A week in Colorado! From rags to riches!

This is an itinerary that we did as a family trip in 2011, but this would be equally fun today. We balanced cheap/camping options with more luxurious accommodations so that the week was filled with the right balance of fun and cost.

Colroad Road Trip August 2011

Camped, stayed in hotels and vacation rentals

2 adults and 2 kids, ages 4 and 6

Day 1 (Friday) Larkspur /camping- Left Denver, camped at the Jellystone Campground Larkspur (40 minute drive from Denver to Larkspur).

Day 2 (Saturday) Colorado Springs - Woke up and enjoyed $3.50 all you can eat pancakes at campground. Headed to The Broadmoor. Luckily they had our room available for us so we were able to check in and start enjoying the resort pool and ammenities. We were able to get a discounted rate for our stay, check specials and promotions for their latest deals! (38 minute drive from Jellystone to The Broadmoor)

Day 3 (Sunday) Great Sand Dunes National Park/camping - Headed to the Great Sand Dunes National park and camped in the Pinion Flats campground in the park. (The Broadmoor to Great Sand Dunes Park drive is approximately 2 hours 40 minutes)

Day 4 (Monday) and Day 5 (Tuesday) - Salida - Hiked the amazing sand dunes and played in the sand! Packed up campground and head out for Salida, Colorado. We rented a VRBO rental 2 bedroom loft that was great near historic downtown Salida for two nights. If heading to Salida check VRBO or other sites for the most current hotel and rental availability. Salida is a very cute mountain town with a river, restaurants, coffee shops and stores. We spent some time swimming in the Salida Hot Springs Pool which was lovely. (Great Sand Dunes park to Salida is a 1 hour 30 minute drive)

Day 6 (Wednesday) - Buena Vista/camping - Headed to our campsite near Beuna Vista Colorado (about another 30-40 minutes drive). Many camping options available in this area. You can use recreation.gov or reserveamerica.com for current availability.

Day 7 (Thursday) and Day 8 (Friday) - Silverthorne - Left our campsite and headed to a friend's vacation rental in Silverthorne, Colorado. Spent a couple days relaxing, swimming in the condo swimming pool, visiting with friends, checking out Breckenridge, CO and enjoying our final 2 days of vacation! (Buena Vista to Silverthorne is approx 1 hour 15 minute drive)

Day 8 (Saturday) Denver - Drove home to Denver (approximately 1 hour and 15 minutes).

Total trip drive time ~ 8 hours 30 minutes and 491 miles

Highlights: Great Sand Dunes, camping, The Broadmoor pool, staying in a mixture of nice places and camping experiences, Salida (town and hot springs pool)

Recommendations: Cut down on costs by mixing up nice hotels/vacation rentals with camping. Make sure to make reservations for camp sites if you will be traveling on weekends or peak times.

Desire to return: High! In fact, we will be doing another week long road trip in Colorado in 2016! Stay tuned for the new itinerary that will include Mesa Verda and The Great Sand Dunes National parks!