty of gaps to fill in.  Kids will be happy if they get to spend most of that time in water, whether that's alpine lakes, mountain streams or hot springs.   We'll also plan on a lot of hiking.  Maybe rafting, maybe fishing.  Jeeping/ATVs aren't really our thing.

What you got?

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Durango whitewater rafting on the Animas river. They have family friendly float trips with fun but not overwhelming rapids and a lot of swim time out of the raft on the half day trips. Silverton Railroad in Durango is pretty kid friendly too. There is a Double Tree right on the river in Durango and downtown main street is an easy walk for shopping, coffee and restaurants. 

Absolute Bakery and Cafe in Mancos when you head to Mesa Verde. Great food and place to pick up treats for the hiking. Bring a lot of water for Mesa Verde. 

Million Dollar Highway is a great drive. 



 

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I’d throw out atleast one if not more of dunes, black canyon or Mesa verde and do Rocky Mountain Nation park, Estes Park has tons of things for kids in the summer.   With that schedule you have a trip where you are in Colorado but not in the mountains for a majority of your trip..   Only so much you can do in sand, canyons or desert cliff dwellings.  If I was a kid I’d be bored as shit with all those after a hour or so.  

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We rafted the Arkansas River near Buena Vista. Wouldn’t do it again, but it was fun for a first experience. The train that came through the canyon was pretty neat- would try it if we went back there again. 
Two nights at the sand dunes might be too long. They’re neat, but we had our fill of them in a couple of hours. Probably less if it would have been dry and the little stream not running. It’s usually windy and the sand fucking stings. 
Garden of the Gods would be a good place to pack a lunch and kill a half day or longer burning off energy. 

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I don’t think you need two days at the Sand Dunes but that’s just me. 
 

I hiked the Maroon Bells Four Pass Loop last August starting outside of Crested Butte and there were some amazing vistas on the drive from Crested Butte to the trailhead. Looked like a great place to hang out with the family and camp for a night or two. 
 

Royal Gorge Bridge is on my to do list

 

 

BCAC723C-E19C-4568-86A8-46B055400D2D.jpeg

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8 minutes ago, Firemans4Horn said:

I don’t think you need two days at the Sand Dunes but that’s just me. 
 

I hiked the Maroon Bells Four Pass Loop last August starting outside of Crested Butte and there were some amazing vistas on the drive from Crested Butte to the trailhead. Looked like a great place to hang out with the family and camp for a night or two. 
 

Royal Gorge Bridge is on my to do list

 

 

BCAC723C-E19C-4568-86A8-46B055400D2D.jpeg

Have you checked out the Rio Grande Gorge bridge?  I wasn’t able to walk all the way across. 

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1 hour ago, Kennythetiger said:

Two nights at the sand dunes might be too long. They’re neat, but we had our fill of them in a couple of hours. Probably less if it would have been dry and the little stream not running. It’s usually windy and the sand fucking stings. 

 

14 minutes ago, Firemans4Horn said:

I don’t think you need two days at the Sand Dunes but that’s just me. 

Thanks for the replies.  We'll be driving to the park from Dallas, so probably get there late in the day and camp that first night.  Then have a full day in and around the park and camp the next night.  Then we'd likely head out early the next morning.  So really only one day exploring the park.  Still seem like too much?

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I always spend some time in Salida. Maybe my favorite small CO town along with Crested Butte. Scenery is not as spectacular as Ouray/Telluride but it’s right on the Arkansas river. Laid back and not as touristy as most of the others.

Last time I was there Pagosa Springs was pretty meh.

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5 hours ago, TexPx said:

I always spend some time in Salida. Maybe my favorite small CO town along with Crested Butte. Scenery is not as spectacular as Ouray/Telluride but it’s right on the Arkansas river. Laid back and not as touristy as most of the others.

Last time I was there Pagosa Springs was pretty meh.

Yeah, been there before but never stayed longer than grabbing lunch at a brewery.  Any specific recs?

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If you truly have 14 days then this would be my itinerary...

Day 1: drive to Great Sand Dunes and stay at park.

Day 2: enjoy the park in the morning, gets too hot on the sand in the afternoon.  Drive to Creede after lunch and visit the mining museum there.  Stay night in Creede.

Day 3:  rent ATV and go around the Bachelor's Loop in Creede in morning.  Drive to Pagosa Springs after lunch where you can tube the river with the kids for hours.  Stay in Pagosa Springs

Day 4:  drive to Durango and just enjoy the town and nearby mountains.

