This guide assumes you are flying into Denver International Airport and want a place to stay close by for a night or two before heading to Rocky Mountain National Park. (Although you could just drive straight there, as it is under 2 hours). Golden, Colorado is the perfect town to begin your trip!
Then find a list of hikes in Rocky Mountain National Park, of various levels, scenic drives and more!
We wanted to find a place close to Denver International Airport to break up our traveling, and this was the PERFECT town. We could have easily spend 5 nights here with the amount of activities restaurants around. Highly recommend stopping here.
This was our first meal after we got off the plane and it hit the spot! The cajun food was my pick, but my kids loved the pizza and burgers.
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Things to Do:
Clear Creek is anything but a creek! Especially for those of us who are from places like Ohio who aren't used to rapids! Please use caution, wear a life jacket and helmet and read the signs about the water level safety. From our experience, the single innertubes flipped much easier than the double innertubes.
Here is a video of my son and I going down a rapid!
About a 15 minute drive from Golden, this is a great place to add to your itinerary. They have concerts, summer movie nights or just a cool place to see and walk around.
The campsites were very small, but the location was amazing. Right along Clear Creek and a bike trail. The bike trail took you right to Golden. We easily walked to town for food and to hang out. There is a park nearby as well. Great place to stay for a night or two!
Stunning campground. No hookups, but the campground has running water in the comfort stations. Some loops allow generators. The temperatures in July were low enough at night we didn't need AC in our RV.
We did not stay here, but heard great things about this resort when we were visiting the area!
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Hikes:
There are a wide range of hikes in Rocky Mountain National Parks for various goals, family plans and ability levels. Since we stayed at Glacier Basin Campground, our focus was mainly on Bear Lake Corridor. For this section of the park, you will need a Timed Entry + Bear Lake Road Vehicle Reservation. Make sure to read the full blog at 18summersatlas.com for more details on this.
The earlier you can get into this corridor, the better to avoid large crowds and to find parking. If you get here before 8am in the Summer, you may be lucky enough to find a spot at Glacier Gorge or Bear Lake parking lots (needed to access the majority of these hikes). However, if you are much past that, I wouldn't even waste your time. Just park at the Park & Ride and take the shuttle to these lots.
Read the description of each hike for the length, elevation gain and level of difficulty. We hit a wide variety of hikes on our trip so I'm sure you will find a few that will fit your plans!!
3.6 miles total, 771 ft elevation gain, moderate difficulty. Our 4 year old completed this by riding my husband's shoulders for much of it. Our 8 and 10 year olds were fine!
9.2 miles, 2267 ft elevation gain, very difficult. My 10 year old did complete this, but he is used to hiking. This was a very difficult hike, but very worth it! Be prepared. Bring plenty of water and snacks. This will take several hours.
Absolutely stunning! The road reaches an elevation of 12, 183 ft, which I definitely felt. So bring plenty of water and snacks, even if you are just in a car. Bring a sweater too since the temperatures will drop the higher you get.
This town was adorable. They have a little beach area and dock that the kids jumped off of. It is pretty cold, though! However, the outside temperature was very hot so the kids did swim for a little while. The town is very walkable with great shopping and restaurants. We wish we could have stayed longer!
This iced coffee hit the spot after a long day in the car!
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Make sure to check out our blog for more details on this trip as well as others!! We are pushing out a lot of content right now so keep checking back for the latest information.
