mgib

My wife and I are thinking about a summer vacation with the kids in the mountains. Our children will be 9, 6, & 3. We've never summered in the mountains/ski slopes before and are not sure if there will be enough activities for the kids. We're thinking about the Vail and/or Breckenridge areas. Any thoughts?

lenleigh

I would favor Breck more than Vail with kids because of it's close proximity to other attractions/towns. Breck is really close to Keystone and the town of Frisco/Lake Dillon and I think there would be more to do for a family. Vail is a little farther away and in a valley with not a lot close by. They will probably both have similar summer activities though (mountain biking, mountain slides, hiking, etc...). Beaver Run resort in Breck has an indoor/outdoor pool and the last couple of times they had an arcade/game room plus all the mountain activities. I would get a place with a kitchen and you can make cookies at night and watch a movie if they need something else to do. They also have horseback riding and I usually you can ride the lifts for free to the top and take it back down just to see the mountains or hike.

Coskier

There is more than enough to do in summer to keep your family busy and happy. As Lenliegh said Breck has allot to offer, alpine slide, Mtn Biking, golf. If you want more of a resort atmosphere consider Keystone. They offer, white water rafting (trips appropriate for kids ) , golf, biking, horseback riding, chairlift rides. All availalbe at the resort. The offer a "Adventure Passport" free with lodging booked through the resort about 40.00 of you find lodging less elsewhere. You can find great deals on condos at all the Colorado resorts at www.summitnet.com has good ideas on activites as well. Sunnmer is a great time to visit. You can easily find a 2 bedroom condo for 75.00 - 100.00 a night, much less than winter rates.

lenleigh

Another place I forgot to mention that I think is the perfect place for a family is Estes Park. We finally stayed a weekend there during the summer and they have a ton of stuff to do with kids and you are also at the Gateway to Rocky Mountain National Park where you are guarenteed to see massive herds of elk and other animals. Plus you are still close to take day trips to other mountain towns. Just a thought.

disneynan

Mgib: You will LOVE Colorado for a summer vacation! We have gone almost every summer for 18yrs!!!Summit county is the place to do it..Vail can be a day trip for you. We have always favored KEYSTONE over Breckenridge..the non-stop bike trail is right out your door! You can bike to Lake Dillion or further..Keystone does not have the traffic or crowds of Breck, yet you can drive there to shop & look around..tons of tourist shops. We never book with the resort itself, but thru EAST WEST RESORT rentals or better yet thru a privat owner

disneynan

OOPs i hit the button too soon...If you like the great outdoors there is a ton of hiking, biking, swimming boating, fishing, sightseeing. We never ever have been lacking for things to do there. Last year we rented a place that had a beautiful outdoor pool&slide for the kids.. there are just a ton of private rentals out there: www.vrbo.com

gb

Another enjoyable place for kids in Colorado is at the YMCA of the Rockies in either Estes Park or near Granby. Estes Park is probably a little better for activities, while Granby has more variety of lodging. Both have lots of kid oriented activities. My kids have loved it for several summer trips.

disneynan

I agree with gb. about the YMCA camps..I have only stayed at the Estes but loved it..they are great, but usually book very fast for the summer, and I think memebers get first dibs on dates??? I would still favor SUMMIT COUNTY over Estes. You can still do a day trip from that area over to RCKY MTN park..thats what so great about it..tons of day trips abound in all directions. Being in the Great Outdoors we never felt the need to plan activities..Going outside was the activity! Hiking, biking, boating, stargazing,picnicing in a new spot everyday..tons of stuff to do and all free.. How can you go wrong though anywhere in the CO.MTNS???

travellyn

SW Colorado is good, too. You have the La Plata & San Juan Mountains, Mesa Verde, rafting & tubing, hiking, rock climbing, 4WD, the narrow gauge railway, mine tours, etc. My kids like MV, the train, and tubing on the Animas the best.

