The Local newsletter is your free, daily guide to life in Colorado. For locals, by locals.
Tourists flock to Colorado all year long to schuss our legendary slopes, cruise our unparalleled bike trails, and climb our formidable fourteeners. In other words: We live where people vacation. So why would we boastful owners of a 303 area code want to go anywhere else?
The problem is, we live where a lot of people vacation, so we’re forced to share our precious Centennial State with the masses—especially in the summer. But rather than hike to Hanging Lake in a conga line or fight for parking on a Saturday at Chatfield Reservoir, why not consider trying your favorite Colorado activities in a new place? We’ve rounded up six travel destinations for Denverites who want to live the mile-high lifestyle while enjoying a change of scenery. None will force you too far from your comfort zone, but all will expand your horizons (literally and figuratively).
Jump Ahead:
- Best for cyclists: Park City, Utah
- Best for history nerds: Yellowstone National Park
- Best for getting away from it all: McCall, Idaho
- Best for water lovers: Marquette, Michigan
- Best for foodies: Omaha, Nebraska
- Best for aspiring cowboys and cowgirls: Cheyenne, Wyoming
Park City, Utah
- Best for: Cyclists
- Car time from Denver: 7 hours, 40 minutes
- Flight time: 1 hour, 30 minutes nonstop from DIA to Salt Lake City International Airport (SLC)
If you’re among the cohort of Coloradans who prefer two wheels to four, find your people (maybe even hometown Olympian Haley Batten) in Park City. Serious cyclists will no doubt find their happy place in the International Mountain Bike Association’s (IMBA) first-ever-designated Gold Level Ride Center, meaning the city is tricked out with trails for every skill level and a vibrant bike culture.
Newer riders, get your pedals under you in the Round Valley trail area, where greens like Big Easy abound. When it’s time to level up, Lost Prospector trail offers the right ratio of chill to thrill. More advanced mountain bikers can tackle one of the town’s two officially epic (according to IMBA standards) point-to-point rides, the 26-mile Mid Mountain trail or 25-mile Wasatch Crest trail. And that’s just a small taste of the roughly 450 miles of singletrack accessible from downtown.
Not that Park City is just for mountain bikers. Roadies, don your lycra and hop on T$’s Basin Royale Plus or Minus Route for a 35ish-mile spin (or sprint) that passes by McPolin Farm’s famous white barn. The route sticks mostly to paved bike paths, but be prepared for a slog up and rip down Royal Street before you wind over the rollers of Old Ranch Road. Or, grind some gravel on the Historic Union Pacific Rail Trail, a 28-mile stretch of primarily gravel path from town to Echo Reservoir with gentle grades, historic markers highlighting the area’s rich past, and (of course) gorgeous views.
Where to stay: Book a few nights at Bavarian-inspired Goldener Hirsch, and you’ll be sleeping steps from the six mountains, 60 miles of trail, and 3,000 vertical feet of elevation change at Deer Valley Resort’s mountain bike park. After a day in the saddle, soak away any soreness in the rooftop pool and infinity hot tub, hear live strumming at the Antler Lounge, and refuel with Austria-inspired eats at the recently renovated Hirsch (dill-cured salmon with root vegetable beignets, anyone?).
E-bike aficionados will appreciate the Auberge Collection hotel’s Alpine Ascent & Recovery package, which includes a half-day or full-day e-bike rental with a GPS-guided route that takes in views of town and nearby Jordanelle Reservoir. Upon keying back into your room (or residence), you’ll receive a Hyperice wellness kit complete with percussion massage tools, heat and vibration wraps, and dynamic air compression boots.
Yellowstone National Park
- Best for: History nerds
- Car time from Denver: 8 hours, 20 minutes to East Entrance
- Flight time: 1 hour, 55 minutes nonstop from DIA to Yellowstone Airport (WYS) or 1 hour, 45 minutes nonstop to Bozeman Yellowstone International Airport (BZN)
You’ve no doubt heard all of the hubbub about America’s 250th anniversary. Why not celebrate our nation’s birthday—and dive into its past—by exploring one of our first “best ideas”? A trip to Yellowstone National Park will of course include gawking at its millenia-old hydrothermal features, including one particularly faithful geyser, but can also revolve around its more than 150 years of park lore—plus tribal oral histories dating back as far as 1400 CE.
