Was planning on a winter conference in Denver in January, we were going to Breckenridge but Covid 19 has ruined that (3rd vacation dicked because of this virus now)

so its been tentatively postponed to July 2021 which changes from Skiing to Hiking.

I know its early but I usually try to book a cabin or whatever 12 months in advance. I"d like to go hiking - something in the mountains but a little out of the way. I know Rocky Mountain National Park is right next door, but I would prefer to get away from the crowds.

I was thinking Wyoming or going further west of Denver - nothing more than 3 hours away. ideally I'd like to hit two 7-12 mile hikes with 8-13K elevation. Wind River? Snow Mountains? I'm not familiar with any of this area.

Pikes Peak? The air above 10,000 is getting kind of thin for those not acclimated to it. Maybe hike Garden of the Gods first to get a feel for it.

I'd probably be willing to pay a premium for NOT having to go to Denver!
Jerry

Can't help.The good country is more than 3 hours from Denver

Select a series of 14ers to hike around RMNP. I'd guess that any crowds drop off around 9000 feet.

Take oxygen.

https://www.theoutbound.com/theoutbound/rocky-mountain-national-park-s-15-best-hikes

You might look into summit county. Dillon has good hiking, restaurants and great rental options. Traffic gets a bit heavy between DIA and Dillon but it's not bad when you get there. I can recommend several hikes up there.

Aurora for some cultural excellence....

Denver is a good place to stay, and use as a base to operate out of, if you want to do some climbing and hiking...especially in the mountains west of Denver. Mount Bierstadt is a good hike up to 14,065 feet. It’s west of Denver, and south of Georgetown off of Guanella Pass Road. It’s beautiful up in there.
West Spanish Peak, just south of La Veta, is a good climb in a beautiful area...the Spanish Peaks Wilderness. It gets you up to over 13,600 feet, and the volcanic dikes...100 feet high...go out from the base of the peak like spokes of a wagon wheel. It’s off of Hwy. 12 over at Cordova Pass.
You could climb and hike every single day in Colorado, and live to be a hundred years old, and never even make a dent in the climbing and hiking opportunities out here.

Clive Cussler Museum.
14959 W. 69th Avenue • Arvada, CO
If you read his books.

Evergreen is a very cool little town worth visiting. Not far from Denver.

Boulder for a freak show.....

Unless you have your heart set on Denver. Avoid it. A mad house of people.
Estes Park west in the mountains. You can sleep with the elk.

Avoid Denver and Boulder if at all possible. Libtard heaven.

There’s some good climbing and hiking up at Boulder too. You can access many miles of hiking trails from the Chautauqua...you can hike below the Flatirons, behind the Flatirons, or on the Peaks above the Flatirons.

Take a look at the Flat Tops Wilderness area - hiking, fishing, camping, horseback outfitters, ....

Flat Tops

I don't have a choice about Denver, that is where the work conference will be

this is good stuff, and no I will not be acclimated to the altitude, so I may need to dial it back a bit.

This is clearly a question from someone east of the Mississippi

Can you hike Indian Reservation land? Or is it off limits (or you wouldn't want to anyways?)

Check out the 10th Mountain Division huts for hiking opportunities. Great experience when I did two of them with my sons in July one summer.

Honestly... go to RMNP and do Trail Ridge Rd over to Lake Granby. Look for moose and sheep along the way. Elk are like road kill possums here back east. You should at least a thousand on a good day, lol. Drive up to Cheyenne and go inside the Capital bldg. It’s pretty neat. Drive south and go to Pikes Peak. The Denver zoo is pretty cool also.

No res's close. Keep hydrated, do not drink alcohol, tums help with altitude.

Hiway 285 to pine junction, south to buffalo creek. Tame country, you can end up in bailey and return to denver.

Go north east to pawnee grasslands. Shortgrass prairie, antelope, heat. some of Centennial tv movie was set there.

Go to cheyenne, depot museum

Colorado and wyoming both will send tourist maps and info.

Be aware it gets cold at night and weather changes quickly. I have managed to get snowed on every month except August

I always like staying in Glenwood Springs before hunting, lots to do in that area including rafting.

We stayed at an AirBNB in Breckenridge, Loved it!! Nice people, off season, great place.

My wife and I like casinos, so we went to Black Hawk, Central City, and Cripple Creek for the ambiance.

