Colorado: Rocky Mountain National Park, Aspen and the Durango and Silverton train

Denver to Estes Park

Denver International Airport to Estes Park

• Welcome dinner
• Nuit : Estes Park
• Environ 2 h de route

Après-midi

Fly into Denver International Airport (DEN), where your See Sight Tours guide meets the group at a set pick-up time in the early afternoon; the exact time and the latest arrival that makes it are confirmed with your final itinerary. If you would rather land the day before, book a Denver hotel and we collect you at the airport. From the plains we drive about an hour and three quarters north-west, past Boulder and up the North St Vrain valley from Lyons to Estes Park, the town at the eastern gate of Rocky Mountain National Park, at about 2,290 m.

Soir

Arriving this high, the first evening is kept gentle: check in, take a short walk along the Riverwalk in the town centre, and drink more water than you think you need. In the evening we sit down together for a welcome dinner and a briefing on the week, the altitude and the weather.

Compris

• Pick-up at Denver International Airport (DEN)
• Drive to Estes Park with your guide
• Welcome briefing and welcome dinner

Trail Ridge Road and Bear Lake

Estes Park over Trail Ridge Road to the Alpine Visitor Center, back to Estes Park, then the Bear Lake corridor

• Petit-déjeuner
• Nuit : Estes Park
• Environ 2.5 h de route

Après-midi

We are back down before the usual afternoon storms, with lunch in Estes Park on your own. In the afternoon we drive Bear Lake Road on the group's timed entry and walk from Bear Lake to Nymph Lake and Dream Lake, with Hallett Peak above the water.

Soir

The evening is free in town.

Compris

• Rocky Mountain National Park entry and timed entry reservation
• Trail Ridge Road with your guide: Many Parks Curve, Forest Canyon Overlook, the Tundra Communities Trail and the Alpine Visitor Center
• Bear Lake, Nymph Lake and Dream Lake on foot

Over Independence Pass to Aspen

Estes Park on the Peak to Peak Highway to I-70, Leadville, then Independence Pass to Aspen

• Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
• Nuit : Aspen
• Environ 5 h de route

Après-midi

Lunch is a sit-down meal of about an hour and a quarter in Leadville, roughly halfway, an old silver-mining town at about 3,094 m with a long main street of Victorian brick. In the afternoon we pass the Twin Lakes and climb Highway 82 to Independence Pass, at about 3,687 m on the Divide, where a short paved path leads to views over the Sawatch Range. From the summit it is a winding descent beside the Roaring Fork River into Aspen, where we stay two nights.

Soir

Arrive in the late afternoon with the evening free in town.

Compris

• Peak to Peak Highway and the Eisenhower Tunnel
• Sit-down lunch in Leadville
• Twin Lakes viewpoint
• Independence Pass summit walk

The Maroon Bells

Aspen to Aspen Highlands, then the shuttle to Maroon Lake and back

• Petit-déjeuner
• Nuit : Aspen
• Environ 30 min de route

Matin

At Maroon Lake, at about 2,900 m, the two peaks of the Maroon Bells, both over 4,200 m, rise straight from the end of the valley, their dark red rock reflected in the water when the morning is still. The easy walk is the Maroon Lake Scenic Trail along the shore and up through the aspens. Those who want more climb to Crater Lake, right under the peaks. We return to Aspen by lunchtime.

Soir

The afternoon and evening are yours: ride the Silver Queen Gondola up Aspen Mountain, walk the John Denver Sanctuary by the river, or sit on a terrace in the town centre.

Compris

• Maroon Bells shuttle reservation from Aspen Highlands
• Maroon Lake with your guide
• The Maroon Lake Scenic Trail

Activités en option

• Silver Queen Gondola up Aspen Mountain

McClure Pass, the Black Canyon and Ouray

Aspen over McClure Pass to Delta and Montrose, the Black Canyon of the Gunnison, then Ridgway and Ouray

• Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
• Nuit : Ouray
• Environ 4.5 h de route

Après-midi

From Delta we drive to Montrose for a sit-down lunch, then up to the South Rim of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. The canyon is narrow and deep enough that parts of its walls get only minutes of sun a day; we walk out to Gunnison Point and the Painted Wall viewpoint, where the cliff drops about 700 m to the river. Late in the afternoon we drive south through Ridgway into Ouray, a Victorian mining town at about 2,350 m, boxed in by peaks.