So where to begin your walk back in time? Those curious about the original national park’s 1872 origins should take the free, self-guided tour of the Fort Yellowstone Historic District, an outpost for the Army soldiers who protected the land from poachers, souvenir hunters, and other money-grabbers in the years before the National Park Service had been established.
For insights into the indigenous peoples of the area, explore the Yellowstone Tribal Heritage Center. Detour into the Museum of the National Park Ranger to learn about life behind the uniform from retired rangers themselves. And if you have time to venture up to Yellowstone’s North entrance, stop into the Heritage and Research Center in Gardiner, Montana, which houses more than 6 million artifacts from historic wagons to fine art.
Where to stay: Operating since 1891, Lake Yellowstone Hotel & Cabins ranks as the oldest hotel in the oldest national park. Four 50-foot-tall Ionic pillars and live music (possibly a string quartet) provide a warm welcome. The Old Faithful Inn, positioned just a few minutes walk from its namesake, also boasts national historic landmark status.
If you don’t mind more rustic digs, try one of the Roosevelt Lodge Cabins near Yellowstone’s Tower Fall area. Here, guests kick back on the lodge’s front porch rocking chairs and bask in the warmth of a wood-burning stove inside their cabins near Theodore Roosevelt’s former campsite. Warning: None of these lodging options has internet access.
McCall, Idaho
- Best for: Getting away from it all
- Car time from Denver: 13 hours, 40 minutes
- Flight time: 2 hours nonstop from DIA to Boise Airport (BOI), then a 2 hour, 15 minute–drive to McCall
Keen to take it slow this summer? Pack your bags–including that novel you’ve been meaning to finish for the past eight months–and amble over to this lakeside hamlet two hours from bustling Boise. Just west of the Salmon River Mountains, McCall plays home to 1,515-acre Ponderosa State Park, 5,300 acres of glacial water in Payette Lake, and just three people per square mile.
In other words, there are ample opportunities to hike, bike, paddleboard, or pontoon without having to elbow out competition for the most peace and quiet. Yet, while McCall offers plenty of ways to “relax” while pushing your VO2 max to the limit, it also provides an idyllic setting for leisurely walks, sunset views, and decompressing with a resting heart rate.
Where to stay: For those prioritizing their to-don’t list, the Shore Lodge can help you avoid all your responsibilities with ease. Positioned steps from Payette Lake, the 77-key hotel offers analog opportunities aplenty, whether you’re looking to soothe a tension headache with the help of a gurgling hot tub or read under a lakeside beach umbrella.
Choose to reconnect with loved ones over the Scrabble board or tune them out entirely while watching a blockbuster in the 43-seat, on-site movie theater. (Private screenings come with fresh popcorn.) To level up your calm down, book an organic facial and soak in the private saltwater immersion pools at The Shore Lodge’s full-service spa, the Cove. And if all of that sounds just a bit too ambitious, laze away the hours sittin’ on the dock of the lake and watching the time roll away.
Marquette, Michigan
- Best for: Water lovers
- Car time from Denver: 18 hours, 10 minutes
- Flight time: As little as 4 hours, 55 minutes with one stop from DIA to Marquette Sawyer Regional Airport (MQT); no nonstop flights available
Colorado has its fair share of H₂Opportunities—well, for a landlocked state. It does not, however, offer more than 80 miles of accessible shoreline on the largest freshwater lake in the world. For that, you should visit Marquette County, a water lover’s paradise on the southeastern rim of Lake Superior.
In Marquette, you can splash in the big lake from multiple beaches, including McCarty’s Cove, a sandy stretch within walking distance of downtown and beneath the watchful eye of the bright red Marquette Harbor Lighthouse, the town’s oldest significant structure. Kayakers and stand-up paddleboarders also put in from this beach, though you may find flatter water at Lake Independence in Big Bay, a small town northwest of Marquette.
Those angling for a good time have plenty of options, from casting a line (with a guide and charter boat, if desired) for Chinook and coho salmon in Lake Superior to fly-fishing in miles of trout-filled streams. Or maybe change tacks and try your hand at sailing. U.P. Sailing Company offers two- and three-day courses on basic keelboat skills and yachting as well as multihour and multiday sailing trips.
