Colorado to-do's for a family summer vacation

Since you are fairly vague, your choices are equally vague. From what you have posted Breckenridge works about as well as any other place. You can make some nice day trips from Breck. You didn't indicate what time and how long. Only thing lacking in the Break area would be native American sites. They are not common in Colorado. There are some hidden and interesting areas. There is the Georgetown loop railroad and silver that is very interesting. The Mineral Belt trail in Leadville is terrific -- actually flat except for one big hill. There is the huge, outdoor, hot spring fed pool in Glenwood Springs and the drive through the canyon is great. On you way to Breck there is a large, outdoor railroad museum in Golden. Also along I-76 is Georgetown - first state capital and very Victorian town. Good ice cream. Hit your local library and pull some guidebooks for Colorado and perhaps travel DVDs.

I would consider Estes Park or Granby ahead of Boulder, but doubt there is a Marriott in either...

Breckinridge and Winter Park have good hiking, gondolas, and alpine slides and are close to Denver.

It's a long trek from Boulder, but Mesa Verde has the best Native America sites and Telluride and Ouray are relatively nearby with world-class views, hikes, and gondola rides. Depends on how much driving you want and how high the Native American sites are on the priority list.

Frank, I always appreciate the smarmy attitude that often accompanies a Rick Steves forum reply.

My sister and I visited RMNP last September and had a lovely time. I am sure you will as well. We stayed in Granby which worked very well except for the day that we wanted to do the Bear Lake Corridor. (Thanks Emily for the correction) We ended up adding a night in Estes Park just for convenience for that day.

I'm sure you are aware of the timed entry system and that you need to get a entry permit unless you enter the park very early in the morning.

We enjoyed the western part of the park the most. Trails were less busy and also scenic. There is a burn area near the Grand Lake entrance, but it didn't take away from all of the rest of the park and the opportunities there. One fun surprise was some hikes outside the National Park in the National Forest/Wilderness area at the end of Lake Granby. We enjoyed these hikes just as much as those in the National Park.

Grand Lake has a supply of ice cream stores and luxury mini-golf that would satisfy any kid of any age.

I think poster above meant Bear Lake corridor in Rocky, not Beaver. Staying in Boulder would not be my first choice for visiting Rocky.

YMCA family facility in Estes provides thousands of accommodations in various configurations and prices.

I’m a part year resident of Estes and the Y camp is a wonderful choice IMHO.

We normally stay in Grand Lake - entering RMNP from there is marginally less crowded than Estes Park, and the little town has a more relaxed vibe that we appreciate. There are superb hiking trails both inside and outside the Park to satisfy all levels of fitness and lots of animals, especially if you're out in the early AM or late PM.

Carol, not familiar with the “timed entry” requirement. Can you elaborate?

Emily, is the Y “camps” truly camping? We are flying into CO, so bringing gear isn’t an option.

Travis, here is the link to the website that describes the system.
https://www.nps.gov/romo/planyourvisit/timed-entry-permit-system.htm

You will want to pay attention to when the permits become available for the times you are interested in and act right away. I reserved ours the first day that they were available and had no difficulties. The early bird will always get in if you are willing to get up and be in the park before the timed entry starts each day.

Here also is a link to the YMCA. I believe there is a wide range of lodging options.
https://ymcarockies.org/Lodging/campaignid/2069482508/gclid/Cj0KCQiAu62QBhC7ARIsALXijXRetdnKXPi_gxasBTny7xFZEC7EeBUp3cS_uk9YefdcQUBqvIXqAz0aAvYBEALw_wcB

the Wild Animal Sanctuary in Keenesburg ( northeast of Denver ) might be of interest. www.wildanimalsanctuary.org

I should have included the link to the Y. Thanks to poster who did.

It is not ‘camping’ at all! Several hundred individual cabins with full kitchens and perhaps 10 large lodges of varying degrees of newness and sleeping arrangements.

Cabins range from 2 to 4 bedrooms and some lodge rooms sleep up to 6 people. There are overnight accommodations for several thousand people.

The Y was our first intro to staying in Estes; we bought a home there 14 years ago.

Western side of the park is (I think) a bit quieter but just as fabulous.

In response to ‘family friendly’ rafting, Clear Creek may fit the bill as it’s designated as beginner rafting. My son and I went when he was about 10 yo and we loved it, an exciting and cool experience https://raftbrownscanyon.com/colorado-adventures/third-day-clear-creek-beginning-rafting/.

We also went to the above mentioned Winter Park https://www.playwinterpark.com/summer-activities. At the time there was a train from Denver which was an interesting way to get there and then gondolas to a peak as well as for the Alpine slide, another fun day. The train typically runs during ski season but also ran in summer when we were there.

Red Rocks was interesting as well for the geology as well as the amphitheater https://www.redrocksonline.com/our-story/geology/

We also enjoyed the above mentioned Wild Animal Sanctuary in Keenesburg.