cmeyer54

One vote for Vail here - hiking, mountain biking, frisee golf at the top of the mountain, minigolf and climing wall at the base, 18 hole golf courses all around, piney ranch for canoeing and horseback riding, rafting trips nearyby, great village for shopping and no need for dinner reservations unless you're going to try beano's which is fantastic for a horseback ride to the cabin/restaurant. we watched mama and baby bear in the lawn. climb a 14k peak nearby, etc. stayed at vail racquet club with nice condo, on bus line and good pool, tennis courts etc for a very reasonable price. my kids loved the trip and we ran out of days before running out of things to do.

flopmeister

My thought is that you should also consider steamboat springs, as there's lots to do there, too. One nice thing about steamboat, especially with kids, is that it's not quite as high in elevation (6,600) as vail and breck, and there is a real town, versus the fake sort of tourist towns that vail has (and to a lesser extent breck). Steamboat lake has boat rentals, and there are lots of cabins nearby. If you book early, you might find a great deal for your family in actually renting a house for the week. we've done this on VRBO.com each year with a group of couples with young children and it's been an overwhelming success each year. from my perspective, i find steamboat a bit more laid back and less crowded than summit and eagle counties. there is also tubing down the yampa river, a great alpine slide and a "hot springs" pool in the middle of town that has a really nice family atmosphere.

paige

We also have been taking summer vacations in Colorado for past several years. There are a lot of families with young children in Breckenridge. We have older teens and stay in Vail-Beaver Creek area but always spend a day in Breckenridge at the Alpine Slide. All the areas mentioned would be great for a family vacation. May depend on if you are driving or flying, if flying do you want to rent a car? Are your looking for a hotel or resort or does renting a condo or house appeal to you? If the latter then I will 2nd or 3rd the suggestion for VRBO.com. We've used them many times. I'll bet you will be hooked on summer vacation in the mountains once you try it!

Coskier

one more suggestion if you do consider Keystone they have many festivals in Summer. Look at http://keystone.snow.com/events.asp

really as you can see there are many wonderful places to visit in Colorado. Perhaps like me you will come again and again till you just have to move here

Grasshopper

Like Coskier, I am another who loved Keystone so much I bought my own home there (Hi Coskier!). I actually enjoy the summer there much more than winter.

J_Correa

I didn't see Glenwood Springs mentioned yet. I spent a couple days there about 10 years ago on a road trip and it was beautiful.

We also enjoyed a day trip to Leadville. There is a railroad you can ride around the mountains up there - I think the ride takes a couple hours. We loved it and it seems that everyone on the train was having a great time. It's probably right up the kids' alley.

Kat6688

Thought I'd throw my 2 cents in too. In 1987, we moved back to Denver from Tucson. During the summers in Tucson (very hot) I'd take my 3 boys to Keystone, rent a 2 bedroom condo in Soda Springs I and use that as our base. My kids were just about your kids ages back then. About 3 times a week, we'd go on some kind of adventure, either Breckenridge slide, Vail, panning for gold, narrow gauge train (Georgetown/Silver Plume), Denver for the day. Keystone is in very close proximity to the fun you can have in CO with 3 youngsters. My husband and I still go back during the summer but the boys are now in mid-20's so it's not that fun for them. Also the resort has paddle boating, kayaking, horseback riding, pools, etc. Try Keystone.com to get further info. Also, in the summer, we like to stay in the trees instead of the village and hike 5 or 10 minutes to the village for dinner, lunch, etc.

mclhart

Vail is beautiful in the summer. If you act now you can register your kids in Camp Vail a couple of days, or the entire time. We have 5 young children and always enroll them and they do lots of mountain activities; info is online. One bad thing about summer mountain vacations, everything costs so much (ie. lift rides, camp, horseback riding, rafting, bike rental) and it really adds up much faster than beach vacations. Freebies in Vail: Ford Park with great playground and some free shows, free concerts in Vail village, free gondola rides after 5 PM on Thurs. and Fri.,library story hour, that's about it. I've always wanted to try the YMCA of the Rockies--sounds like kid heaven!