Day 5: Mesa Verde National Park going back to stay in Durango afterwards

Day 6 & 7:  stay in Telluride for hiking and whatever else you want

Day 8 & 9: same but in Crested Butte.  Stop at Black Canyon of the Gunnison on the way.  Go rafting one of these days

Day 10: head to Aspen, see Maroon Bells and enjoy the town

Day 11: drive to Estes Park by way of Grand Lake and the Trail Ridge Road

Day 12 & 13: Rocky Mountain National Park and Estes Park

Day 14: head home

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If you truly have 14 days then this would be my itinerary...
Day 1: drive to Great Sand Dunes and stay at park.
Day 2: enjoy the park in the morning, gets too hot on the sand in the afternoon.  Drive to Creede after lunch and visit the mining museum there.  Stay night in Creede.
Day 3:  rent ATV and go around the Bachelor's Loop in Creede in morning.  Drive to Pagosa Springs after lunch where you can tube the river with the kids for hours.  Stay in Pagosa Springs
Day 4:  drive to Durango and just enjoy the town and nearby mountains.
Day 5: Mesa Verde National Park going back to stay in Durango afterwards
Day 6 & 7:  stay in Telluride for hiking and whatever else you want
Day 8 & 9: same but in Crested Butte.  Stop at Black Canyon of the Gunnison on the way.  Go rafting one of these days
Day 10: head to Aspen, see Maroon Bells and enjoy the town
Day 11: drive to Estes Park by way of Grand Lake and the Trail Ridge Road
Day 12 & 13: Rocky Mountain National Park and Estes Park
Day 14: head home
Great suggestions, thanks.

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Salida is awesome and we all need to stop talking about it.

We're going back there and to Gunnison (which is also great) this July.  The whitewater park downtown is great for kids.  They can rent boogie boards/SUPs and goof around all day.  You and the wife can go get a river view table at the Boathouse Cantina and eat/drink while nominally keeping an eye on them. 

The downtown area is very walkable, and last year they had the main drag closed to vehicle traffic so restaurants could have outdoor seating, basically turning it into a big pedestrian zone with shops, bars, and restaurants.  I hope they left it that way.

We took our boys' bikes last year and they loved riding around town.  This year we'll check out the trail system.  There's also an arcade there with new and classic games, which they enjoyed.  All kinds of outdoor stuff is within a short drive.

Amicas is great.  Moonlight Pizza is also good, and I like their beer as well.  Soulcraft is a great brewery.  Benson's tavern has good fish and chips and other pup grub.  Patio Pancake Place for breakfast.  Boathouse as mentioned is decent food and great view/atmosphere.

The only thing I don't like about going up there is that my wife shops for real estate.

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Two days at the sand dunes is too many. Go through Rocky Mountain National Park, and then Mesa Verde. Mesa Verde is 20 minutes from Durango, and you can get to a lot of places from there. Telluride, Ouray, Silverton, 4 corners, everything in Utah. You could get to the Grand Canyon if you want to make a day of it. 

 

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On 3/4/2021 at 7:43 PM, fuggled said:

I'm looking for any recommendations for a Colorado road trip in early August.  Schedule is flexible, but I'm thinking something like 10-14 days.  We'll be driving up from Dallas (me, wife, kids 6 & 10) and rough plan is to take a loop through the south part of the state to hit the national parks.  Rough idea is something like this:

  • 2 nights: Great Sand Dunes
  • (maybe Durango or Pagosa Springs)?
  • 2 nights: Mesa Verde
  • 2-3 nights: Telluride or Silverton/Ouray - not sure which route to take
  • 2 nights: Black Canyon
  • Then either east to Poncha Springs/Buena Vista or back south through Telluride or Ouray

We'll do a mix of car camping and hotels/rentals.  Probably camping at Great Sand Dunes and Black Canyon and staying at the lodge in Mesa Verde.  Everything else is up in the air and there are plenty of gaps to fill in.  Kids will be happy if they get to spend most of that time in water, whether that's alpine lakes, mountain streams or hot springs.   We'll also plan on a lot of hiking.  Maybe rafting, maybe fishing.  Jeeping/ATVs aren't really our thing.

What you got?

I would combine your two nights in/around MV and Silverton/Ouray and just use Durango as a base for the whole area.

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We were all over Colorado last year.  Honestly the drives and fishing were our favorite parts. The drive from aspen south / southeast over the GD was incredible - almost a moonscape at the top of the pass. Can’t take a trailer over and no RVs of any real length can cross.  
 

blue Mesa reservoir was great and the drive from aspen the other way to gunnison was fabulous too.  
 

we loved fishing the S platte area but the gunnison way out west was crazy awesome.  Fishing near basalt was too hard, roaring fork / frying pan trout have PhDs in artificial lure detection.  Fished the Colorado prior that was iconic too.   
 

the drive from east to west through the south wasn’t as fantastic until approaching gunnison then we really liked it.

