Colorado

Snowboarding in the Rocky Mountains!

Colorado has so much to offer, and it’s high on our list of places we want to return to.

After my son got into snowboarding as a winter sport (and tested out just about every “mountain” in Ohio), we decided it was time to take things up a level. So we went straight from small local hills… to the Rocky Mountains. Not exactly a gradual transition.

This trip was taken March 2023.

This was our first trip to Colorado, and we had two main goals:

  • Snowboard at a real mountain resort
  • Explore a bit of the Denver area

We ended up doing both — and on a later trip, we came back for hiking around Denver and a concert at Red Rocks Amphitheatre.

Check out our full video here:

During this trip we saw:

Copper Mountain Ski Resort

We did a lot of research before choosing a ski resort, and we’re really glad we landed on Copper Mountain.

We were trying to balance a few things:

  • Reasonable cost for lodging and lift tickets
  • Plenty of beginner/intermediate runs (green and blue trails)
  • Activities for non-skiers in the family

A lot of the more well-known resorts were just too expensive once you factored everything in — especially for a kid who was still relatively new to snowboarding and wouldn’t be on the mountain all day, every day. It didn’t feel worth overpaying.

Copper Mountain ended up being the perfect fit.

The slopes were ideal for learning, with a really good mix of runs and lifts that made it easy to explore different areas without feeling overwhelming. Coming from small ski hills in Ohio, this felt like a completely different world.

We stayed at Tucker Mountain Lodge, which we really liked. It was a one-bedroom setup with a living room and pull-out couch, and it worked well for our family.

One of the best parts was the location — you could walk straight out into the village, with shops, restaurants, and mountain views in every direction. There was also a hot tub area, which felt especially good after long days outside.

There was also plenty to do if you weren’t on the slopes all day.

We tried tubing (fun, but a bit short for the price), checked out the ninja-style obstacle gym (which was surprisingly cool), and spent time at the pool. Even just walking around the village and grabbing food or coffee was a nice way to fill the afternoons.

Overall, Copper Mountain was a great introduction to skiing in Colorado — approachable, scenic, and easy to navigate as a first-timer family trip. It felt like the right mix of adventure and practicality, and it definitely made us want to come back and explore more of the state.

Leadville

While we were in the area, we made a quick trip to check out the highest elevation city in the U.S. — Leadville.

We’d actually seen it featured before on YouTube (including Kara and Nate’s channel), and it looked like a fun little detour, so we decided to go explore it in person.

The town itself is small and easy to walk around. We wandered through a few shops and stopped at the National Mining Hall of Fame and Museum, which was surprisingly interesting — a good mix of history and local context that helps you understand how the town came to be.

As for the altitude… I felt totally fine while we were in Leadville itself. But the funny part is that by the time we got back down to Copper Mountain — which isn’t actually that much lower — we all ended up with headaches.

Altitude in Colorado is no joke. It doesn’t always hit you immediately, but when it does, you definitely notice it.

Golden, Colorado

Before heading up to Copper Mountain, we spent the night just outside Denver in the town of Golden.

It ended up being a really good stopping point for us. We were getting into the area later in the day and didn’t want to push all the way up to the mountains at night, so breaking it up here made everything easier.

Golden itself is a cute little town — a nice place to stretch our legs after traveling and ease into the higher altitude before heading up to ski country. We had a relaxed dinner, grabbed morning coffee, and got breakfast before continuing on to the mountains the next day.

Simple stop, but a really practical one for the start of our Colorado trip.

Red Rocks

We were really excited to finally see Red Rocks Amphitheatre in person.

Even though we would have loved to line it up with a concert that first visit, we knew we’d have to come back for that later.

We parked and walked up into the amphitheater just to take in the space, and even without a show happening, it’s impressive. The setting alone — carved into the red rock with sweeping views of the surrounding area — makes it worth the stop. It was an easy detour on the way back toward Denver.

On our next trip, we were lucky enough to come back for a concert, and it completely lived up to the hype.

We tried to arrive early to get a good parking spot, but even getting there about 1.5 hours before the show, the closest lot was already full. We ended up in the second-best lot, near the front, which still worked out fine — but it’s worth knowing that some of the other lots are much farther down the hill from the venue.

Even from where we parked, there was still a lot of walking and a big climb up stairs, and we saw plenty of people stopping to take breaks along the way.

The venue itself is just incredible. Huge stone seating, open-air views in every direction, and a backdrop that feels almost unreal once the sun starts setting. Seeing a concert there really is a bucket list experience — one of those places where the setting is just as memorable as the show.

Dinosaur Ridge

This was one of the coolest stops we made — one I almost wish we had done a few years earlier when the kids were in full dinosaur obsession mode.

We visited the Dinosaur Ridge, and it was honestly incredible to see just how many fossilized footprints are still visible in the rock.

There’s a simple walking path (basically a paved road) that takes you along the ridge, with stops where you can see different types of dinosaur tracks and fossils right in place. They’ve added markings and contrast paint so you can actually make out what you’re looking at, which makes it much easier to understand as you go.

It’s one of those places where you don’t need anything fancy — just the fact that you’re standing where dinosaurs actually walked is enough.

There’s also a small museum on site, which is fairly inexpensive and compact, but adds a nice bit of context before or after the walk.

Simple stop, but really memorable.

Rocky Mountain Arsenal Wildlife Refuge

Within minutes of the airport is this amazing wildlife refuge — Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge.

A few things that make this place an easy must-stop:

  1. It’s free
  2. You can drive a loop and see wildlife from your car
  3. There’s a small but interesting visitor center
  4. There are short walking trails with even more animals and nature to explore

We started at the visitor center, which has a compact museum-style exhibit area that gives a good overview of the land’s history and the wildlife you might see.

After that, we walked a couple of the short trails near the entrance. They’re easy and quick, but still a nice way to stretch your legs and spot smaller wildlife.

Then we headed out on the driving loop — which ended up being the highlight. The bison were the main event, just grazing right along the road, but we also saw a mix of birds and other smaller animals along the way.

It’s one of those rare places that feels surprisingly peaceful given how close it is to the city and airport — and a really great final stop to squeeze in on a Colorado trip.

Denver Hiking

While we were in the Denver area, we managed to fit in a hike on the Beaver Brook Trail and Chavez Trail Loop.

This one ended up being about 5.2 miles with roughly 1,200 feet of elevation gain — and I’m not going to pretend it was easy for me.

Depending on your fitness level, it might feel pretty manageable, but I definitely struggled a bit. The hike basically drops you down the full elevation first and then brings you straight back up at the end.

The descent is really beautiful — a shaded forest trail with a small creek running alongside parts of it and a few rocky sections to scramble over. It feels peaceful and steady on the way down, which almost tricks you into thinking the return won’t be too bad.

The climb back up is where it gets real. It’s steep in sections, and there are a few exposed edges that feel a little intimidating, even though it’s not actually dangerous if you take your time. It’s more of a “focus on your footing and keep going” kind of trail.

Overall, it’s a great hike if you want something close to Denver that still feels like a workout with a payoff — just maybe don’t underestimate the way back up.

Denver ended up being a really great base for exploring the area around it. Denver has that nice mix of city life with easy access to mountains, hikes, and day trips in every direction.

We definitely feel like we only scratched the surface of what Colorado has to offer. Between the Rockies, small mountain towns, hiking trails, and places like Red Rocks Amphitheatre, there’s still so much we didn’t get to on this trip.

It’s one of those destinations that immediately went onto our “we need to come back” list — and next time, we already know there will be plenty more to explore.

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