Hi, everyone!
We're thinking about travelling to Colorado this summer. We're considering either Aspen or Boulder but are open to other suggestions too (not Denver, just went there 2 years ago). Any recs? I could potentially be in the early stages or pregnancy so we'll need to take that into consideration. Thanks!
Aspen is small, somewhat isolated but gorgeous scenery and hiking possibilities, higher altitude >8000ft. More of a resort type atmosphere in the summer, probably a bit more expensive for food and lodging.
Boulder is a much bigger city (@100k) but has more urban type things to do. The scenery is also nice but not the stunning high mountains of the Aspen area. Lots of easy walks and hikes around Boulder and a fabulous farmers market in the summer on Saturdays, and once a month an art/craft fair along with the farmers market.
I spent a lot of time in Boulder when I lived in CO so I'm a bit partial - would love to live there if I ever moved back to CO. I've only visited Aspen twice, once in winter to ski many many years ago when it was mostly just a ski resort. More recently I spent a couple of nights there a few years ago and really loved the mountain scenery and the hikes.
Both are nice and worth going to.
Boulder is also a nice starting place for Estes Park, Rocky Mountain National Park & Trail Ridge Road.
Aspen is very "resorty" and definitely spendy. Vail is another option - both offer a great variety of hiking and outdoor activities. Vail is a good base for one of my favorite places ever - Turquoise Lake - it sits near Leadville. Another 2 hr drive from Vail is Mt Evans - a 14,000 foot peak - beautiful.
They're both beautiful and nice places to stroll. I would pick Boulder only because it's not as out-of-the-way from other towns/attractions (it's not as bad as Telluride, but still enough out of the way that it's a lot of driving if you want to see something else). It really depends if there are other places in Colorado that you want to see on your trip, or whether all your time will be spent in one of these towns. Day trips are always nice, so think about which of these may be more convenient to other areas you want to visit. Depending on how long your vacation is, consider how much time you want to spend in the car (in Colorado, I confess that car trips aren't exactly a burden because the landscape is so gorgeous, but still...this relates a bit to your note about being potentially pregnant). Just getting to Aspen from Denver airport is 220 miles or so.
If you are still "potentially in the early stages of pregnancy" I'd suggest staying within travel loops that may keep you near easy access to medical or rest facilities. Also being at altitude does require some adjustment for many people. Good access points into the Rockies are generally at (going South) Fort Collins (fun college town with neat "old town" / breweries) accessing the Poudre Canyon / River; Loveland "Gateway to the Rockies" puts you quickly into The Big Thompson River/Canyon on the way to Estes Park; then Boulder (a hip college town) with quick access into the Rockies, then Denver using I-70 toward connections to Central City, Aspen, Mt Evans and Breckenridge; further south is Colorado Springs / Manitou Springs via Colorado Road 24 connecting you to Pikes Peak and further to the San Juans and Presidental Range. You can make good loops out of all of these other than Denver which gets you to loop locations in the noted towns via I-70. The State of Colorado has an excellent travel planning website which you can probably easily find. If you are a very car bound traveler I suggest traveling "The Peak to Peak" highway connecting from I-70 to Central City on to Estes Park / Rocky Mountain National Park. Also, if you can spare a little extra, if in Estes Park, spend a night or two at The Stanley Hotel, a favorite of mine. There are great guide books available for Colorado road trips and general touring. My choices, given your situation, for connecting into good day trips and enjoyable lodging ... Breckenridge, Aspen, Estes Park.
You will almost certainly come through Denver to get to either one, with Boulder being approximately 35-45 mins from DIA and Aspen is about 3-3.5 hours. It all depends on what you want to do and how active/outdoorsy you are, but I would recommend staying in Aspen and visiting Boulder because, although both are obviously outdoor cities, the big stuff is deeper in the mountains, while Boulder sits just outside on the foothill... Just between DIA and Aspen there are wayyy more options of things to do, even just going over Independence pass is worth the drive.
Plus, Boulder is kind of a silly town.
Let me know if you need some ideas of things to do out here
And while Im thinking of it, have you considered Estes Park? Maybe 90 mins from DIA and at the base of RMNP/Long's
