Colorado trip
- Thread starter riverrn
- Start date
Larry N.
Senior Member
You pretty much want to take I-70 to Frisco, CO, hwy 9 to Breck. From Breck you'll probably want to take I-70 east to near Denver where you'll take some route up the eastern side of the foothills, rather than trying to go up some route on the west side, since you'd be forced to go through Granby and Rocky Mountain Nat'l Park on Trail Ridge Road, to get to Estes -- not fun in a class C, nor would Berthoud pass be fun, though I've done it in 3 different class As (not to go to Estes).
On that east side you'll need, at some point, to get on U.S. 36 from Lyons or U.S. 34 from Loveland. So there are several choices on getting to one of those from I-70, either going north somewhere near Golden (CO 93 to Boulder) or going through Denver suburbs on the surface streets (not a good choice) or going all the way to I-25 then north to either the CO66 exit north of Longmont to Lyons or going to the U.S. 34 exit on the north side of Loveland.
One other thought is, if you take the U.S. 6 exit near Floyd Hill, to then take CO 119 north past Blackhawk to Nederland where you'd change to CO 72 (Peak to Peak Highway) to join CO 72, then past Allenspark to Estes, but that's not likely to be fun in a class C either.
Since I've not taken some of those stretches between I-70 and CO 93, particularly U.S. 6 near Floyd Hill or the Golden exit from I-70 to CO 93, perhaps someone else has better information. In any case, there'll be some steep spots and tight curves whichever way you go.
On that east side you'll need, at some point, to get on U.S. 36 from Lyons or U.S. 34 from Loveland. So there are several choices on getting to one of those from I-70, either going north somewhere near Golden (CO 93 to Boulder) or going through Denver suburbs on the surface streets (not a good choice) or going all the way to I-25 then north to either the CO66 exit north of Longmont to Lyons or going to the U.S. 34 exit on the north side of Loveland.
One other thought is, if you take the U.S. 6 exit near Floyd Hill, to then take CO 119 north past Blackhawk to Nederland where you'd change to CO 72 (Peak to Peak Highway) to join CO 72, then past Allenspark to Estes, but that's not likely to be fun in a class C either.
Since I've not taken some of those stretches between I-70 and CO 93, particularly U.S. 6 near Floyd Hill or the Golden exit from I-70 to CO 93, perhaps someone else has better information. In any case, there'll be some steep spots and tight curves whichever way you go.
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Kirk
Senior Member
I would take I70 east from Moab to Frisco and then about 10 miles up CO9 to Breckenridge. From Breckenridge to Estes Park it would depend to some degree on how comfortable you are with mountain driving. I would recommend that you continue east on I70 into the Denver area and then I76 to US36 and take that to Estes Park. It would be possible to leave I70 to US6 to Golden and then CO93 to Estes Park but that would have a lot more traffic and little more scenery and it would likely take longer. It has been many years since I traveled the 6/93 route and the city has grown dramatically. Golden and Boulder are no longer the sleepy little towns that they once were.
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Larry N.
Senior Member
Other than I-30 should be I-70, that is a better route up I-76, then U.S. 36 through Boulder to Lyons, Kirk -- I'd forgotten about it -- and it would likely be the best traveling.
JudyJB
Senior Member
A big question is how experienced are you in driving your class C? Also, if experienced, how confident you are in driving through mountains?
Your route might be determined by the answers to those questions. When I was new, I would avoid steep and curvy two-lane roads, but they can be wonderfully scenic so i easily take them now, assuming no snow or ice.
Also , do you require full-hookup sites? One of my favorite state park is Heaton Bay near Frisco but 9,200’ in elevation and only a few sites have electric. Gorgeous views of snow capped mountains, however.
Your route might be determined by the answers to those questions. When I was new, I would avoid steep and curvy two-lane roads, but they can be wonderfully scenic so i easily take them now, assuming no snow or ice.
Also , do you require full-hookup sites? One of my favorite state park is Heaton Bay near Frisco but 9,200’ in elevation and only a few sites have electric. Gorgeous views of snow capped mountains, however.
Adventurous Traveler
Senior Member
You've already gotten good route information from Larry and Kirk.
Three years ago we went through Boulder taking U.S. 6 to CO 93 (we were staying at a state park, St. Vrains in Longmont) and it's a good ride. As you get closer to Estes Park the road gets very hilly and twists and turns, but it's a good road. Your Class C isn't overly big and you should have any problems handling the roads. Don't be surprised if you have snow showers or cold rainy weather in Estes, and snow at Rocky Mtn. NP. Our visit was in the last week of May and it was below freezing in RMNP, you are at an elevation of over 10K feet. If you have time to stop in Boulder the downtown common area is a cool place to visit.
Three years ago we went through Boulder taking U.S. 6 to CO 93 (we were staying at a state park, St. Vrains in Longmont) and it's a good ride. As you get closer to Estes Park the road gets very hilly and twists and turns, but it's a good road. Your Class C isn't overly big and you should have any problems handling the roads. Don't be surprised if you have snow showers or cold rainy weather in Estes, and snow at Rocky Mtn. NP. Our visit was in the last week of May and it was below freezing in RMNP, you are at an elevation of over 10K feet. If you have time to stop in Boulder the downtown common area is a cool place to visit.
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