Where to stay: The Landmark Inn comes by its name honestly. A pillar of luxury in downtown Marquette since it opened in 1930, the 66-key boutique property has hosted the likes of Amelia Earhart, Abbott and Costello, and more recently the Rolling Stones, who gathered in the hotel’s Northland Pub in 2002. Book a lakeview room for Superior vistas.
Omaha, Nebraska
- Best for: Foodies
- Car time from Denver: 7 hours, 30 minutes
- Flight time: 1 hour, 30 minutes nonstop from DIA to Eppley Airfield (OMA)
In Omaha, it’s easy to pick which dish to try first on your culinary adventure. But with more than 25 different steak houses scattered around town, it’s difficult to know where to start. Standouts include Johnny’s Cafe, a family-owned operation since it opened as an eight-seat saloon in 1922 (try the Omaha Strip Steak, the owner’s favorite), and the Drover, which is known for bathing its filets in a whiskey-based marinade. For a steak made to share, indulge in the Committee Chophouse’s take on the classic beef Wellington, which pairs a 16-ounce chateaubriand with prosciutto, duxelles, and puff pastry.
If you need a break from all that beef, follow in Guy Fieri’s footsteps and try the homemade cheese wheel pasta at WD Cravings. Veggie-lovers should visit Gather’s Old Market Omaha location, where each sprig of peppery arugula and sweet basil is harvested minutes before it hits your plate, thanks to the on-site hydroponic vertical urban farm.
Spend the afternoon whetting your whistle with a Vanilla Bean Blonde Ale from Infusion Brewing Co., one of the rotating Fruity Kettle sours from Monolithic Brewing, or a pour from one of the other 20-plus craft breweries around town. Top off the trip with a farm-to-cone treat at Coneflower Creamery, where everything from the butter brickle ice cream (a toffee-esque flavor that originates in Omaha) to the sprinkles are made in-house.
Where to stay: In 1925, Reuben Kulakofsky stacked corned beef, sauerkraut, and Thousand Island dressing on slices of rye to appease late-night poker players gambling at Omaha’s Blackstone Hotel. The lodge has since become the recently transformed (to the tune of $75 million) Kimpton Cottonwood Hotel, but guests can still try the original Blackstone Reuben in the hotel’s Orleans Room restaurant.
Cheyenne, Wyoming
- Best for: Aspiring cowboys and cowgirls
- Car time from Denver: 1 hour, 30 minutes
- Flight time: 50 minutes nonstop from DIA to Cheyenne Regional Airport (CYS)
For a new take on Western lore, hightail it to Cheyenne for Frontier Days (July 17 to 26). Now in its 130th year, the world’s largest outdoor rodeo and Western celebration includes Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association events where the real deals ride broncos, rope steer, and (try to) tame bulls—all in the hopes of earning their share of more than $1 million in cash and prizes. When the sun sets, the stars (think: Hardy, Blake Shelton, and other top country-western singers) come out.
If you can’t make it for the main event, plan your trip around the smaller, but still rowdy, Hell on Wheels Rodeo series, held on select Friday nights from June 5 to August 28. Fill your belly with slow-cooked brisket, beans, and cobbler from the award-winning 3 Lazy R Chuck Wagon, and then settle in for a familiar brand of cowboy fun.
When you’re not watching the dust fly, take time to mosey through Cheyenne. Stop into family-owned Two Doors Down for a made-to-order bacon mac and cheese burger, bottomless fries, and the best darn service available without a Michelin star.
Then, Try on a new pair of boots from one of many Western boutiques; learn more about Sacagawea and Annie Oakley at the Cowgirls of the West Museum; and look for the First United Methodist Church, a red stone structure close to the spot where Wild Bill Hickok said “I do” to circus performer Agnes Lake Thatcher. (The presiding minister noted in his prayer book that he “didn’t think they meant it.”) On your way home, join a bison train tour at Terry Bison Ranch for a chance to pet a few furry ungulates (just don’t try to ride one).
Where to stay: Experience the Victorian West—and perhaps sleep in the same room where Buffalo Bill once snored—with a stay at the Nagle Warren Mansion, a historical home turned 12-room bed and breakfast that’s looked after by a two-star Michelin chef and innkeeper.