There are also over 850 miles of paved pedestrian/bicycle paths throughout Denver. Since you’re gonna be staying in Denver, it’d be easy to access these if you choose. The path from the dam at Cherry Creek Reservoir, along Cherry Creek all the way to it’s confluence with the South Platte River is nice. So is the path along the South Platte River through Littleton.
As mentioned, there are many miles of hiking paths in Garden of the Gods, and the scenery is pretty great. Across Hwy. 24 from Garden of the Gods is Red Rock Canyon Open Space, and there are a lotta good hiking trails up in there, and the scenery is very pretty.

I don't know about hiking but driving through Roosevelt Nation Forest and driving through Estes Park was fun for us. The Denver, Boulder, Longmont, Fort Collins areas have a great Craft Beer Scene if you are into that. ( thats what we go for) Some of the breweries are pretty nice. There is a place out toward Glenwood Springs that has a train ride. Its not the greatest train ride that we have taken but I don't regret taking the time to do it. We go in October but in the Spring and Summer there are rafting opportunities.

Plan a drive up to Estes park ...

I am from Colorado. All above info is cool Spent most of my life in Grand County. The best time to do trailridge road is first light to sunrise, the rest of the day is a freaking zoo! Summer sucks in the high country, most of us spent our free time away from the tourists! There are a myriad of drives from Denver that will not take you all day to do, pull out a map and have at it! My old home has turned into a liberal [bleep]!

Trailridge Road at first light is really cool. Estes Park will be a zoo in July. Grand Lake will be better but it’s still the single busiest month of the year.

thanks for everyone taking time to write suggestions. I will look over each one and do some google work on it.

South of Denver in Colorado Springs as mentioned earlier is Garden of the Gods - it is time well spent. Later have drinks in the main bar of the Broadmoor Hotel. It is absolutely beautiful and a world class hotel in the grandest tradition of European top notch service. The Sunday brunch there is quite an experience. Also in Colorado Springs is the Old Town area which makes for an nice hour or two of browsing around. There is also the Air Force Academy with the chapel that is quite stunning. Pike’s Peak is also worth your time while in the area. Aspen is much better in the summer and fall than winter. The drive there is beautiful and there is no shortage of great restaurants and things to do once you get there. The summer concert series is always a good time as if the food and wine festival. In the area of Aspen take out the time to check out Basalt and the other towns nearby as they are also interesting. One of the best burgers in the area is at the biker bar down by the creek - I can’t remember the name of it but just mention biker bar by the creek and folks will fill you in. Great atmosphere, good prices and good food. Hope this helps. Enjoy your trip.

Twin Lakes west of Denver is cool. My brother lives there. Independence Pass is west of there a bit, interesting drive up and over. Saw Bighorn sheep on the road last time.. Lots of trails from the road, but I haven't done any of them.

For a shorter hike/drive, go out to Morrison (Red Rocks ampitheater is there- yuppi ville concerts etc every night nearly), but there is a neat trail that takes off from the end of Red Rocks Vista Drive, and goes up the mountain to an old "castle" site. Historical. Early and late for mule deer sightings. Take water! At least a quart per person.

In denver they sleep and crap on the sidewalks.

Recreational marijuana shops!!!!

As easy as goin’ in and buyin’ some gummy bears.

Just join the parade up 287 to Wyoming with all the other Colorado folks.
Come on up to the Snowy Range, look into a FS cabin and stay a night. Far fewer folks than just over the border.
Saratoga adds another hour from Denver but a neat little town.
I would drive up and take 130 over to Centennial and then go up for a hike. Have a nice meal in Centennial or Laramie. We have some great local beers in Laramie as well.

One place thats just a stones throw from Denver is Red Rocks Amphitheater. Its in the foothills near Morrison Colorado and its an absolutely beautiful place to visit. The Museum of Natural History in Denver is also a must see if you get the chance. I'll also second what was said above about Saratoga Wyoming and Centenial. Also Woods Landing is a beautiful area.

Several of us will be at the Rocky Mountain National Rendezvous in July. It has been moved to Creede. Get yer possibles and plews together and join us fer a shining time!

Pics from last year!!!

that's awesome, thanks for the invite. This will next July in 2021

That government pot will leave ya dazed and confused.

How about a drive up Mt. Evans (14,265'). It's a little higher than the Ohio peaks.

And along East Colfax

The Grizzly Rose Dance Hall is nice.