And lastly, driving through the canyons is fun, especially from Golden up to Black Hawk and also Boulder Canyon.

We went a few summers ago, when my kid was 9.

We stayed in Avon - it was a bit more quaint, but still close enough to anything we needed/wanted to do. It was close enough to explore the mountains every day as well.

As Frank said - "There is the huge, outdoor, hot spring fed pool in Glenwood Springs and the drive through the canyon is great"
This drive was just past Avon, and the drive through the canyon to Glenwood Srpings was stunning. We did the gondola ride at the Adventure park there. The downtown area of Glenwood Springs had great ice cream shops for my daughter.
We did find somewhere to go whitewater rafting, but I couldn't tell you where - but it was plenty family friendly, having my daughter along.

If staying at a Marriott is key, does it have to be a Marriott hotel, or do your free nights work at other properties in the corporation? I see that Breckenridge has a Marriott, and the ski resort there has both alpine slides and alpine coaster, although for sheer convenient location, Frisco, just up the road, has better access to I-70 and the additional towns and resort areas along it, for day trips. Silverthorne and Dillon are pretty much adjacent to Frisco. Those towns, as well as Breck, are connected by a paved trail, great for walking (and, frankly, bicycling). Lots of easy hiking in the area is available, throughout Summit County.

Much has been mentioned about Grand County locations, Granby, Grand Lake, Winter Park. We actually spend a lot more time up there - fantastic hiking, views, and lots fewer crowds than in Summit County! As far as the YMCA of the Rockies, in addition to their location in Estes Park, on the east “Front Range” side of Rocky Mountain Nat’l. Park, they also have a location on the western “Middle Park” side, just south of Granby. The YMCA Snow Mountain Ranch has lodges and large and small cabins. They also offer yurts to stay in. I believe all are furnished, but haven’t personally stayed in them, so you’d want to check all that out. There are miles and miles of trails there. One outstanding hike is the Waterfall Trail, just over a mile up to a small waterfall - just over 2 miles, round trip. Another is Ninemile Mountain - steeper, but not too long, and the trail was improved 3 years ago. The trailhead is just steps away from several of the cabins, or a very short (but steep and winding) drive from the rest of the facilities. They have a summer tubing hill, archery, olympic pool, lots of other activities. They’re also close to Winter Park resort, with Colorado’s longest alpine slide - side by side tracks, so you can race each other to the bottom, Gondola (installed 3 years ago), and hiking on the mountain. You can ride up, then hike around, and ride back down, or hike down. They’re also very close to Granby Ranch, a smaller ski area with lifts and an extensive summer hiking trails.

As noted, Granby is a short distance to Grand Lake and RMNP. A short drive west is Hot Sulphur Springs, smaller than Glenwood, but a fabulous soak, right by the Colorado River. and its spectacular Gore Canyon drive. Carol mentioned fabulous hikes in the National Forest south of RMNP - I’ll bet one of those was Monarch Lake. It’s a satisfying 4 mile hike all the way around, through forest and interesting rock formations, but you can go shorter or much longer in the area, if you want. Seeing moose is almost guaranteed - but you’ll definitely come across lots of birds and other wildlife.

The area, as with much of the Colorado mountains, now has many condos and houses being rented out - Vrbo, Airbnb, etc. - but Snow Mountain Ranch might work, if using Marriott nights isn’t required. Fraser and Tabernash (named after a prominent Ute chief) are between Winter Park and Granby - additional places to look for stays. Driving from the Front Range, if you take I-70 to the Empire exit, then drive over Berthoud Pass to the Middle Park side, there’s a trail (closed-off dirt road) right at the Berthoud Pass parking lot. It goes up Colorado Mines Peak, 1,200 feet to the top of the Continental Divide. It’s one of the best, most accessible hikes available, almost all above treeline, but not for a windy day.

Telluride, Durango, or Cortez, in the far southwest of Colorado, also have a lot of spectacular scenery and adventure opportunities. Mesa Verde National Park, with the cliff-dwellings and desert hiking options, is a site from a Native American culture 1,000 years ago.

More recent Ute, Mountain Ute, and Arapaho nations were mobile, and didn’t leave too many permanent sites that make for easy visiting now. Maybe there are opportunities you can research and discover, but that could take some work.

The Ute Indian Museum is in Montrose, also home of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park.

If you like tea, a visit to the Celestial Seasonings factory in Boulder is fun. There's a tour. You go into the mint room, and your sinuses are as clear as they ever have been.

The hike to Hanging Lake off of I-70 about 80 M west of Denver is great.

You'll need to rent a car. You need to do that right away. The costs will be high.

