At that point in COVID where it’s time for a safe getaway, and I’m sure many of you feel the same way. I’m not comfortable hopping on a plane yet, but it feels necessary to get out of the city. My best friend and I packed up her car and drove 15 hours straight from Chicago for a Colorado road trip to get in nature and take a break from reality.
We took a week off work and spent a few days in Colorado Springs, Breckinridge and Estes Park. If you’re looking to go on a similar trip, I’ve got you covered with some of the best hikes, recommendations on where to stay and where to stop for a bite to eat.
Stop #1: Colorado Springs
Where to stay
Since we booked this trip only a month before and everyone and their mother seems to be traveling to Colorado, we had limited options. We ended up booking an Airbnb that had shared space with the host and an additional room of guests. This was the first time I’ve ever done any sort of shared Airbnb and the experience wasn’t the best, but also not the worst. Since we were barely at the place during our trip, it ended up not being a big deal.
If you are looking to save some money or have more space during your vacation, Airbnb is definitely the way to go. You have access to a full kitchen, fridge and more living space for eating dinner and relaxing after a long day of hiking and exploring.
Where to eat & drink
Full disclosure, we did a decent amount of drinking on this trip so buckle up for brewery recommendations. In Colorado Springs alone, we stopped at Cerberus Brewing Company and Pikes Peak. Both places had good outdoor patios where we could sit outside and sip on an iced cold beer. Pikes Peak seemed to be a really popular beer around the area, we saw it at most restaurants and at all the liquor and grocery stores we stopped at.
For food, Streetcar 520 is a must stop! We were looking for something seriously tasty and a little different, and they delivered. Between the two of us, we got kimchi fries for an app (spicy & delish), Asian kale & Brussels salad with chicken and the blackened salmon — all were amazingly delicious. If this says anything, my friend hates spicy food but could not stop eating the fries. Their dishes were so unique that it’s definitely worth a stop.
Where to hike
Since we only had one full day in Colorado Springs, we tried to jam in two hikes. First up was the Manitou Incline, a 3.6 mile round trip hike with 2,768 steps straight up to get you to the top of the mountain. From the peak, you can see the whole city and out to the mountains. The second half is a chill, windy trail down full of amazing lookout points. Highly recommend this hike but buckle up because the first half is a true fitness challenge.
The second hike was more of a touristy walk at Garden of the Gods. The park has 1,300 acres of sandstone formations full of hiking trails. If you’re a certified rock climber, you can suit up there, but get ready to be stared at by all the tourists that walk by.
Here we spotted a few mule deer up close that were totally unfazed by our appearance. If you’ve ever seen deer up close in the Midwest, you know they usually run away before you have the chance to get a few feet away. Apparently the deer, and animals in general, in Colorado DGAF.
Stop #2: Breckinridge
Where to stay
When we were in Breckinridge, we camped within the White River National Forest at the Peak One campground. We had a hard time finding a campsite we loved since it wasn’t too far in advance but honestly this one was a surprising find.
We had amazing views of the mountains from our campsite, plus just behind us was the Dillion Reservoir which essentially looked like a beautiful lake. Keep in mind that Breckinridge was like 20 degrees colder than Colorado Springs, which we did not plan for. The nights we camped, it got down to 38 degrees or so, needless to say, it was freezing.
The downside? This campsite didn’t have showers so bring baby wipes and dry shampoo. This is why we only camped for two nights 😂 If you have the camping gear, I highly recommend staying here or in the Rocky Mountains National Park (keep reading…).
Where to eat and drink
A non-negotiable stop in Breckinridge has to be Outer Range Brewing Company. We sat outside on their upstairs patio and watched the sun go down… hands down one of the best parts of this trip. After a long ass day of hiking, this was exactly what we all needed. I will say a lot of their beers were IPA’s and pretty hoppy, which isn’t really my preference but the views made it a great time.
Other than Outer Range, we went out to eat once downtown at FlipSide. The food was alright but I highly recommend just walking around downtown Breckinridge and grabbing a bite anywhere. Truly there were SO many food options down there. We shopped for a while downtown Breckinridge and the neighboring city, Frisco, and got T’s, hoodies and candles to bring home.
Where to hike
If you’re looking for a challenge, Quandary Peak is your summit. This 7.5 difficult hike has a 3,340 ft elevation gain, getting you to the top at 14,265 ft. Needless to say, the altitude really played a role in the difficulty for us “flat landers.” The last half mile or so was rocky, straight up incline that pushed our legs and lungs to their limits. Oh, and there is a false summit, but once you hit that point, you are so close you may start crying (I did). The trail was a little icy and snowy so I highly recommend getting a pair of hiking boots before this trip for this hike and the ones to follow.
If you’re lucky, you may even see a mountain goats, or 10. We did ZERO research on mountain goats and whether or not they are nice animals. The ones we encountered were relatively nice, but we heard stories along our trip about people being head butted off a mountain when encountering aggressive ones. And after Google searching while I draft this post, apparently you should not approach, crowd or follow a mountain goat, all of which we did on this hike… In case you encounter a mean one, slowly move away to maintain a safe distance and, if necessary, chase it off by yelling, waving a piece of clothing or throwing rocks.