Telluride/placerville/Rico/ridgeway was our favorite area, we found telluride to be the most promising town.  Clearly a ski town, but lots of cool shops and restaurants and while richAF not as flashy as aspen.  We did enjoy aspen though, solid food scene.   I’m still eyeing remote land for a summer getaway in telluride it was that moving. 
 

We enjoyed basalt near aspen more than aspen, loved river road up to the reservoir there - it’s a big one hard to miss forgot the name.  We stayed in a cabin way up in the mountain and it was down right cold in the morning.  Basalt is a quaint little town, not a ski town and not historic - newer but with nice little restaurants if you end up in an Airbnb up in the elevation there.  But there isn’t nearly as much to do there as in aspen.  So not sure I’d recommend if you want more to do. We went there to try and fish the frying pan and catch a trout on the quintessential classic Colorado scene. Struck out.

had no need for vail and breck was a been there done that town this summer trip. 

drive up mount evans is cool, highest peak accessible by car. View is spectacular especially if early enough in the season so the snow is still there.

haven’t done ouray, silverton or Durango but otherwise would say we found the western slopes to be much more our style and speed. I really don’t think you’ll find more beautiful country than the telluride area, especially as you get out on the road. 

Edited by troph
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39 minutes ago, troph said:

 

Telluride/placerville/Rico/ridgeway was our favorite area, we found telluride to be the most promising town.  Clearly a ski town, but lots of cool shops and restaurants and while richAF not as flashy as aspen.  We did enjoy aspen though, solid food scene.   I’m still eyeing remote land for a summer getaway in telluride it was that moving. 
 

 

this is good to see...as we're headed to Telluride for a week in almost exactly a month. we are not skiers, we are arriving the day the lift shuts down on purpose...but i am a little apprehensive about what there will be available to do that time of year. we'll do the gondola on the day we arrive as it will also be shutting down at midnight that night. 

other than that...i know it's not the best time to go but for reasons this is when we had available, and i mean, it's still Colorado, amirite? 😉 

i am going to see if snowmobiling is an option that late in the season (there's one outfit that's supposedly still operating that late in the season). Ouray hot springs are also a possibility, but tbh the process and protocols they have in place for Covid make it pretty unappealing (lots of bad reviews the past year). but...maybe that will be better by the time we get there, who knows. 

so am also open for suggestions for that time of year in that area specifically, day trips are good, if you have any suggestions @troph

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The town of telluride is pretty damn cool.  We RV’d (boondocking/off grid) our way through CO at the height of the covid scare so it was a lot of sit around and decompress and a lot of driving. I can sit and stare at the mountains for hours.  We drove through dispersed campsites, found some silly remote spots. We put our chairs out on the river bank and read books, we fished/waded. I don’t know about early season there but if the snow is melting and the ice is gone you can find some fishing, key is to check in with the local guides. Might have to go farther west like the gunnison river if you want that.  Don’t know about rafting, same issues re ice and snow melt. I think summer water sports are better later in the spring.  Snowmobiling sounds good and if it’s past that they might have ATV tours, gondolas for sure, there are plenty of outdoor spaces in town, restaurants, shops etc.  As long as you’re ready to slow down, breathe deep and take it as it comes you can’t go wrong. Telluride isn’t that hard to get to from Texas so you can always go back. We will this summer so anything we missed last summer we will catch this one. But circling back, we hike, fish, raft, bar/restaurant hop and stare at nature. So telluride is perfect for us. There is a telluride thread here I posted some pics. It’s just incredible.

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I am looking into a trip to Colorado if my brother has time he can take off from work in either May or early August. August might be a better time to go. I do not go to any of the tourist places in Colorado outside of a select few spots. My second favorite spot to go there is up 16 miles of dirt road that is mostly potholes, but the payoff at the end of the drive is worth it. I picked out places there where I can have peace and quiet and run across almost no one. I want to share those places with my brother and my mom if she is in good enough health to go. His two year old daughter would be coming and so would his better half. I would love for my niece to get to see some beautiful places so early in life.

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  • 2 weeks later...

We're going to Breck for two weeks in June/July.   Prices and availability suck.   Normally in March when you're looking for summer, there are tons of places.   We used to rent a place right outside of downtown by the Breck Brewery.   The place has doubled in price over the last 5-6 years.   The place we stayed last summer has gone up 25% in a year.    I think we'll like the place we found (west side under the Gondola line) but damn.  

