SLC to Morrison, CO: what should we go see?

[Melissa]

We are driving from SLC to Red Rocks Amphitheatre near Morrison, CO at the end of Septmember for a concert. The concert is on Wednesday the 23rd, so that gives us some of Thursday, Friday, and Saturday to go play before we drive home on Sunday.

What should we go see? For how close we live to Colorado, we have spent shockingly little time there. We are open to car camping with day hikes or moderate backpacking with lower mileages (10 miles per day max, less if there's lots of altitude or elevation gain). @neiloro is a photographer, so good sunrise/sunset spots are a bonus.

Looking at the map, we will probably take the northern route on our way there, but on the way back we could potentially take either the U.S. 89/40 or the I70 routes home. There are a lot of wilderness areas along there!

I've thought about Rocky Mountain National Park, Little Book Cliffs Wilderness Study Area, Black Ridge Canyons Wilderness, and Colorado National Monument, but I'd love to get some ideas from people who know the area. I wouldn't want to put in more than 8ish hours in the car Sunday to get home, so I don't want to go too far afield.

We're open to having more people with us, whether it's as part of our road trip or as a meet in Colorado thing, so I'll do a separate thread in the invite forum once we have our itinerary more mapped out.

 

[slc_dan]

We just did this exact trip, for a show in Redrocks, but treated it more like a city vacation. Stayed in Fort Collins one night, and Denver for two. We drove the northern route there, but i70 on the way home.

The drive home on i70 was BEAUTIFUL! The canyon you drive through is just spectacular. We took a small side trip to a brewery in Carbondale, which was also a nice drive.

Sorry not much else to add in terms of camping, but you'll have a blast.

 

[uintahiker]

@Melissa Here's a few suggestions for the drives. Enjoy Mark Knopfler by the way.

I-80
Expedition Island in Green River. Great spot if you're a fan of John Wesley Powell and his expedition
The White Mountain Petroglyphs, about 20 miles north of Rock Springs, are interesting
Fort Steele is always a great spot to stop and stretch
All of these are short stops

In Colorado
Old Town Fort Collins (Disneyland's Main Street was modeled after it in part)
Swettsville Zoo in Fort Collins is unique
The Dinosaur Trackway in Morrison. You'll be right there- make it happen!


I-70
Hanging Lake- very photogenic, awesome way to spend a few hours
Sego Canyon Petroglyphs/Ghost Town (North of Moab)
Crystal Geyser (By Green River)

Lots of options in Colorado. We've got lots of great forum members in Western Colorado, like @IntrepidXJ who could provide recommendations for great hikes along the I-70 corridor.

 

[Melissa]

We just did this exact trip, for a show in Redrocks, but treated it more like a city vacation. Stayed in Fort Collins one night, and Denver for two. We drove the northern route there, but i70 on the way home.

The drive home on i70 was BEAUTIFUL! The canyon you drive through is just spectacular. We took a small side trip to a brewery in Carbondale, which was also a nice drive.

Sorry not much else to add in terms of camping, but you'll have a blast.

Thanks! Yeah, the I70 route home is looking good.

Hope you guys had a blast at your concert--who did you go see?

 

[Melissa]

@Melissa Here's a few suggestions for the drives. Enjoy Mark Knopfler by the way.

I-80
Expedition Island in Green River. Great spot if you're a fan of John Wesley Powell and his expedition
The White Mountain Petroglyphs, about 20 miles north of Rock Springs, are interesting
Fort Steele is always a great spot to stop and stretch
All of these are short stops

In Colorado
Old Town Fort Collins (Disneyland's Main Street was modeled after it in part)
Swettsville Zoo in Fort Collins is unique
The Dinosaur Trackway in Morrison. You'll be right there- make it happen!


I-70
Hanging Lake- very photogenic, awesome way to spend a few hours
Sego Canyon Petroglyphs/Ghost Town (North of Moab)
Crystal Geyser (By Green River)

Lots of options in Colorado. We've got lots of great forum members in Western Colorado, like @IntrepidXJ who could provide recommendations for great hikes along the I-70 corridor.

