Colorado Springs - here comes dayhiker

“I'd reccomend checking into reservations for the mentioned places asap for a Mother's Day seating.”

“What about a loop from CS to Buena Vista to Salida to Canon City and back to CS as a driving trip instead of going to Royal Gorge for the day. Instead of doing the cowboy ranch for supper that Sat we'd have about 8 hrs of daylight to do that loop and stop as our curiosity strikes us?”

“Oh, man, you read my mind...I was just trying to decide whether or not to post something lobbying to that effect. The only issue is that you'd be doing part of the same drive if you went to Mueller the next day (Springs to Divide on Hwy. 24).

By far, my favorite area near (read: within 2 hours drive) the Springs is Buena Vista/Leadville. That's the Colligiate Peaks area, and all I can say about it is it's majestic. 4 of the 5 highest peaks in the state (#s 1-3 and 5) are on the Sawatch range that runs west of Hwy. 24 between Buena Vista and Leadville. I've seen heards of Desert Bighorn and Elk herds that probably had 200 elk in them along that road.

I'd reccomend this driving itenerary (I'll break it into segments w/approximate mileage so you can mix/match if you want):

Highway 24 west out of the Springs to Buena Vista ~95 miles. There is one tricky part where you'll come to a "T" in the road take a left (west) towards Buena Vista (DO NOT go North towards Fairplay) LOTS of forrest area and scenic views on this section of the drive. A must stop is the pass (can't remember the name right now) about 20 miles east of Hartsell for a view/pic. There is a buffalo ranch near Hartsell, and they're usually near the road. Also lots of antelope in this high plains area.

Vere north on 24 at Johnson Village and drive through Buena Vista (if you stop and don't want to be taken for a tourist call it "Buney" (pronounced "beau(as in beautiful)-KNEE") up to Leadville ~35 miles. HIGH peaks to the west, Arkasas River to the east, you're likely to see bighorn and elk. Check out Twin Lakes (largest glacial lakes in the U.S. I believe) if that interests you (this is also the entrance to the famous Independence pass to Aspen (the pass won't be open). Leadville is an interesting town, highest incorporated city in the U.S. at 11k+ feet, mining history and a trout hatchery. Also lots of old ghost towns and mining camps off side roads if road conditions permit. You can still see parts of the old stage coach road across the river to the east.

Leadville to Salida ~60 miles. Artsy little community, might be a good place to let the wife shop if you have time, if not, just breeze right through on your way to highway 50.

Salida to Colorado Springs (via Canon City) ~100 miles. Bighorn sheep, Arkansas River valley, winery, and good scenery.

That's quite a bit of driving (about 325 miles) but you can cut it back by not doing either the Leadville segment or the Salida/Canon City segment. You can do the whole thing in 8 hours, but depending on how much/long you stop, it'll be pushing it.

If it were say late June or July, you'd have a lot more options around Leadville/Buena Vista due to melted snow not to mention a little more light.

One other thing I'd suggest is to see if you can find either "The Colorado Guide" by Bruce Caughey, Dean Winstanley or "John Fielder's Best of Colorado" at a local library or bookstore that lets you "browse heavily" and check out these areas for yourself.”

“I may look into that loop. We probably won't do the Mueller thing on Sat. I want to do Pikes Peak after I've had a day there, so that puts it on Sun. We'll do a good lunch at one of your suggestions for Mothers Day and probably some window shopping.

Your advice and detail of the advice has been great. Sunday I'll print all this out and then my wife and I will sit down and decide for sure what we'll do on the trip. Mon - Wed will be in a conf, but we'll have Mon night to ourselves. Weather permitting, that'll be the GoG part of the adventure.”

“PS, what types of speeds would be typical for that type of terrain?”

“Heh...ummm, depends. I can make it to Buena Vista in 90 minutes, no problem (but I drive fast, so), but I'd guess for a first-timer who's sightseeing, around 40 m.p.h. would be a reasonable guesstimate for overall speed (depending on how long you stop for, that's kinda why I put in some mileage, so if you were starting to get short on time, you could estimate where you can/want to go.).

Traffic on 24 will be fairly heavy on the weekend, lot's of 5th wheels and RVs, but should taper off some after Divide (a lot of them are going to Mueller).


Garden of the Gods should be much better on a Monday than a weekend, good choice. I'd reccomend stopping by the visitor's center before heading into the park for maps and a little "orientation" on the park. I'd highly reccomend seeing the Siamese Twins formation (~1/4 mile walk from the Spring Canon parking lot). Great view of the Pike's Peak through the window in the rock below the formation, and a place that not all tourist types see (unlike Kissing Camels and Balanced Rock).

I'm glad I could be of help. I guess you can probably see the enthusiasm I have for this area and I love for others to share that.

Let me know if I can be of any other help.”

“I'll probably have more questions as I bring this into focus. We won't be able to get to the visitors center until after they close, so I may need to at least drop by Sat or Sun to get the map.

My wife isn't a bit skiddish about that much driving and also, she wants to do the cowboy ranch on Sat. We might do some driving Sat afternoon and then head to the ranch Sat night. Sun we might drive to the West and then come back by lunch at Manitou. We could drive to Buena Vista and back on Sun morning maybe. Too many choices for just a day and a half. Something tells me I'll have to find a way for another trip to this area. I wish Southwest flew into Colorado.”