All I know is I'm going to sit outside, drink cold beer, do a little hiking/biking and generally be a mountain man for 2 weeks.

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My buddy just bought 3 acres near Red Feather Lakes and has given me permission to camp anytime I want.   My goal is to spend 20 nights under the stars this summer and his land is going to make it much easier and have ability to not be around FIFO sites. 

Also, I heard Pueblo/Trinidad is legit these days.

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We enjoyed the Princeton Hot Springs in Nathrop.  Spent half a day there with the kids alternating between the river pools and the tube pool.  Kids went back there  year or so ago on a trip by themselves after submitting Mt Elbert.

We rented sandboards at Kristi Mountain Sports in Alamosa to slide on the dunes.

 

 

 

 

 

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On 3/18/2021 at 3:54 PM, Macanudo said:

We're going to Breck for two weeks in June/July.   Prices and availability suck.   Normally in March when you're looking for summer, there are tons of places.   We used to rent a place right outside of downtown by the Breck Brewery.   The place has doubled in price over the last 5-6 years.   The place we stayed last summer has gone up 25% in a year.    I think we'll like the place we found (west side under the Gondola line) but damn.  

All I know is I'm going to sit outside, drink cold beer, do a little hiking/biking and generally be a mountain man for 2 weeks.

Be sure to pickup some beer from Outer Range in Frisco. 

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23 hours ago, Doc Holliday said:

My buddy just bought 3 acres near Red Feather Lakes and has given me permission to camp anytime I want.   My goal is to spend 20 nights under the stars this summer and his land is going to make it much easier and have ability to not be around FIFO sites. 

Also, I heard Pueblo/Trinidad is legit these days.

Serious question - did it burn in the fires last fall?  Red Feather Lakes was really close to the Cameron Peak fire.  Beautiful area but I have not been there since the fire.

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On 3/6/2021 at 5:43 PM, troph said:

The town of telluride is pretty damn cool.  We RV’d (boondocking/off grid) our way through CO at the height of the covid scare so it was a lot of sit around and decompress and a lot of driving. I can sit and stare at the mountains for hours.  We drove through dispersed campsites, found some silly remote spots. We put our chairs out on the river bank and read books, we fished/waded. I don’t know about early season there but if the snow is melting and the ice is gone you can find some fishing, key is to check in with the local guides. Might have to go farther west like the gunnison river if you want that.  Don’t know about rafting, same issues re ice and snow melt. I think summer water sports are better later in the spring.  Snowmobiling sounds good and if it’s past that they might have ATV tours, gondolas for sure, there are plenty of outdoor spaces in town, restaurants, shops etc.  As long as you’re ready to slow down, breathe deep and take it as it comes you can’t go wrong. Telluride isn’t that hard to get to from Texas so you can always go back. We will this summer so anything we missed last summer we will catch this one. But circling back, we hike, fish, raft, bar/restaurant hop and stare at nature. So telluride is perfect for us. There is a telluride thread here I posted some pics. It’s just incredible.

Telluride might be my favorite mountain town, but it's a PITA to get to from Denver compared to other mountain destinations.  If I win the lottery, I'm buying Last Dollar Ranch.

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29 minutes ago, Chewbacca said:

Telluride might be my favorite mountain town, but it's a PITA to get to from Denver compared to other mountain destinations.  If I win the lottery, I'm buying Last Dollar Ranch.

gorgeous area.  I've been eyeing seasonal land there adjacent to LDR.  not sure if we do it, we are marginal skiiers - I'm not at all - but something about only seasonal access seems untenable for us.  who wants to own a place you can't get to if you want the holidays in the cold and snow.  but summer in that spot in CO - holy shit balls it's amazing.  most of that area of the highway (forget the highway number) appears to be seasonal access, quite a shame honestly.

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3 minutes ago, troph said:

gorgeous area.  I've been eyeing seasonal land there adjacent to LDR.  not sure if we do it, we are marginal skiiers - I'm not at all - but something about only seasonal access seems untenable for us.  who wants to own a place you can't get to if you want the holidays in the cold and snow.  but summer in that spot in CO - holy shit balls it's amazing.  most of that area of the highway (forget the highway number) appears to be seasonal access, quite a shame honestly.

Yeah, I definitely would not buy something with seasonal access.  I'd have my own snow cats and plow if I bought LDR, though.  

