Want to go to Colorado this summer, like July or so. Would be the wife and I. Want to do some light hiking and would even like to do a horse ride and/or rent an 4x4 for an excursion. Going to drive from Oklahoma, so not really interested in going too far north or west. Was looking first at Breckinridge, just out of name recognition. No preference really. Would like somewhere in the mountains and with a decent selection of restaurants. I’m probably fine with it being somewhere “touristy”. Thoughts?
I have a coworker who goes up to Breckenridge for a week every summer and loves it. I've gone up to Estes park/RMNF and hiked the bear lake loop a couple of times. SWMBO is going up to Aspen with friends in June.
Thanks. Im going to do some math on driving versus flying. May end up flying to Denver and renting a car.
Ok, probably going to fly. Wife doesn’t like making 10-14 hour car trips, so we would split the drive in half. Which means an extra night in a hotel coming and going. This plus fuel costs and it is not much more to fly and rent a car. Plus the Tulsa airport isn’t that busy, won’t have to be there long. Flight to Denver is less than 2 hours. Gives us maximum vacation time. Now to figure out exactly where to go.
Hmm, a lot of the restaurants in Breckinridge say they are takeout only right now. May have to choose a different state. Going to have to read the state guidelines.
My wife and I are were looking to fly out west this summer for a week or so. Friends we have in the tourism industry, including NPS planners, are expecting this year to be busier than last summer for parks, campsites and tourist destinations. We're looking at alternatives now, including OCONUS spots.
Check on car rental prices before you commit to flying. I know several people who have backed out of a trip due to rental prices being rediculously high at the moment.
I actually have a corporate account I can use to rent, so like $230 for a week on a mid size car. However the issue I was running into was there are no cars available to rent the weeks I want to go.
Yeah, lots of folks tried going outside last year and liked it. Plus many are either unable to travel internationally or scared to do so. Remote jobs and flexible work schedules are far more abundant than they were two years ago. And frankly, due to the stimulus checks and extra unemployment payments many have the free time to travel and some money to do it with without having to worry about the whole "job" thing. Yep, the fleets are smaller and many of the companies went under. We are/were looking at renting a 2 door Jeep to do some exploring and camping and the rates for a lightly outfitted JL are not much more than renting a small car.
You could drive to Albuquerque (8 hours from OKC). Grab the #9 breakfast burrito from a place named Golden Pride. Slide up to Santa Fe, hit the town square market on the weekend. If you're so inclined, stop by Ten Thousand Waves and rent one of the private hot tubs for an hour or two -- or arrange a private massage for the wife in advance. From there, it's a short drive to Pagosa Springs. There are a few dayhikes in the area (Opal Lake was pretty nice in the fall), and there's lots of hot springs in town.
RMNP has a reservation access system in place this year. See the Park Website for details. I like: Estes Park Grand Lake Ouray Telluride Silverton