Thanks! The Mark Knopfler irony is that shortly after we booked our tickets, Red Butte did a late add of him to their fall line up, which is basically in our back yard. I'm actually happy we're going to Red Rocks to see him. It's a special venue, we've never been, and it gives us a great excuse for some outdoor fun outside of our usual stomping grounds.

Loving your suggestions. Expedition Island would be a great place to stretch our legs, and I'm a western history nerd. I've spent a fair amount of time in the John Wesley Powell museum in Green River, Utah, but never stopped at the one in Wyoming.

The dinosaur tracks also sound good.

Right now, I'm pretty tempted to do a short backpack in Colorado National Monument, but I'm still thinking about other options. That place looks great, but most of our trips are already on the Colorado plateau so maybe we should branch out.

 

[gnwatts]

I like backpacking Dominguez Canyon, located up the Gunnison River about 45 minutes from Grand Junction. A beautiful Canyon with waterfalls.
There are numerous spots to hike and camp in the San Rafael Swell, Eardley canyon is a great hike with a terrific car camp spot at Cliff Dwellers Flat. You could easily spend a few day's backpacking here.
Rattlesnake canyon, which you can access via Colorado National Monument from above or down below at the Colorado river, it has the largest concentration of arches outside of Arches NP. Great car camp spots too.

Have fun.

 

[Nurrgle]

Lots to do here in the Denver area, also lots of people. I usually do the drive from my parents Clearfield to Denver through Grand Junction, much better drive.

I would recommend checking out Buffalo Bills grave there in Golden. Close to Red Rocks and pretty cool to see the plains head out from the base of the Rocky's.

If you want to do a little hiking I like Rocky Mountain National, it's about an 1.5 hours from Denver. One of my favorites there is Glacier Gorge, should be able to do that hike and make it back to Denver for a late lunch.

Finally, good bars and restaurants in both Denver and Boulder. I like to drink at Sancho's Broken Arrow on Colfax when I feel like having a good time or Prohibition also on Colfax for good drinks and food.

Make sure you pack a rain jacket, it has been raining at Red Rocks all summer. Not sure if I will go to Mark Knoppler or not, we are pretty spoiled for live music here, This year just in Denver I have seen three nights of Widespread Panic, three nights of String Cheese, Schpongle, Hot Buttered Rum, and Leftover Salmon. Throw in Telluride and the list gets real long with Rise festival and the Telluride Bluegrass Festival.

If you need some tips on good places to purchase the devils weed, I might have heard about a good shop or two. All hearsay though.

Denver is a pretty awesome place to live.

 

[Melissa]

I like backpacking Dominguez Canyon, located up the Gunnison River about 45 minutes from Grand Junction. A beautiful Canyon with waterfalls.
There are numerous spots to hike and camp in the San Rafael Swell, Eardley canyon is a great hike with a terrific car camp spot at Cliff Dwellers Flat. You could easily spend a few day's backpacking here.
Rattlesnake canyon, which you can access via Colorado National Monument from above or down below at the Colorado river, it has the largest concentration of arches outside of Arches NP. Great car camp spots too.

Have fun.

Sorry for the delay, I went out of town for a bit there. I love the idea of Rattlesnake Canyon. Right now our itinerary is up in the air. We may not decide until the time comes to download maps and hit the road.

 

[Melissa]

Lots to do here in the Denver area, also lots of people. I usually do the drive from my parents Clearfield to Denver through Grand Junction, much better drive.

I would recommend checking out Buffalo Bills grave there in Golden. Close to Red Rocks and pretty cool to see the plains head out from the base of the Rocky's.

If you want to do a little hiking I like Rocky Mountain National, it's about an 1.5 hours from Denver. One of my favorites there is Glacier Gorge, should be able to do that hike and make it back to Denver for a late lunch.

Finally, good bars and restaurants in both Denver and Boulder. I like to drink at Sancho's Broken Arrow on Colfax when I feel like having a good time or Prohibition also on Colfax for good drinks and food.

