Help Tweak my Colorado Itinerary

Looks ok, but it's not clear where some of your lodging destinations are.
For example, on day 1 are you planning to sleep in Denver, Rocky Mtn NP, or Glenwood Springs? Lot of miles of difference between those.
Similar questions for some of the other destinations.
You could get from Glenwood Springs to Montrose in a day, sleep in Montroseand do Gunnison the next day. Gunnison is tough, because of its remote location, last year we slept in Montrose the night before and the night after, after seeing Gunnison NP.
I just did 2 separate trips, in the last couple of years, that hit most of these destinations.
2 nights = 1 full day seeing things in an area.
1 night means less than one day in the area, because of travel time.
You'll want at least a day in Rocky Mtn NP. And most of a day in Black Canyon of the Gunnison NP, due to its remote location.

Even if it's just to stretch your legs, the town of Manitou Springs at the base of Pikes Peak has plenty of lunch spots and an arcade with some antique games including a racing derby. Worth a few minutes to peak your head in there. The chapel at the AF Academy is also interesting. Again, not something you'd need to spend a ton of time visiting but while you're in the area...

Black Canyon of the Gunnison, was there last year, for ideal viewing best to get there when the sun is straight overhead, because the canyon is so deep, there are fewer shadows and a better view of the river in the bottom of the canyon, if you get there from about 11am to 2pm.

Rocky Mtn NP, was there 2 years ago, allow extra time at the top of Trail Ridge Road to do the short hike up to the highest point, it's a short hike from the Trail Ridge visitor center but at about 10,000 feet, so allow extra time for huffing and puffing.

That is a full schedule! If you like hot springs, you might want to check out the Salida Hot Springs Aquatic center. I haven't been there in years, but we really liked it. You'd also like the hot springs at Mt Princeton.

Glad you'll allow 2 days for Colorado Springs. We prefer to take the Cog Railroad to the top of the Peak, rather than driving the road. Garden of the Gods has a great Visitor's Center where you can get a trail map. Manitou Springs is fun--just keep an eye on road situations when you arrive. We've had a record-breaking year for rain. Which means everything is green and beautiful, but sometimes there are issues with roads. HTH

Grand Lake is beautiful. There's a neat, fairly short hike to Adams Falls.

Also, we really like Ouray. You might want to check out the Jeep tours.

2 - that's a lot of driving for one day. I think you'll find that you spend so much time in Estes Park and RMNP (either or both) that Grand Lake is about as far as you can get. It's a nice place to stay if you can find a place - depends on when you are going and how far ahead you reserve. I've had problems in the past getting anything nice there because I didn't reserve far enough ahead of time, it's very popular in the summer and fall. Denver to Estes Park is 1-1/2 hrs but it's nice to stop in Boulder for a lunch or coffee break so add time to that. Trail Ridge road would also take about 1-1/2 hrs if there was NO traffic and you made NO stops, which in my mind is impossible unless you just want to see beautiful mountain scenery from your car window. And then there's always the chance to see wildlife - again depends on when you are going. I've spent a whole day going from Estes to Grand Lake.

4/5 - I would suggest you go from Glenwood Springs to Gunnison by way of Grand Junction. Grand Junction is one of my favorite towns in CO and then you could do the scenic drive through Colorado National Monument - kind of a combo of Canyonlands NP and Grand Canyon on a small scale but really stunning. Spend 2 nights in Gunnison using one day to go to Crested Butte and then do Black Canyon of the Gunnison on the way to Ouray. Just a suggestion based on having done this twice.

10 - Unlike the other poster, I prefer to drive up Pikes Peak. The train looks like fun (I've not done it myself) but I think it just goes right to the top. I prefer to drive so I can make stops on the way up and down, especially if I spot mountain goats. Also a couple of short hikes at a couple of the stops on the way.

11 - Garden of the gods will take a couple of hours, definitely spend some time for lunch and browsing the shops in Manitou Springs.

