My husband and I are taking a mini-beer vacation (sans kid!) in mid-September and we know CO is our destination. We're now trying to figure out a good home base for our 5 day visit. We'll be flying in/out of Denver so I think that limits us to the Denver/Boulder/Ft Collins area to avoid being in the car a ton but I could be totally off there and open to opinions from the experts. Here's what we're hoping to find: Relatively remote (so staying in Denver doesn't seem like an option) Avoid being surrounded by tons of people (so Boulder has me worried since school will have just started) Somewhat walkable/bike-able to a few breweries/good bars (so that we don't need to worry about drinking/driving). Like to be able to see (and hopefully visit) the mountains from wherever we stay but that just seems like we're getting greedy We'll have a rental car so we're not opposed to (and realize we will likely have to) drive to a brewery here and there but I'm a light-weight so really want to optimize for the walkable/bike-able aspect so that I can partake in the beer as well Knowing what we're looking for, where would you recommend we set up home base for the weekend? I promise I've searched before posting here - I swear I can't find any threads on this topic!
#1 and #3 are mutually exclusive, you have a Vinn Diagram issue. Start over and actually think about it for 5 minutes before posting again.
Agreed about #1 and #3 not jiving... at all. That said- Fort Collins is great with all the breweries in close proximity to one another combined with the fact that it is essentially flat (especially compared to bolder), making it very bikeable. You would have nice access to the Poudre Canyon if you want to scratch the mountain itch.
I think 1 and 3 can be accomplished. Fort Collins. 1. Relatively remote. Not Denver 2. Not a ton of people, although CSU would be in session methinks 3. It ain't that big of town. You can walk between many stops up there. Biking would be even better 4. Mountains, check. Plus easy access to Lyons, Longmont, Loveland, Greeley, Estes Park.... check out Beermapping.com An even more remote option is Dillon/Frisco/Breckenridge area. Although that's a distant 2nd.
Actually doing this right now. Set up in Fort Collins for the first 3 nights, and will now be heading to Denver for 3 nights. Fort Collins is awesome, but I think two nights would be plenty. Have you thought about splitting your trip between two locations? A lot of the breweries are in between Ft. Collins and either Boulder or Denver. Just a thought.
Ganbarrel would actually satisfy both #1 & #3. You could find a nice hotel in Gunbarrel and rent bikes in Boulder for your stay. Asher, Avery, Finkel & Garf, & Vindication all have nice tap rooms and you could ride your bike back to the hotel at the end of the evening and not worry about being over the limit. From my memory, Gunbarrel has nice bike lanes and surrounding trails for longer rides.
Fort Collins has the maxline as well now that you can take the bus South to North and hit up all the breweries pretty much by bike or walking less than a mile or so. I would recommend as said above if you have 5 days. Spend 2 or 3 in Foco (could spend a day in loveland/greeley for a few more breweries). Spend a day up in the mountains Breck if you want beer or estes/pouder canyon just for mountains. Spend a day in Denver on your way in or out and hit up some of those spots. If you don't spend much time in Colorado really hard to pass up Denver. If you don't want to have a lot of driving it will be hard to have 1 homebase and not get bored.. at least in my opinion.
I really like this thread... I mean, there's nothing better than riding bikes around all afternoon and drinking delicious beers. Probably why I felt at home so quickly in Fort Collins.. That being said- I am definitely going to post this type of thread in other forums for when I'm traveling
You could probably do Louisville/Layfette too the post, liquid mechanics, odd 13, gravity, & 12 degree all biking distance. Not any further from the mtns then Denver either
This may sound crazy but..... I stayed up at the Rocky Mountain YMCA in Estes Park over memorial day. Its as close to Rocky Mountain National Park as you can get (read: the properties are adjacent allowing biking and hiking into the park), it's also close to Estes which has a few good taps in town. Everywhere we ate had a good list of taps, pliny, melvin, great divide, odd 13, weldwerks etc. Second, it's cheap. We booked out a cabin that held ten people for @ $100 a night, and they have options ranging from that cabin down to what equates to a hotel room. Some of the activities are cheesy, I got nostalgic and made tie dies for my family, but they have some great guided bike tours and hikes as well. It is only half an hour from lyons and longmont as well and all the breweries there in. As a Colorado native I thought it was going to be pretty lame heading up there, but it was a good time and I plan on doing it yearly now.
Well if you are in Denver you are closest to all the beer spots. I would recommend a day trip up to Frisco/Dillon/Breck not only to try the beers but to check out the scenery. Colorado Springs is a nice place to visit but I wouldn't come here specifically for the beer. Fort Collins is a good home base as others have mentioned. I think Funkwerks and Odell are my favorite places in Foco, followed by New Belgium.
Sounds like the OP wants a private tour but instead, I have it. Although my residence is in downtown Denver, it satisfies #2 by being on an upper floor. Besides, if you go to a brewery, chances are you will be surrounded by tons of people. You can walk to at least great 10 bars/breweries and another 10 so-so bars so #3 is satisfied. And on clear days, as in no haze, you can see the mountains. Check off #4. The only problem is #1 but again, being on an upper floor counts as remote, at least for me.
Although I love Fort Collins, I would also suggest Golden. It is in the foothills and boasts four breweries itself. If you rent bikes, you can also ride them into Denver, stopping at various breweries along the way (Joyride, Hogshead, Little Machine, Strange, Seedstock) and then take the light rail back to Golden. Golden is also not far from Boulder by car.
