planning family reunion in CO

[aylaelise]

I realize this is a bit broad but....I'm just getting started so I would appreciate any opinions. We have people coming mostly from CA and WI/MN, we would like to meet somewhere in CO since there will most likely be some families driving from both directions. We have a wide range of families who want class and families who want affordibility. We would need a pool as a gathering place so we can all just hang out and do nothing! I will plan a few adventures/hiking hopefully as well.

I think that it would be really cool to stay at some non commercialized area...maybe family owned little resort with different levels of cabins and maybe even some camping on site.

Anyways....please throw some ideas at me. Thanks

[lunarlady]

Which side of the Rockies do you want to be on? There is a really nice KOA campground with a pool near Dinosaur national park in western Colorado (almost Utah). It is a great area for mountain biking and road biking, and cool hiking in the national park, but hot in high summer.

Steamboat Springs is a nice area on the western slope. There is a river you can tube on, hot springs, and a variety of lodging from campgrounds up to fancy resorts. A fun town too with nice resturaunts and hiking in the mountains.

Estes Park is also a great family town. It is the Eastern slope doorway to Rocky Mountian National Park, so there is everything from camping to the Stanley Hotel. There is a public pool, and I'm sure some hotels have pools although we've always camped there.

Of course, if you have people flying in you might want to stay near Denver, which is the only major airport in the state. In that case I would recommend Chatfield state park, which has a great swim beach, boating, camping, and fishing but is close to Denver and all the attractions found there.

Hope this helps and happy planning.

[aylaelise]

We are staying at Timber Creek Chalets in Estes Park....any ideas for day use areas or cool spots we shouldn't miss.....short hikes?

Thank you for your input!!

[lunarlady]

You will want to go into the national park for sure and do some hiking. I like Gem Lake, Fern Lake, and Sky Pond the most, but I am a lake person.

Honestly the whole area is great, and I think you will really enjoy your visit. We love Estes!