Thanks for the great responses. Will arrive late and spend night in Denver. Nancy, do you think it is better to stay in Montrose or Gunnison? If I go through Grand Junction, I doubt I would go to Crested Butte. Is the Colorado Monument on or near the highway? Do you drive through it along the way? I hope to redistribute some of the cushion days to spend more time in the Ouray/Durango area, but not exactly sure how to yet. thanks again.

Yes you can drive through CO Natl Monument and you can enter from either Grand Junction or Fruita ( a few miles west of Grand Junction). When I've done it I've taken I70 west from Grand Junction and entered the monument from Fruita (well marked with signs), then after driving through (I think it's called Rimrock Drive that goes through) you come out in Grand Junction and can just get on S Hwy 50 from there to go to Montrose (or Gunnison). How long the drive takes depends on how often you stop for photos or if you want to do any hiking, just driving straight through without stops would be about 1/2 hr but I think we've usually spent 1-2 hrs - it's not huge.

It's not that far from Grand Junction to either Montrose or Gunnison, maybe an hour and 1/2 to Montrose (without stops) and another hour and 1/2 to Gunnison. Either would work for an overnight. Montrose is larger (still not big but bigger than Gunnison) but I personally prefer to stay in Gunnison because I love the drive from there to Crested Butte and back. If you're there in mid-late July the wildflowers in the alpine meadows there are spectacular and Gunnison is more of an 'old west' type of town.

Your question: "do you think it is better to stay in Montrose or [the town of] Gunnison?"
I just did this last year and Montrose was my choice. The town of Gunnison is about 60 miles east of Gunnison NP.
I toured Colorado NM first and then wanted to be sleeping in Montrose so I could spend a full day in Gunnison NP the next day. I was approaching from the west, obviously.

Just thought I'd mention one more thing. Whether you stay in Montrose or Gunnison, after visiting the Black Canyon of the Gunnison NP, I believe you're heading to Ouray. There are two ways to do this: the fast way is Hwy 50/550 but the more scenic way is to go over Owl Creek Pass. The pass is a 42 mile gravel road but very well maintained, at least in summer and fall (no problems for my little Corolla), it's not maintained in winter. No one I knew in CO had been on that road but I read about it in a AAA magazine so my friend and I did it and it was wonderful. Beautiful scenery of some unique peaks and Silver Jack reservoir. Scenes from some western movies were filmed here including the John Wayne version of True Grit and How The West Was Won. You start at Cimmaron, which is on Hwy 50 closer to Montrose than to Gunnison and you come down from the pass into the town of Ridgway which is on Hwy 550 about 10 miles North of Ouray. Whether or not you take the pass or the highway, plan to stop at the True Grit cafe in Ridgway, they have great pie and ice cream and it's kind of a tribute place to John Wayne.

Lurking on this thread and taking notes! Leaving for CO next week and have changed some things to overnight in Grand Junction on the way home and do CO N.M. thanks to you all!

I'm interested in all your tips too! Pam, you'll have to tell me about your trip when you return, if you have time. We just decided to go to Denver for 4 days in September for a cousin's wedding and are hoping to hit some parks while we are there. I've never been so I don't know where to start!

I've lived in Montrose for 35 years and have been over the Silver Jack Reservoir/Owl Creek Pass road several times. In my opinion, you don't have time for that trip on your current plan. You will be seeing so much spectacular scenery in our state that adding 42 miles of a slow, bone-jarring, dusty, gravel road doesn't make the cut. You'll want time to spend in Ouray that day. I'm older now (70), and the idea of all these one-night stays makes me tired. I think you'd be wise to add in a couple of two-night stays somewhere and enjoy the places you've landed a little more. Salida has it all over Buena Vista for an extra day, but over that I'd actually choose an extra night in Durango. I love Crested Butte, but it's out of your way and I think you'd be wiser to add an extra day to Glenwood Springs and make a foray to Aspen (lovely) the second day if you don't think Glenwood has enough to entertain you.