I’ve been in Colorado for an entire year and somehow I had never been to any of Colorado’s many hot springs… CRAZY, right?! I had a mission to hit one up to celebrate my birthday Colorado style (because I guess being on a Greek Island wasn’t enough?!). With so many to choose from, I narrowed down my hot springs search to somewhere I haven’t been before and within four hours since I just had a long weekend planned.
Where did I decide on for my weekend getaway? Crestone and Valley View Hot Springs in the San Luis Valley.
Spoiler alert: this is one of my most favorite hikes I’ve ever done!
One of those Colorado bucket list hikes? Hiking from Aspen to Crested Butte. The hike between the two may only be 11 miles, but driving between the two? Over 100 miles! If you time it properly, you’ll also be treated to the fields of wildflowers in Crested Butte. (The town may not get the recognition that the California superbloom got, but I have to say, I think it’s even prettier!). But wildflowers aren’t the only things that makes this hike so great. From start to finish, this hike is gorgeous.
distance: 6 miles (out and back) | elevation: 468’ (10,073’ starting) | difficulty: easy
Welcome to summer in Colorado, where the mountains are getting two feet of snow and ski resorts are looking to be open till the Fourth of July. Wait, what?! Yuppppp. Here in Colorado on the first day of summer, some towns were under winter weather adversaries. So yeah, looks like winter conditions aren’t going anywhere anytime too soon if you’re headed to higher elevations.
One of those places close to Denver? Brainard Lake Recreation Area. Basically, it is a winter playground and the gateway to the Indian Peaks Wilderness.
When I moved to Denver six months ago, I was moving here for the mountains (cliche yadda yadda I know). And while I’m still not sure what region of the United States to consider Colorado part of (anyone with me that it should be the Midwest and what we call the “Midwest” should actually be the Mideast?!), I really only associated it with mountains (and maybe the plains). To be honest, I never really thought about how the desert was basically just a stone throw away.
After realizing Moab, the gateway to TWO national parks and tons of other outdoor activities, was only a five hour drive away, I scheduled a long three day weekend in the desert. And this self-proclaimed mountain lover kindaaaa turned into a desert lover too.
Moab is the type of place that could take a lifetime to explore, butttttt most people don’t have unlimited PTO for that. So maybe you’re just taking a quick weekend trip from Denver or Salt Lake City. Or maybe passing through on your way on a road trip to other national parks. Three days in Moab is not enough time to explore everything it has to offer, but you can still fit in some adventures. So how do you spend three days in Moab?
