The summer of 2010 we will be traveling to the Durango area of Colorado via wolf creek pass from the east. This will most likely take place sometime around July 4. We know that we want to ride the train to Silverton, go over to Mesa Verde then rent a jeep and drive up into the mountains and visit some of the old ghost towns (if any of you have experience with an outfitter for the jeep rental good or bad please let me know). This trip will be with my Son & DIL and two grandsons (12 & 9).
Then we are looking at traveling up though Montrose and ending up at the Royal Gorge via US 50.
I would like to see if any of you have some other suggestions for things to see along this route.
If it were just me and my wife we would have no real plans just wonder around. But with my son only having a set time from work we need to do and see as much as we can in a two week time frame.

 

While you are in the jeep, you could make a drive through the "Marshall Pass" between Poncha Springs and up toward Gunnison back to highway 50. Its about a 20 mile drive on a beautiful backroad.

Also, when you are near Royal Gorge, you could go to Whitewater rafting through Bighorn Sheep Canyon on the Arkansas River. You can't take the youngsters through the RG as it is to fast, but the Bighorn should be perfect.

If you want to drive a little more, you could drive the Phantom Canyon Rd or the Shelf Rd (in the jeep) from Canon City to Cripple Creek. Also, there are casinos in Cripple Creek and the narrow gauge railroad that runs from CC to Victor which is cool. And a little further is Pike's Peak and Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs.

Hope that helps. My son and I made a trip there last summer and had a blast.

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definately take the railroad! there is a package plan guy/rental which is better for ya, gives you about 25 area discounts and since you have little ones, it may be in your best interest. south west of cripple creek, but that's from memory. check the area out. you may need local advice as well as the soil is gritty/slippery rock. different than texas gritty slippery. I know it was different than using my jeep here in the 'mountains' of new york state. just a bit different touch on the gas, no sideways exposure and the different places to use low gear and so forth...

 

Cant help with your route but the last time we were through we drove what I think was called the "gold belt tour". I know it went through Cripple Creek. We left the trailer behind and wound up spending a night in the truck but it was fun. Didnt know about the railroad trips. Gonna look into it the next time because that sounds like a good trip.

 

Thanks I’m plotting how some of the things that ya’ll have suggested can be worked into the schedule. I should add that my wife and I have made one trip a few years ago. We rode the D&S train plus went to Massa Verdi. But this time the kids are going, so we will need entertainment nonstop.
Please keep them coming I would like to make a list of things we want to do, even if we don’t have time on this trip. We could always go back.

Oh and while we do want to go 4wheeling. We don’t want/need to do extreme with the kids in the jeeps. Just off road and would like to use the 4X4 but not get crazy.

 

Probably not for the kids but wife and I are rock hounds and had gotten from the BLM some maps that showed a bunch of old mining areas. We had stopped at some of them. Most were (sort of) posted off limits but going through the tailing piles of one of them, my wife got a chunk of iron pyrite the size of an orange. Not worth much but is sure pretty. Also got some other nice (to us) rocks.

 

Mesa verde make sure and sign up for some a couple of the tours, balcony house, cliff palace etc

4 wheeling try the Alpine loop. You could probably rent in Durango, Silverton, Montrose, Lake City, Gunnison and Ouray. If going to Montrose then 50 east make sure and hit Black Canyon of the Gunnison

alpine loop info, type in alpine loop colorado and you will get quite a few sites to look at here is but one
http://www.alpineloop.com/HTML/index.html

http://www.nps.gov/blca/index.htm

As mentioned previously rafting is always fun, Royal Gorge as you mentioned.

You might think about renting 4wheelers (of just about any type) in St Elmo and doing a loop ride
http://www.st-elmo.com/jeeprental.html

 

you have to go to Steamworks. Killer little micro brew with GREAT seafood boil! we go up there every year for the bike rally and to ski in the winter.