Make sure you pack a rain jacket, it has been raining at Red Rocks all summer. Not sure if I will go to Mark Knoppler or not, we are pretty spoiled for live music here, This year just in Denver I have seen three nights of Widespread Panic, three nights of String Cheese, Schpongle, Hot Buttered Rum, and Leftover Salmon. Throw in Telluride and the list gets real long with Rise festival and the Telluride Bluegrass Festival.

If you need some tips on good places to purchase the devils weed, I might have heard about a good shop or two. All hearsay though.

Denver is a pretty awesome place to live.

Thanks for the food and drink recommends! I guess I was thinking of this as more a chance to go play outside than an urban vacation, but we will have to stop and eat sometimes. Depending on how things shake out, maybe we'll get to Rocky Mountain NP and maybe we won't, but Glacier Gorge looks great if we do. Would you recommend hiking it to Black Lake, or where?

Yeah, Denver is like Salt Lake ++ for music and culture, although we've come a long way lately. We will have our rain jackets for sure, thanks!

 

[slc_dan]

who did you go see?

My Morning Jacket with Sylvan Esso.

 

[Venchka]

Flat Tops W.A.? For a short backpacking trip. Just north of I-70, on your way home.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flat_Tops_Wilderness_Area

Wayne


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[Melissa]

We've got an ambitious itinerary planned, I'll do a trip report when we get back.


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[Venchka]

Have fun!

Wayne


Sent from somewhere around here.

 

[JoanieBelle]

Definitely include Rocky on your itinerary, just not on the weekend! It is too crowded then. Elk rut is in full swing. The colors should be peaking around the Bear Lake area at that time. I agree on the Glacier Gorge trails, although I haven't been to Black Lake. Mills and Jewel are nice though. Avoid Cub Lake, there was a fire there a couple of years ago. You may be there at the perfect time to photograph the fall color around Alberta Falls. Be in Rocky early or late to avoid the crowds. Trail Ridge Road is still open, so you can still enter from the west side, although you should confirm this before you leave. I think the trails are better on the east side of the park (mostly due to the beetle kill on the west side) except for Ute Trail at the top by the Alpine Visitors Center. This trail goes down to Milner Pass with significant elevation descent if starting at the top. If you come from the west, watch for the moose.

CDOT has also decided to keep the road to Mt. Evans (Highest Paved Road in North America topping out over 14,000 feet) open later this year, (near Idaho Springs) due to the long delay in opening it this year. There you will have great views and lots of wildlife. Really good opportunities to view Big Horn Sheep and Mountain Goats with their kids. Bring warm gear, it's always cold and windy on top.

Have fun!

 

[Melissa]

Thanks! We would up being able to take next week off, so the trip has morphed into a longer and more ambitious thing than originally planned.

Our current itinerary departs from Salt Lake after work tomorrow. We will go first to Mesa Verde for Saturday/Sunday, and then a few days in Great Sand Dunes National Park. We will then head up to the Denver area Wednesday for the concert. Thursday morning we'll head for Rocky Mountain National Park, thinking about making Black Lake into an overnight trip. We will have to check out Alberta Falls for fall color while there! From there, we will drop back down to I70 and stop in Black Ridge Canyons wilderness area to hopefully do an overnight, maybe figure out how to turn Rattlesnake Canyon into an overnighter.

Gotta finish packing tonight! I really appreciate all the great suggestions, and hope we will be able to see at least a few of them.

 

[IntrepidXJ]

From there, we will drop back down to I70 and stop in Black Ridge Canyons wilderness area to hopefully do an overnight, maybe figure out how to turn Rattlesnake Canyon into an overnighter.

Rattlesnake Canyon is a good overnighter...just no water unless it rained recently and you can find full potholes. Plus, you have to camp outside of the arches area which is day use only.

 

[uintahiker]

Check out Zapata Falls while you're at the Great Sand Dunes.

If you go through the Colorado Springs area, Paint Mines Park, about 20 miles east of there is fantastic too.