I wanted to share with you all of the details from our family summer trip to Colorado 2 weeks ago! Since we live by the beach, most summers Chris takes a week off and we stay in Rye for a few days and then do a 2-3 day mini adventure trip. This summer one of Chris’s college roommates was getting married in Vail so we decided it would be fun to make a family trip out of it. I have never been to Colorado and Chris has not been there since he played lacrosse right after he graduated college.
We took a very early flight out of NY on Monday morning and we were at the pool having lunch and doing the water slides by 1pm! (3pm et).
We stayed at the Broadmoor – I would highly recommend it was very kid friendly and they offered tons of activities many of which we didn’t even have time to utilize (movie theater, kids golf lessons, horse back riding, fitness classes etc..) The customer service was amazing and we could have stayed there for a week for all there was to do at the hotel and surrounding area.
They had a really awesome infinity pool that was zero entry (which is great for babies and younger kids). They also had a small baby pool so very kid friendly! They had two water slides which was the highlight for savanna and John – one windy and fairly long slide and a second steep fast slide both were great!
The first night we went bowling – there was a 6 lane bowling alley in the hotel! You can eat right there while you are playing, but we decided to eat at the el ristorante Del Mar (which was right next to the play area). They had delicious Northern Italian menu. A great selection of pizzas, pastas and fish. They were also kid friendly with high chairs and a cute little kids menu that included pizzas and homemade pastas with your choice of meatballs or sausage. We then all crashed!
Tuesday, upon numerous suggestions we then went and explored https://gardenofgods.com/. We were a little slow to start with some complaints about walking but once we got going and climbing it was an amazing experience.
It was really worth it! The views were spectacular and the kids loved the climbing.
On the way back to the hotel we stopped at https://www.godsmarketandcafe.com/ for lunch – I highly recommend!! It was really amazing farm fresh food and friendly service:)
Savanna and John hit the water slides again while Peter napped and then we headed off to experience the Seven Falls.
While taking the stairs up was an amazing experience, I am not going to lie, it was also very terrifying with young kids and one on my back. When we got to the top my son thanked us because they views and scenery are ridiculous but it was nerve racking!
Wednesday we took turns running again and then watching the kids on the cool playground while we packed up for the drive to Glenwood springs.
We took the slightly longer route through the Rocky Mountains – the views were worth it! We stopped in Breckenridge an great ski town that had a bunch of restaurants for lunch. We had a delicious lunch at Cool River Coffee House Cafe. 
There was a great variety of options especially if you have allergies gluten free and vegan options. They had a variety of smoothies, baked treats, unique salad and sandwich options and special latte options.
We stayed at the Glenwood Hot Springs Resort in Glenwood springs which is known for its hot springs pool and new splash area and water slides. The hotel was clean and fine and we were able to get a large room, but I would not rave about it like I did the Broadmoor. The kids loved the slides and the pool, but both Chris and I felt it all had a weird vibe and Chris and John took a bad wipe out on the tube slide which left them with some bad scratches.
A benefit of the hotel is it was a short walk from their small but cute downtown. The first night we ate at the Pullman which was delicious (we have been eating well! )
On Thursday we got up and headed straight to the Gondola and Glenwood Caverns, we wanted to get their early to beat the heat and crowds. Glenwood Caverns was an amusement Park on top of a mountain – The views were incredible! They also had a rock climbing wall, 2 cave tours, and 4 short 4D films. It never got crowded so we were able to go on the rides we liked numerous times. There were some rides that were way too scary (mine drop and swings) and some that you needed to be 48 inches for and savanna was but John wasn’t.
We did the Fairy Cave tour which was cool but I am not sure it was a must see.
We spent the rest of the afternoon at the pool and headed back to town for dinner. We had our best meal so far at Colorado Ranch House – it had a great atmosphere , indoor /outdoor seating, and really great food. They didn’t advertise it but they had good kids options as well.
Thursday we made our way to Vail which was about an hour. We parked in Lionshead Village and took the Gondola up. Wow the views were just unreal(again)!
There is Epic Discovery at the top which has a ton of activities for kids – when we initially researched it we thought our kids were too young for most of it, which is one of the reasons we went to Glenwood Springs. Once we were there we saw there was a decent amount of options for them- tubing, smaller zip line, an alpine coaster, adventure course, rock climbing wall and mini golf at the bottom. Since we had just done something similar we just did the tubing, since you could do it a la carte.
There are tons of hiking options once you are up top we took the 1 mile Fireweed loop trail which was perfect for our kids. It brings you over to the other gondola which we took down and then there was a shuttle back that we could take back over to our car. 
The man at the welcome center was super helpful and recommended we head over to Ford Park to see the botanical Garden and playgrounds and he was spot on – what a beautiful park and i think it was the best playground we have ever been to! There was enough for all ages which was key. A small section for the little ones and lots of climbing and obstacles for older kids.
We finished a great day with a good meal at Bully Ranch in the Sonnelap hotel. Again very kid friendly!
Saturday, I had an amazing trail run and then we set off for a full day of adventure and playgrounds (Vail had tons of amazing and unique ones!) for our last day!
We headed Bearcat Stables where Savanna and Chris had a 1 hour horse back ride and John was had a short pony ride (you had to be 7 to do the 1 hour ride). Savanna had an amazing time and it was definitely a great experience.
We stopped by the wedding lunch to see friends and then headed out for a family bike ride. The altitude made the biking a little more difficult for John and Peter did not love the trailer so glad we only did 1 hour.
Our last stop for the day was mini golf! 
Chris headed to the wedding that night since we were unable to secure a babysitter we felt comfortable with. It was truly an awesome trip and I would highly recommend traveling to CO in the summer with kids! There were endless adventures and I would do the trip again (maybe skip Glenwood Springs) in a heartbeat!