Our second hike in Breckinridge area was Mohawk Lake, which was a recommendation from a friend that grew up around there. The full hike is 8.2 miles long and guides you to 7 lakes and a waterfall. We only went to upper Mohawk Lake (which still ended up being like 7 miles, according to my Apple Watch) but it was an amazing view.
We took off from the Spruce Creek Trail, which led to the Mohawk Lake Trail. If you have a 4WD car, you’re able to drive further up the path, about 2 miles or so, to start higher up. If you’re interested in doing that, there are a few notes on All Trails. While hiking up, you’ll eventually encounter Lower Mohawk Lake and you think it can’t get prettier, but I promise you the extra half mile or so is TOTALLY worth it. Upper Mohawk Lake is a beautiful, turquoise colored body of water in the middle of the mountains. Hike up here and take a break to enjoy your snacks. And if you look to your left, you’ll see Quandary Peak.
On your drive from Breckinridge to Estes Park, you could stop at Red Rocks. It’s basically right off the highway and you can go walk the 1.5 mile trail and explore the venue, if it’s open.
Stop #3: Estes Park, Rocky Mountain National Park
Where to stay
The bed & breakfast we stayed at was HANDS DOWN the cutest place I’ve ever stayed in my entire life. It was a cute mountain home that had major cottage vibes with amazing views of the Rocky Mountains National Park. I believe there were only 4 rooms in the house so it’s a small group and plenty of space for everyone. We luckily had the only room in the basement level so the bathroom and living space down there was basically ours.
But in the mornings there was breakfast served with the rest of the guests, plus we had access to the kitchen to store and make food while we were there. The best part for me was the patio, where we sat one night and had a bonfire, drank wine and ate cheese, crackers and grapes. Not to mention this was a quick 10 minute drive to the Beaver Meadows entrance of the national park.
Also I can’t talk enough about how cute the host is! She was super kind the entire time we were there, and she even offered to let us come back and shower after hiking when we were supposed to be checked out of our room. All around a great experience and highly recommend staying here if you are going to the area.
Where to eat and drink
Honestly, we didn’t do any great eating while we were in Estes Park for meals BUT we did go downtown our last night there and got ice cream and salt water taffy to take home. The ice cream place was good but nothing to write home about but the taffy place was out of this world. I can honestly say the taffy from The Taffy House is the best I’ve ever had. My favorite flavor they had at the time was salted caramel, yum!
Where to hike
The hikes at the Rocky Mountains National Park were unlike the others we experienced on the trip. The wildfires were taking place while we were there so some of the mountains in the distance were a little blurry, but it didn’t impact our experience too much.
As far as timing and logistics for entering the park, you have to reserve a time to enter the park ahead of time which costs $25 a car. If you end up with an inconvenient time, or you’re just an early bird, you can plan to enter the park before 6am. You just have to be past the checkpoints before 6am since the workers there start around then. Our Airbnb host told us during the summer busy season, you have to leave especially early since there are usually really long lines to get in. If you plan to go before 6am, you could avoid purchasing a pass because they never checked ours except for when we first entered.
Out of the two hikes we did, my favorite was definitely Sky Pond via Glacier Gorge Trail. The 8.5 mile trail was pretty moderate the entire time until we got towards the top and had to scale a waterfall. Please, please please wear waterproof shoes for this hike. The top of the trail opens up to a huge, gorgeous lake in the middle of the mountains. The trail along the way was awesome with a few waterfalls and lakes along the way where you could stop for water or a snack.
Our last day, we went into the park before 6am to catch sunrise as we started towards Hallett Peak. We parked at Bear Lake and trekked 10.3 miles round trip to, what felt like, the top of the world. The cairns, or the stacked rocks, along the trail really helped guide us to the top since the trail wasn’t super defined. On our way up, we were able to get amazing, birds-eye views of Dream Lake and Emerald Lake. Once we got above the treeline, were were able to see all of the surrounding mountains, which were pretty faded for us because of the fires. This was also where we started to see snow and feeling extremely cold (If there’s anything I learned from this hike its that you can never have enough layers). The last quarter of a mile or so was a high incline but really manageable because it weaves back forth a bit, unlike Quandary Peak. Overall, this hike was one of my favorites of the trip, highly recommend it!
Other hikes we didn’t get to
Since we were only at each location for a few days, there were a few hikes we had to skip. If you’re looking for more options, check these out – they were either recommended by friends or were highly rated on All Trails:
- Colorado Springs
- Mount Cutler, 1.7 miles
- Silver Cascade Trail, 0.7 miles
- Breckinridge
- Blue Lakes to Monte Cristo Gulch, 2.8 miles
- Crystal Lake, 8.4 miles
- Rocky Mountains National Park
- Alberta Falls Trail, 1.6 miles
- Bear Lake Nature Trail, 0.7miles
- Ouzel Falls via Wild Basin Trail, 5+ miles
- Twin Sisters Peak, 7.5 miles
- Mount Ida Trail, 9.3 miles
- Bierstadt Lake, 3 miles
- Longs Peak, 15.6 miles
I hope this blog post helped if you’re planning a Colorado road trip! I can’t explain enough how much fun this trip was…the beauty there is unmatched to anything else I’ve ever experienced and it feels so good to get out in nature and explore.
If you’re looking to go to Denver or Boulder Colorado, I already have a blog post with must do hikes, stays and eats!