Peterson - Frommers EasyGuide to Colorado 2014

Published by

FROMMER MEDIA LLC

Copyright 2014 by FrommerMedia LLC, New York City, New York. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning or otherwise, except as permitted under Sections 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without the prior written permission of the Publisher. Requests to the Publisher for permission should be addressed to the Permissions Department, FrommerMedia LLC at .

Frommers is a registered trademark of Arthur Frommer. Used under license. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners. FrommerMedia LLC is not associated with any product or vendor mentioned in this book.

ISBN 978-1-62887-036-7 (e-book)

Editorial Director: Pauline Frommer

Editor: Elizabeth Taylor

Production Editor: Lindsay Conner

Cartographer: Roberta Stockwell

Page Compositor: Debbie Berman

Cover Design: Howard Grossman

For information on our other products or services, see www.frommers.com.

FrommerMedia LLC also publishes its books in a variety of electronic formats. Some content that appears in print may not be available in electronic formats.

5 4 3 2 1

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Eric Peterson has been writing about travel for more than 20 years. Beyond covering the Rockies in numerous Frommers guidebooks, hes written about skiing, hiking, and other ways to get up and down mountains for such publications as the New York Daily News, Delta Sky, and his own Ramble series of travel books. When hes not on the road, he covers the arts, technology, and city-building for Confluence Denver, a hyper-local website. Eric lives in Denver with his wife, Jamie, and their trusted canines, Mini and Duncan.

ABOUT THE FROMMER TRAVEL GUIDES

For most of the past 50 years, Frommers has been the leading series of travel guides in North America, accounting for as many as 24% of all guidebooks sold. I think I know why.

Though we hope our books are entertaining, we nevertheless deal with travel in a serious fashion. Our guidebooks have never looked on such journeys as a mere recreation, but as a far more important human function, a time of learning and introspection, an essential part of a civilized life. We stress the culture, lifestyle, history and beliefs of the destinations we cover, and urge our readers to seek out people and new ideas as the chief rewards of travel.

We have never shied from controversy. We have, from the beginning, encouraged our authors to be intensely judgmental, criticalboth pro and conin their comments, and wholly independent. Our only clients are our readers, and we have triggered the ire of countless prominent sorts, from a tourist newspaper we called practically worthless (it unsuccessfully sued us) to the many rip-offs weve condemned.

And because we believe that travel should be available to everyone regardless of their incomes, we have always been cost-conscious at every level of expenditure. Though we have broadened our recommendations beyond the budget category, we insist that every lodging we include be sensibly priced. We use every form of media to assist our readers, and are particularly proud of our feisty daily website, the award-winning Frommers.com.

I have high hopes for the future of Frommers. May these guidebooks, in all the years ahead, continue to reflect the joy of travel and the freedom that travel represents. May they always pursue a cost-conscious path, so that people of all incomes can enjoy the rewards of travel. And may they create, for both the traveler and the persons among whom we travel, a community of friends, where all human beings live in harmony and peace.

Arthur Frommer

T he old and the new, the rustic and the sophisticated, the wild and the refinedall of these experiences exist practically side by side in Colorado, amid what is arguably the most breathtaking mountain scenery in America.

Colorados booming citiesBoulder, Colorado Springs, and Denverand its admittedly somewhat glitzy resortsespecially Vail and Aspenoffer much of the comfort and culture of New York or Los Angeles but at a more relaxed pace. Throughout the state, youll also find testaments to another time, when life was simpler but rougher and only the strong survived: Victorian mansions, working steam trains, thousand-year-old adobe villages, and authentic Old West towns.

Enos Mills, an early-20th-century environmentalist and one of the driving forces behind the creation of Rocky Mountain National Park, said that knowledge of nature is the basis of wisdom. So climb on a horse or mountain bike, take a hike or a raft tripor simply sit back and gaze at the mountains. Whatever you do, though, dont stay indoors.

COLORADOS best AUTHENTIC EXPERIENCES

Skiing as Many Different Slopes as You Can: Colorado gets twice as many skier-days as any other state at its nearly 30 resorts. Ranging from mom-and-pop operations to some of the most fabled places in ski country, Colorado is just the place for a week, or even a month, on the slopes. See for information on different resorts.

Exploring the Cities on the Front Range: There is plenty of mountain scenery between Fort Collins and Pueblo, and the majority of the top museums, hotels, and restaurants are found here. Spend a few days in Denver, Boulder, Colorado Springs, and elsewhere before ascending the Rockies. See .

Biking, Rafting, or Driving through Glenwood Canyon: This master-work of geology between Eagle and Glenwood Springs is home to an engineering marvel in I-70, but bike trails and the Colorado River provide alternate methods to see the stunning views. See .

Gaping at the Views in Telluride: There are no shortage of incredible views in Colorado, but for my money, the most beautiful town is Telluride. Waterfalls, forests, red rock, and jagged peaks comprise a picture-perfect landscape that begs for snapshot after snapshot. See .

.