Sometimes once is enough. We’ll put into that category scaling Mount Everest, going through the hazing at your college frat and seeing Celine Dion in Las Vegas. But other experiences call you back. A certain trek in the Rockies during wildflower season. A great meal in Larimer Square with an old friend. That over-the-top amusement park your parents took you to for your 10th birthday. Colorado has plenty of them, and during tax season, when the dread of filing returns fills your mind, we thought we’d inspire you to reminisce about those places you said you’d get back to and never did. Return to our places, or return to your own.
THE DOUBLE DARE: DEVIL’S CAUSEWAY
Some hikes tax you. Some challenge you. And some outright dare you. Trekking up and across Devil’s Causeway in the Flat Tops Wilderness Area is strictly for the bravest sort of hiker – the kind willing to walk a gangplank nearly 12,000 feet in the sky.
Getting to the Causeway is a chore in itself. The path up is not as challenging as a fourteener, but the ascent takes about two hours. (Take all the usual precautions and bring food, water and all-weather clothing.) But once you get there, the scenery is swell. And the causeway – a yard wide with drops on both sides exceeding 1,000 feet, really – awaits you.
Many first-timers crawl across. But you can spot those who are returning. They clomp across bravely, packs filled, dogs at their side. Glad they came back.
The Causeway is a little tricky to find. Generally, you drive west on Colorado 131 from Steamboat Springs about 90 minutes to Yampa, then follow the signs to the Flat Tops Wilderness Area. But do take a map. – Ray Mark Rinaldi
HIGH-WATER MARK: HANGING LAKE
The trail up is rocky and strenuous, climbing 1,000 feet in barely a mile, but the payoff is always rewarding: Hanging Lake is a lovely, watery oasis, rimmed by trees and ferns, and hidden among the arid limestone cliffs of Glenwood Canyon. Give yourself two hours to do the round-trip to Hanging Lake, carry a water bottle and don’t be afraid to pause for a rest on the benches along the way. This is a quiet refuge from the traffic that thunders through the tunnel on Interstate 70, just across the Colorado River from the trailhead. – Jack Cox
SEE FOOD, EAT IT: ROCKY MOUNTAIN OYSTERS
Be honest. When’s the last time you indulged in that quintessential (if nearly unmentionable) Colorado delicacy?
About as far from bivalvian seafood as you can get, these culinary euphemisms – they’re really fried or sautéed calf testicles – are a mandatory mark of Colorado coolness, and until you’ve indulged you can’t really call yourself a full-fledged resident of the state. (Vegetarians and vegans get a bye.)
Find excellent Rocky Mountain Oysters at the Buckhorn Exchange (1000 Osage St., 303-534-9505), where they’re served with a sharp horseradish sauce (and best downed with a shot from the extensive whiskey list) or at Drover’s, in the Brush sale barn, (28601 U.S. 34, Brush, 970-842-4218) where they’re an irreplaceable opener to a meal of chicken-fried steak, onion rings, beer and pie. Now THAT takes oysters. – Tucker Shaw
DWELLERS: GLENWOOD CAVERNS ADVENTURE PARK
There’s a lot to like about Glenwood Springs – the historic hot springs, the laid-back atmosphere, the Charburger Drive-In’s tasty, greasy offerings. But during the warm months, the Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park (800-530-1635, glenwoodcaverns.com) offers a little bit of something for everyone. You’ll take in gorgeous views while riding up the Iron Mountain Tramway. You’ll find teaching opportunities in the Fairy Cave tours. And you’ll please the Xbox-addicted young’uns by zipping down the alpine coaster or swinging out over Glenwood Canyon. New attractions for 2007 include a “virtual tour” on a Conestoga wagon, a climbing zone with 20-foot slide, a bungee trampoline, a petting zoo and train tour of the park. – Linda Shapley
OUR IDOL: SHRINE PASS
The hardiest souls have cross-country skied or snowshoed over Shrine Pass, schussing roughly 3 miles uphill from the summit of Vail Pass along Shrine Pass Road, and then gliding about 8 miles along a gentle downhill with stunning views of Mount of the Holy Cross into the town of Red cliff. Once the melt finishes, the rest of us can make the easy to moderate ride on mountain bikes. As you head up to the summit, keep your eyes open to the left, for the rock formation that gives the pass its name and, beginning in June, on the wildflower show in the meadows along the way. You’ll need to work out return transportation matters if you’re thinking of this as a day trip. Most people drop a car in Red Cliff and then leave a second vehicle in the rest area parking lot at the top of Vail Pass. – Dana Coffield
C’MON! KAWUNEECHE
One of the nicest road-bike rides in the state goes up the Kawuneeche Valley on the west side of Rocky Mountain National Park. From the visitors center just north of Grand Lake on U.S. 34, it’s a straight and gentle 10 miles to a natural turnaround point at the first switchback at the foot of Trail Ridge Road. On the long glide back, enjoy the majestic views into the Never Summer Wilderness and watch for elk in the quiet meadows to the west. Note: Trail Ridge is closed to vehicles until late May, but until it is plowed out bicyclists are permitted to go beyond the barriers and ride traffic-free as far up as they want, subject to closures for maintenance. To check conditions, call 970-627-3471 for the west side and 970-586-1206 for the east. Also, the normal park entrance fee applies: $10 per rider (half the charge for a car), or $50 for an annual pass.
NO RESPECT: THE EASTERN PLAINS
You’ve had your fun making jokes about all that nothing that rolls out east from the Front Range foothills like a carpet. The most underappreciated bit of Colorado will pay it back in spades this year, as the moisture left behind by the blizzards helps the prairie green up like no one’s business. Naturalists say the show will mostly be in the prairie grasses, lush for the first time in a while. But they also suspect that moisture-holding, north-facing spots, like some found near the Pawnee Buttes in the Chalk Bluffs State Natural Area, may explode in a riot of wildflower color in late May or early June. – Dana Coffield
BEYOND THE SNOW: THUNDERHEAD LODGE
Steamboat Springs is renowned for its skiing, but when the snow melts, it’s time to explore the mountain in hiking shoes rather than ski boots. Our family’s summer ritual starts at the gondola at the base of the ski area. The tram runs daily, taking visitors to the Thunderhead Lodge. For $18 you can ride all day ($13 for teens 13-17, $8 for those 6-12), but we prefer to get a workout and a free lift down by hoofing it via the Thunderhead trail.
The terrain gets steeper and the scenery more interesting as you walk along the wildflower-bordered paths and mature aspen stands. By the time you hike the 3.8 miles to the lodge, you’ll have worked up an appetite. Pack your lunch or visit the restaurant and enjoy it on the big sun deck overlooking the Yampa Valley. After lunch check out the self-guided Vista Nature Trail before taking the gondola back to the base. Details at steamboat.com – Suzanne S. Brown