Soir

Before dinner, soak in the Ouray Hot Springs Pool or walk to Box Canyon Falls. About four and a half hours of driving today, a little over our usual cap because the Black Canyon sits between the two towns; lunch in Montrose and the rim walks break it up.

Compris

• McClure Pass
• Sit-down lunch in Montrose
• Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park entry: Gunnison Point and the Painted Wall
• Ouray Hot Springs Pool entry

Activités en option

• Box Canyon Falls, a short walk from town

The Million Dollar Highway and the train to Durango

Ouray over Red Mountain Pass to Silverton by van, then the Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad to Durango

• Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
• Nuit : Durango
• Environ 1 h de route

Matin

A short morning drive on the Million Dollar Highway, US 550, which climbs out of Ouray on ledges cut into the Uncompahgre Gorge and crosses Red Mountain Pass at about 3,358 m, past old mine buildings on slopes stained red and orange. We stop at the viewpoints and are in Silverton by late morning, a former mining town of about 600 people at the head of the Animas River.

Après-midi

Walk Greene Street and Blair Street and have a sit-down lunch before the afternoon train. The Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad has run this line since 1882; it takes about three and a half hours to follow the Animas River down its gorge, high on narrow ledges, into Durango. We ride it one way, down only. The van takes your bags ahead, so you step off the train and walk to the hotel.

Soir

Evening free in Durango.

Compris

• The Million Dollar Highway and Red Mountain Pass with your guide
• Silverton on foot and a sit-down lunch
• Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad from Silverton to Durango
• Luggage taken ahead by van

Wolf Creek Pass to the Great Sand Dunes

Durango to Pagosa Springs, over Wolf Creek Pass to the San Luis Valley, then Great Sand Dunes National Park

• Petit-déjeuner et repas du midi
• Nuit : Great Sand Dunes
• Environ 4 h de route

Matin

We leave Durango after breakfast and drive east on US 160 to Pagosa Springs, where the San Juan River runs past steaming hot-spring pools, then climb to Wolf Creek Pass on the Continental Divide at about 3,307 m. Down the other side the road follows the Rio Grande into the San Luis Valley, wide and flat, ringed by mountains.

Après-midi

Lunch is a sit-down meal in Alamosa, the valley's main town, and we check in before driving out to Great Sand Dunes National Park in the late afternoon, when the sand has started to cool after the summer midday, which can be too hot to walk on. The dunes, the tallest in North America, rise to about 230 m in front of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains.

Soir

We walk out across Medano Creek, which flows in early summer and is often dry by July, and climb onto the dune ridges for sunset. About four hours and 300 km of driving, with stops at Wolf Creek Pass and lunch in Alamosa breaking it up.

Compris

• Wolf Creek Pass
• Sit-down lunch in Alamosa
• Great Sand Dunes National Park entry
• Sunset walk on the dunes with your guide

Dune sunrise and back to Denver

Great Sand Dunes to Walsenburg and north on I-25 to Denver International Airport

• Petit-déjeuner
• Environ 4.5 h de route

Matin

For those who want it, an early walk onto the dunes at sunrise, when the sand is cool, the ridges are sharp with shadow and the valley is still. After breakfast we leave the San Luis Valley over North La Veta Pass and drop to Walsenburg and the plains, then head north on I-25 along the Front Range, past Pueblo and Colorado Springs, with Pikes Peak to the west.

Après-midi

The drive is about 410 km and four and a half hours of driving, slightly over our usual cap because the dunes have no shorter road to Denver; we break it with a stop for coffee and a lunch stop; lunch today is not included. We reach Denver International Airport in the early afternoon, and your guide sees you to the terminal before saying goodbye. Book a flight leaving after about 4 pm.

Compris

• Sunrise walk on the Great Sand Dunes
• Drive to Denver with your guide
• Drop-off at Denver International Airport (DEN)