(TGA) - Travel - We are coming to CO for a week in August. We have 2 children age 9 & 11. We definitely are planning on staying in the Colorado Springs area. How long should we stay in CS. What is a must see while there. We are thinking about going to the Garden of The Gods, Seven Falls, Cave of the Winds, Royal Gorge & Manitou Cliff Dwellings. We also don't know where else to go to into CO. We are thinking about catching a Rockies game but not sure. We are coming from Nebraska.
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Have you considered Pikes Peak, Great Sand Dunes?
thanks.
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If you are going to a Rockies game, downtown is nice to explore in...Art Museum, the Denver Mint, etc. Boulder & Golden are also nice. While in the Springs, kids might enjoy The North Pole.
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2 or 3 days in Colorado Springs will be enough. The cliff dwellings are fake so I would not spend the money. If you want to see real cliff dwellings drive to Mesa Verde National Park about 6 hours from Colorado Springs.
Maybe stay 2 nights or so in Denver to see the zoo, mint, Rockies, then 2 or 3 in Colorado Springs, then some time in Buena Vista/Salida area. St Elmo Ghost Town, fishing, hiking and a trip to Great Sand Dunes Nat Park. Also on the way back to Denver and home...stop in Fairplay to see a reconstructed mining town at South Park City.
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I'll have to disagree with Casa Azule, there's plenty to do in Colorado Springs. I'm pretty sure the OP will not be planning a 6 hr. side trip to his destination. Do your kids like to hike? There are many kid-friendly hikes really close that will give your family a taste of Colorado. Manitou Cliff dwellings would be a great 2 hour activity to give your kids a taste of how it was to live as an Indian back then. Happy planning!
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Maybe I did not make my self clear...sorry... If they want to see real cliff dwellings, then an overnight or 2 trip to Durango area and Mesa Verde would be best. I did not mean to imply that a day trip would be good...sorry.
I do not like the fake tourist attractions...so that is why I do not recommend the Manitou Cliff Dwellings....rip off! Go see the Dinosaur place up in Woodland park. http://www.rmdrc.com/
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Don't forget Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. And the Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument nearby. www.nps.gov/flfo/planyourvisit/index.htm
Your children are a great age for the Rock Ledge Ranch Living History Farm. http://www.rockledgeranch.com/ (I haven't been there yet...it's on my list of things to do with grandkids this summer. There was some question about whether it would be able to stay open, but the website says they are definitely open for the 2010 season.)
I'm right in the middle on the Cliff Dwellings. Yes, they were built as a tourist attraction, yes, there were no real cliff dwellings in this area, but yes, many of the bricks were taken from a collapsed real dwelling under the direction of a noted anthropologist to be as authentic a reproduction as possible, and yes, they will give you an idea of what the real thing is like if you can't get to the Mesa Verde/Four Corners area right now. Maybe next year?
I would skip Seven Falls, myself. Maybe go to Helen Hunt Falls instead. I agree with Casa Azul that three days in Colorado Springs would be enough, then I'd get out of the city somewhere.
Maybe a trip up to Cripple Creek! The Cripple Creek-Victor narrow gauge railroad is a perfect trip for kids...not expensive, short enough to be fun & historic but not boring. Maybe tour a gold mine, the museum, see the melodrama, go horseback riding. www.cripple-creek.co.us/Attractions.aspx
Buena Vista wouldn't be too far and you could take the short hike to Agnes Vaille Falls and see St. Elmo and take a raft trip. If you have time, the Great Sand Dunes, too...and the alligator farm. Or read some of the posts about things to do in Summit County.
Have a fun trip!
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