Hanging Lake, and Spouting Rock behind it, is (was) great, even fabulous. The clear, surprisingly blueish water is similar to Plitvice Lakes Park in Croatia, that is one of Rick Steves’ top recommendations. It’s just east of Glenwood Springs, mentioned above. Unfortunately, it’s closed off for an undetermined time, for the foreseeable future.

A forest fire destroyed the area, although the lake and its immediate surroundings survived that. The challenging trail leading up to it had been getting damage from overuse and inconsiderate treatment from some visitors. Then, heavy rains this past summer caused severe mudslides that fire-damaged ground couldn’t handle. Until this is mitigated and restored, access to the lake is prohibited.

Heavy crowds also changed the parking lot availability, and a shuttle bus system was created to handle moving people to the trailhead. Then a permit and reservation system ($12 per person at last availability) was put in place to further deal with overwhelming popularity of the site. It was magical, but was being “loved to death.”

I go to Telluride every summer with my kids and it's a wonderful family destination. However, it's about a 7-hour drive each way from Denver and (probably?) more expensive than other options. It's also very isolated, and thus not a good home base for other parts of the state. While the drive is gorgeous and an attraction in its own right, it's still time-consuming. As others have said, Mesa Verde and other Native American sites are relatively close, so if that's really important, then SW CO is a great spot. Feel free to DM me with more specific questions about the area.

Couple more note about SW Colorado:

Besides Mesa Verde, there are ancient Pueblo ruins on the neighboring reservation. I haven’t done it myself, but it’s possible (and required for a visit) to hire a tribal guide to see those much-less visited ruins. I u set stand they are more “ruined” than those innNesa Cerde, which are in better condition, and more protected.

Telluride has pretty much a festival a every weekend in the summer. Food, beer, wildflowers, etc. National musical acts appear frequently, without the huge crowds of outdoor concerts in other places. The local joke is the one weekend that doesn’t have one should be the “No Festival Festival.”

Even if you don’t stay at the New Sheridan Hotel, stop by it. You can stay in the mining-era Old Town, or uphill, in the more modern Mountain Village.

Twenty miles up the road, on the way to Montrose (mentioned above), is Ridgway. An artist there makes the gold mini victrolas that top the Grammy Award trophies.

Travis, see you’re from Charleston (not sure which one). Have you been out west on other trips? No one seems to be mentioning the practicalities: dry air, altitude, and it can get cold at night even in summer. Plenty of water, lip balm, take a fleece, and pacing for the altitude adjustment, especially if you’re flying to CO rather than driving. Breckenridge can be tough for breathing at first even if you all are in pretty good shape. Just bringing this up because you may find yourself needing to hike a little shorter or bike a little less than anticipated. Have a good trip!

Rachel makes an excellent point. There are actually some places with Oxygen Bars, where you can inhale concentrated O2, although they seem to really be a gimmick.

Some people do find it easier to take a day or two in Denver, Boulder, Colorado Springs, etc. to help acclimatize to the elevation, before heading to higher locations in the mountains. Take it easy the first day or two, and watch out for severe headaches. The sun’s burning UV rays are stronger in the thinner atmosphere, so sunscreen is more essential than at lower elevations. And a jacket, at the very least, a light windbreaker, is good to have at any time.

Stick with your plan above. No way you are going to see everything anyway. Forget Mesa Verda and Telluride. Way too far. Boulder, RMNP and Breck would be fine for all you wan to do.
Check on the entry into RMNP. You can easily drive from Boulder for a day trip. Right at Boulder is the trail system along the Flatirons that will give you want you want for hiking.
RMNP may be very crowded. They have a bus system in the park to get you to trailheads. Depending on time of year there may still be snow.
Breckenridge has everything you need for tourism. Plenty of hikes too. Plus, you can access Loveland Pass, Vail Pass, and Leadville for further needs. Leadville an easy drive from Breck. That is pretty much all you need to visit CO for your first time.
You cannot see everything. Just driving to Boulder, RMNP, and Breck is a wow drive for people who come from anywhere east of the Mississippi. If you want the real wow factor, drive from Boulder or RMNP via Trailridge road over the top and down through Granby, Winter Park connecting to I-70 and thence to Breck. That would be a long day drive, but will fulfill your wildest dreams of Colorado.

There are cliff dwellings in Manitou Springs, near Colorado Springs. https://www.cliffdwellingsmuseum.com/ I have not been but it looks interesting, though much smaller than Mesa Verde, which is amazing. Could be something to see if you don't want to go to western Colorado. But you mention "just driving around" - you could easily map out a route to SW Colorado, stay in Durango and Visit Mesa Verde (and/or stay a night inside the park), and do the Million Dollar Highway. From Boulder out to Durango and back will take several days, but they could be great days. How long in total is your trip?

Rachel, good point about taking a fleeces-I have a wardrobe of jackets and sweatshirts I had to buy in places like Maine and Vermont because I didn't consider how different the weather would be.