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On 3/18/2021 at 2:54 PM, Macanudo said:

We're going to Breck for two weeks in June/July.   Prices and availability suck.   Normally in March when you're looking for summer, there are tons of places.   We used to rent a place right outside of downtown by the Breck Brewery.   The place has doubled in price over the last 5-6 years.   The place we stayed last summer has gone up 25% in a year.    I think we'll like the place we found (west side under the Gondola line) but damn.  

All I know is I'm going to sit outside, drink cold beer, do a little hiking/biking and generally be a mountain man for 2 weeks.

I'm sure Breck real estate market is crazy. I moved to Fort Collins last year and in the past 2 to 3 months it's been nuts. -sale prices jumping 20 percent or more in some price ranges.

7 hours ago, Chewbacca said:

Serious question - did it burn in the fires last fall?  Red Feather Lakes was really close to the Cameron Peak fire.  Beautiful area but I have not been there since the fire.

No but they got close.

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  • 2 weeks later...
2 hours ago, fuggled said:

Honda Oddity

will your wife share driving

 

how many hours can the 6yearold last in the car

 

does anyone in the family have a small bladder

 

will the wife use toilet without running water

 

mark these 1/2/3:

 

play trip for the kids

experience of a lifetime they will remember

mom and dad get equal billing

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2 minutes ago, Chewbacca said:
9 minutes ago, lemonlime said:
Any suggestions for what to do at Estes Park or Rocky Mountain National Park?  Just booked a place there for a week this summer.
 

Don't stay in Estes. Go through the park and stay in Grand Lake. Much better.

Too late for that now.  I already have a cabin booked at Estes.  And going at the end of August, after school is back in, so hopefully not crazy crowded.

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  • 3 weeks later...

We are headed in June to Durango for a vacation. While there, we'd like to do some Jeep Trails to see old mining towns and beautiful scenary. I'm overwhelmed by the number of trails and can't figure out where to rent Jeeps from among Telluride, Ouray, or Silverton. The other challenge is that we will have a pregnant person and an older person in one Jeep, and two guys in the other Jeep that are more adventurous. Any thoughts on the best town to rent and the best trails to do that would fit both parties? We could have the Jeeps split up, but the preference is to stay together.

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3 hours ago, Dbeasy said:

We are headed in June to Durango for a vacation. While there, we'd like to do some Jeep Trails to see old mining towns and beautiful scenary. I'm overwhelmed by the number of trails and can't figure out where to rent Jeeps from among Telluride, Ouray, or Silverton. The other challenge is that we will have a pregnant person and an older person in one Jeep, and two guys in the other Jeep that are more adventurous. Any thoughts on the best town to rent and the best trails to do that would fit both parties? We could have the Jeeps split up, but the preference is to stay together.

Can't help you with the rental but there are a lot of great trails in that part of CO.  Engineer is a fun one, albeit long if you take the trail all the way from Ouray to Lake City.  Ophir is good, so is Cinnamon.  Lots of options.  Just stay off Black Bear.  The rental company will probably prohibit it anyway (and they have GPS in the Jeeps), but it's not a trail for novices.  

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38 minutes ago, Dbeasy said:

Is yankee boy basin too intense at the end for old and pregnant people?

is there a way to jeep or Utv from Ouray to Telluride so we could get a look at Telluride?

Imogene Pass and Black Bear Pass are the only way into Telluride from the east.  It sits in a canyon with one road in and out (except the 4WD trails).  The trails may or may not be clear of snow in June, FYI.  Never been on Yankee Boy Basin.

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@Dbeasy We rented a jeep from Colorado 145 in Telluride and did Imogene in July of 2016.  They were very well reviewed, and we had a great experience.  Their website has a list of trail conditions that gives you a brief summary of each.

We did a 4-door jeep since our boys were smaller back then.  Do you think your crew would be amenable to that?  I think if your two more adventurous guys were driving, Imogene would be fine, but asking your old or pregnant person to drive is probably a recipe for unhappiness.  Of course, cramming them into the rear of the jeep may be just as bad or worse.

I don't recall a lot of bad drop offs or anything super intense on Imogene, but the early part of the descent has some pretty steep sections where I had to get up out of the seat to see over the hood:  (I know that's hard to show with photos)

"Which is better, 1?"

0708161304_HDR.thumb.jpg.052a53c74ed71eabba921919e12f3d1d.jpg

"Or 2?"

0708161303a.thumb.jpg.71626ccaf97365b41f2f4ded7bc1c452.jpg

The worst part of the day for me was turning around at the parking area at the top of Bridal Veil Falls, because I have a heights thing.  Ugh.

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