Help me out

[NFATrustGuy]

I spent a few days in Steamboat recently. I like the place, but it's sure turning into a busy, tourist-filled place these days. Living in Loveland essentially my whole life, it reminded me of Estes Park in the summer. Filled with tourists and overpriced marginal food.

I drove to and from Steamboat via Trail Ridge road. As I passed through the Grand Lake area, I wondered if it might be just the kind of place you're describing... Quiet, nice views, somewhat secluded, but still close enough to find a decent place for dinner.

Anybody have any experience with Grand Lake?

[Rabid]

I thought about Ouray but doesn't it pretty much kill a day getting there?

Yes but it is worth it. Creede, Ouray, Telluride and Lake City would be on the top of my list. Steamboat is nice too.

[BigDee]

I spent a few days in Steamboat recently. I like the place, but it's sure turning into a busy, tourist-filled place these days. Living in Loveland essentially my whole life, it reminded me of Estes Park in the summer. Filled with tourists and overpriced marginal food.

I drove to and from Steamboat via Trail Ridge road. As I passed through the Grand Lake area, I wondered if it might be just the kind of place you're describing... Quiet, nice views, somewhat secluded, but still close enough to find a decent place for dinner.

Anybody have any experience with Grand Lake?

Grand lake is a really nice place but its a zoo during holidays. Not to mention it will be next to impossible to find any open accommodations there this late in the game.

[3beansalad]

I love the area around Eagle. Great hiking at Sylvan Lake, not far from Avon where they do one of the best fireworks displays in the state (if it's happening this year.) I usually camp but this B&B seems to be reasonably priced with some very good reviews.... of course this late may be booked.

http://www.hitchingpostbnb.com/

Gunnison, CB, Creed and Lake City are great choices as well. I'll add Walden, Basalt, Almont, and Leadville and even Ridgway to the list.

Grand Lake will probably be very busy...

[Sawin]

My wife and I stayed at the Tudor Rose bed and breakfast in Salida a little over a year ago, and it was a nice little escape. Had some fantastic steak at one of the local places in town too... it was a few doors up from the river on the north side of the street... forget the name.

[Ronin13]

A little outside your 4 hr radius, but Lake City is by far one of my favorite in-state getaways. The views are unbeatable and there are some great cabins just outside the town proper that offer everything you're looking for. It's also extremely quiet.

[Aloha_Shooter]

Not to put a damper on your intent but with the entire state becoming one big tinderbox, are you SURE you want a secluded get-away at this particular moment in time? You just might want to consider Wyoming or Montana if you want a secluded mountain getaway in the next 6-8 weeks.

[KS63]

Ouray is awesome. Offroading galore. The public hot spring is cool, too. Telluride is beautiful, but the vibe is strange.

[crashdown]

Eldora Lodge at Wondervu....
Quaint little place, serve breakfast, rooms are dirt cheap.
It's less than an hour from your house.
Best of all it's less than a minute from my place, we can hang out!
Probably sold out on a holiday weekend though

http://eldoralodge.com/

[ray1970]

Thanks for all the help, guys.

I knew this would be a near impossible task when the wife assigned it to me. (Trying to find. Nice little cabin to rent on Fourth of July weekend on two weeks notice)

Fortunately, I had a solution. Sort of. Ran it past her and figured it would go over like a turd in a punch bowl but she fell for it.

Looks like we will spend the fourth here in town with family and friends. Then, on the fifth, we are going to pack a couple of bags, hop on the bikes, and just head out into the mountains with no destination and no reservations. When we see someplace cool to stop we will see if they have a room for the night. If not, we'll continue on. Worst case, we sleep out under the stars somewhere.

My wife is borderline anal about having everything planned out anytime we do anything. I'm actually surprised she went for it.