While school gets back in motion for the year, head out with family and friends to some of our local favorite places to escape Denver. These day trips are fantastic for the people who want to see and experience new places without needing to plan a long vacation.
Estes Park and Rocky Mountain National Park
Some of the best times to visit and enter the Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP) would be the weekends before and after Labor Day. This is because Trail Ridge Road is scheduled to close its route as the season begins to prepare for the winter post Labor Day. This is also the case for the flora and fauna. This means the beautiful autumn transition will be in the process of transforming their green leaves to fiery red orange or to aurous yellows. As for fauna, you can expect to see the transition for the Elk as they enter their rut season, looking for a mate to spread the diversity of their herd.
Zipline and Via Ferrata
Idaho Springs is the home of the Colorado Gold rush, though many of the mining operations have stopped. Arkansas Valley Adventures (AVA) provides a way to connect to the outdoors with their half-day zipline and via ferrata Adventures. The Mount Evans Via Ferrata is an intermediate-level course that will get your adrenaline pumping and leave you wondering about the place where it began in the Italian-Swiss Alps. One of the many questions our via ferrata and zipline guides get on a consistent basis would be, “What makes your zipline different from others?” Our Cliffside Zipline course is found on the cliffside landscape surrounding beautiful Idaho Springs and we allow you to fly through the alpine trees and over Chicago Creek to each of our platforms. Another way we are different is that our guides are skilled and highly trained in outdoor entertainment, respect, service, and safety, to create the best possible experience for the guest.
Mount Evans and Bierstadt
A short drive from Denver are a few Rocky Mountain hikes that are absolutely breathtaking. Scale Mount Evans on this beautiful hike near Idaho Springs that does require a reservation to go to the summit to enjoy the spectacular views. If you are looking for a free hike I would recommend taking a stroll up Guanella pass just south of Georgetown. This hike has phenomenal views of alpine forests and some of the best places to view the changing of seasons as many aspens line the road from the summit of Mount Bierstadt to Grant.
Fly fishing on the Colorado River
The Colorado River near Kremmling, Colorado, is well known for its trophy rainbow and brown trout. This stretch of “gold medal water” means that the average length of the fish is fourteen inches long or longer. With great fly fishing most of the year, you can expect to have the fight of a lifetime. The beautiful scenery near Kremmling provides some of the most diverse landscape with sagebrush running rampant and possibilities of running into bighorn sheep and elk.
Escaping Denver to enjoy the outdoors for a short trip is easy. If you need help booking a last minute zipline or via ferrata adventure contact AVA by phone at (970) 423-7031 or by visiting coloradozipline.net.
Zach O.
Zach is a contributing member of the Sales & Marketing Team.
He enjoys many hobbies which include writing poetry and taking photographs of flowers and nature. Nature is the only thing keeping Zach sane.
Fun Fact about Zach: he is writing a historical-fiction book based during the westward expansion of the United States from 1848-1900.
