Lois and Richard Friedland have lived in the foothills of Colorado's Rocky Mountains, 35 minutes from downtown Denver, for more than 25 years. They have traveled the State of Colorado, visited the towns and areas described on the website, skied the mountains and played the golf courses. Lois is an award-winning freelance journalist who specializes in travel, skiing and golf. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, Travel and Leisure, Dallas Morning News and Colorado Avid Golfer. Lois was About.com's Adventure Travel Guide for seven years and a coauthor of Frommer's 500 Adrenaline Adventures guidebook. She has written a Frommer's guide to Denver, Boulder and Colorado Springs; and she has contributed sections to several Fodor's Colorado guide books. Richard is an avid outdoors-man who particularly enjoys skiing, golf and tramping through the woods. He has a passion for the arts and is rarely without a camera.
As great as Beaver Creek is for skiing, the summer and fall seasons are just as special. You can relax and do little, or mountain bike, hike among the wildflowers, take jeep tours, play golf, go horseback riding or enjoy a myriad of other activities amidst spectacular scenery. Beaver Creek Resort opened for the 1980-1981 ski season and has become…
Rafting the Arkansas River, zip lining at Royal Gorge Bridge & Park, wine tasting and hiking, all surrounded by spectacular views are fun for people who want to go adventuring near Colorado Springs. These activities are located in and around Canon City, which is called the “Corrections Capital of the World” for its 13 prisons or “gated communities”. But, more…
Mountains march through the Mountain States of Colorado, Montana, Wyoming and Idaho, creating vast playgrounds for active travelers. But, tucked among the mountain ranges are flatlands with entertaining cities, including culture-rich and sport-minded Denver. Mountain States: Colorado A playground climbing more than a mile high Colorado is so much more than a $4.8 billion-dollar ski industry and legalized cannabis. The…
You’ll never ski everything at Vail (unless you’re a ski instructor who has spent more than 15 years teaching here every winter). You can reach all that terrain on two gondolas and lots of chairlifts, to ski or snowboard down approximately 3,500 vertical feet on trails, glades and vast bowls that stretch more than seven miles across mountainsides. With roughly…
Vail’s ski runs are green in the summertime, and hikers and mountain bikers fill gondolas and chairlifts with bikes attached to the side instead of ski racks. In the village, travelers sit out on patios at lunchtime listening to the laughter of kids on inner tubes floating past on the stream that flows through town. You might want to plan…
With a great layout of trails with sufficient skiing and riding for all levels and great, Beaver Creek has so much going for it. Also, because it’s a bit too far from Denver for a day trip, it’s generally far less crowded than the Summit County areas or Vail. Beaver Creek: Tips for beginners Beginners ride to the top of…
So much to do and so little time. It would be easy to spend a month there. Over time Telluride has transitioned from a rough and tumble mining town where Butch Cassidy robbed his first band, to a small, funky ski town to today’s version: a full-blown resort. The original town sits at the base of the ski slopes, and…
Imagine yourself walking where the Ancient Puebloans (formally known by the Navajo name, Anasazi) trod, or peering down hundreds of feet as the train you’re riding on chugs along a track that clings to a canyon wall. Durango, which grew because of mining, ranching and the railroad, is located in Colorado’s four corners area about a hour’s drive from where…
If you’d like to drive on the highest continuous paved highway in the world, which climbs more than 4,000 feet to reach 12,183 feet above sea level, take a ride on Trail Ridge Road. Around every bend there’s another chance to photograph breathtaking scenery. Visitors normally start the 3-4 hour drive in Estes Park after picking up a Trail Ridge Road…
This is an outdoors city in a beautiful setting with so many activities you could easily spend your entire summer vacation here. If you and your children are interested in dinosaurs, for example, you can hike past fossils, take a day trip to Dinosaur National Monument or join MyGatt-Moore expeditions for a day and dig for bones. This region attracts…
If you’re looking for haute couture, easy-fit jeans and tops, or unusual one-of-a-kind crafts, head to the Cherry Creek. (If you are staying downtown, Cherry Creek is easily reached by cab.) With more than 300 shops and galleries in the Cherry Creek Mall and Cherry Creek North, plus a large number of great restaurants, you’ll find enough to interest any…
Driving on the Lariat Loop National Scenic and Historic Byway, you’ll enjoy some spectacular mountain views, a chance to see bison, visit Coors Brewery and Red Rocks Park & Amphitheater, and explore a few mountain towns. The roughly 36-mile byway loops through Morrison, Golden and Evergreen – but at the most you’re never more than an hour from downtown Denver….
Say you’re in Denver on business, or you’re heading up to a resort in the mountains and you only have a few hours, or a half-day to explore. From an art district just five minutes from downtown, to quiet walks in the foothills and brewery tours to lively pedestrian malls, we’ve got you covered. You can reach these places via…
You can’t explore all Denver has to offer in two days, but here are some highlights that turned Denver into a destination, instead of a quick stop on the way to the Rockies framing the city. Day 1 can be done without a car. Day 2 is easier with a car but you can always take a taxi, Uber or…
Ready to escape the urban environment and explore a few close-by mountain towns? A drive up to Morrison and Evergreen will let you take a hike, sit down and simply enjoy the dramatic mountain scenery, or walk along main street in towns where Denverites like to escape for a few hours, and smart Coloradans choose to live. Red Rocks Park…
Denver’s vibrant art community is spread around the city, so you’ll have to choose which museums, galleries and artist’s studios you want to explore. Spending a day on a walking tour that includes the Denver Art Museum, the adjacent Clyfford Still Museum, peeking into the galleries in the Golden Triangle then catching artists at work in the Santa Fe Art…
The Colorado Springs area rocks for families, because it’s a region you can entertain the kids while having a good time yourself. You can mix and match walking or hiking alongside the rushing water at The Broadmoor Seven Falls, with a train ride to the top of Pikes Peak, or going underground in The Cave of the Winds. Explore the…
Gold was discovered in Colorado’s Cripple Creek in 1890 and the town, along with nearby Victor, grew into large mining camps. Located a spectacular 44 mile mountain drive southwest of Colorado Springs the camps produced more than $500 million in gold. With the exception of an open pit mine near Victor, most of the mining operations have ceased. In 1991…
You can play for days in the Colorado Springs area hiking in the Garden of the Gods, getting cooled from the spray at The Broadmoor Seven Falls, and taking the cog railway to the top of Pikes Peak, just to name a few of the attractions. To hit the highlights, a minimum of two days is necessary. The attractions are…
Summertime in Breckenridge and Summit County at the top of the Rockies has a different vibe. The towns are filled with visitors eager to hike up mountainsides instead of sliding downhill, ride in jeeps or ATVs to ghost towns and play in adventure parks designed for adults and kids. Wrap your trip around a festival If you’re heading to the…
We were scuba diving with some dolphins of Freeport,Grand Bahama.
In an instant the dolphins disappeared and a group of sharks came into the area.
We’ve learned to be flexible and open to know adventures. If you take a wrong turn, unexpected surprises will be waiting for you.
We prefer traveling together and often with friends because sharing reactions to new places and adventures enriches the experiences.
Treat it as a chance to look around and see where else our travels take us and who else we might meet.