Day 1 Getting to Amarillo
We left from Austin around 9 am after having breakfast. Once our car was packed, we started our almost 8 hour drive to Amarillo. Surprisingly, there is no direct or major highway that connects the two cites. Hence we were following google maps and going through many small towns and country roads. We had packed a lunch of peanut butter and Jelly sandwiches and enjoyed that while driving. When we arrived in Amarillo, we went straight to dinner at A Punjabi Affair. This restaurant had a neat drive through and outdoor patio. Although it was a 100 degrees out, we sat on the patio as we had Percy, our dog with us on this trip. the food was amazingly fresh and flavorful. After dinner we drove to our hotel about 10 minutes away. The rest of the night was spend relaxing in the room.
Alternatively, if you are not doing this itinerary as a road trip or are arriving at an airport in Colorado (most likely Denver), you can use this day to drive down to Alamosa directly.
Day 2 Great Sand Dunes National Park
Once we had some breakfast at our hotel, we packed up the car and started out drive to the Great Sand Dunes National Park. This 5 hour and 15 minute drive went through much of the same country roads. We stopped for lunch in a Subway in New Mexico and enjoyed some green chili on our sandwiches, a speciality in the area.
We reached the National Park at around 3:00 in the afternoon. The temperature was in the 90’s and it was sunny. We stopped by the Visitor Center to use the restroom and briefly check out the display of local flora and fauna. We were awestruck by the beautifully frames sand dunes from the balcony off of the visitor center. Next, we drove a couple minutes up the road to the half a mile long Montville Nature Trail. This is an easy walk with some historic spots along the way and a great view of the dunes at the end. The major downfall of this hike was the amount of bugs. Several types of bugs, mosquitoes, flies etc were biting us throughout the hike especially when we were still to read a sign or take a photo. We strongly recommend bug spray and any additional protection for bugs.
Just a couple minutes up the road is the parking lot for the dunes. Even though there are several specific dune trails, we found this the easiest way to get to the dunes. In early summer, Medano creek can be found flowing through this area as well. When we arrived in lat July, it looked like the creek had just dried up. There is no shade once you leave the parking lot. We brought our own sand sleds. It took about 20 minutes to walk a short distance to a dune with a small slope. Walking in the sand is challenging and takes about twice the time. Also Note this sand was extremely hot to the touch, Hence flip flops or sandals are not ideal. We used our sleds a few times, but found it hard to climb back up the hot dune. One of us stayed back near the parking lot with our dog as it was too hot for him. Once we were almost back to the car, clouds settled in and a strong wind picked up kicking up sand. Sunglasses and eye protection is recommended in case this happens. From here we started to drive out of the park.
Our next stop was Zapata Falls about 20 minutes away outside of the park. The road up to the trailhead was fully paved as of July 2023. Once at the trailhead we started the short (0.7 miles roundtrip), rocky and slightly steep walk up to the falls. Once at the river, we walked along the shallow sections of the river to reach further into to canyon to view the waterfall. In winter, this waterfall freezes and forms a sort of ice cave. We recommend water shoes or sandals for this hike as the last part requires walking in the shallow river.
After enjoying this area, we headed to Alamosa, Co to find some dinner. We picked The Purple Pig Pizza as they had a pet friendly patio. The food was delicious and the service was great. From here we headed to our hotel for the evening.
Day 3 Breckenridge
Once we left the hotel, we headed to the Blue lakes trailhead near Breckenridge, about 2 hours and 45 minutes away. The drive here was through gorgeous mountains and scenic valleys. The last couple miles to the trailhead is unpaved and bumpy. We managed fine in our 4X4 SUV. The Blue lakes trail according to Alltrails starts up the hill towards a dam and requires some scrambling over rocks. We chose to just walk down from the parking lot, towards the lake right there and explore the area around it. With water shoes it is possible to cross the small creek and follow the trail on the other side to a waterfall. We spent some time relaxing by the lake and exploring the area.
From here we made the short drive to Breckenridge. We went for a late lunch to Souped up. They had some great options for soup an fresh baked bread. The City Market was nearby, so we stopped for some groceries.
Next, we checked into out Air BnB, which was located just a block off of the main st. After settling in, we headed to dinner at Mi Casa Mexican. This restaurant was located on a picturesque part of the river with beautiful landscaping. The food was exquisite and the staff was friendly. After dinner we walked along the Main St to Higgles ice cream. Once we enjoyed some unique flavored ice cream, we headed back to our Airbnb for the night.
Day 4 Leadville Train ride
We left our accommodation around 8:30 am to reach the train depot in Leadville for our 10 am train ride. Pets are allowed on this train ride in the coach cabins. The seats face the windows on either side of the coach. Snacks, souvenirs and restrooms are available on the train. The ride is usually around 2 hours unless it is a special occasion train. When we rode the train in late July, there was an option of going on a guided wildflower hike from the water tower stop. The train ride has gorgeous, expansive views of some of the tallest peaks in the rockies. After a few minutes, our dog Percy grew comfortable with walking around the train, sitting on the seats and posing for photos.
Posing in the Leadville train open air car
We were hungry after the train ride. We decided to try High Mountain Pies for lunch. This restaurant was incredibly popular and had a line out the door. Even though the ordering and waiting process took about an hour, it was well worth it. This was some of the best pizza we had in a long time.
We left Leadville for Vail. Vail Village parking garage offers free parking for visiting the area. After parking here we walked around the immaculately landscaped town that transported us to a Swiss mountain village. We walked till the gondola station, but it was closed for a wedding. If time permits, check out this gondola ride as there are several beautiful hikes from the top station. Before heading out of Vail village, we enjoyed some iced chai as the weather was hot.
Next we headed back to Breckenridge. Our dinner spot was Empire Burger. The food was great and the portions large. We walked around after dinner checking out some local shops and walking along the river.
Empire Burger patio
Day 5 Hoosier Pass, Breck Connect
We started our day driving to the Hoosier pass trailhead. We arrived here around 9 am and found the parking lot half full. This 2.8 mile moderately difficult route gains about 700 feet of elevation. We recommend doing this loop in the counter clockwise direction as it can be challenging climbing the steeper section of the trail, with loose rocks on the way down. on this trail we enjoyed sweeping views of the mountains, valleys and surrounding areas. This trail offered us a small taste of alpine climbing. Stunning views were in every direction. There are no restrooms or restaurants in close vicinity.
View from Hoosier Pass Hike
After completing the hike, we drove to Sancho’s Tacos in Breckenridge for some much needed delicious food. We enjoyed the fresh, flavorful tacos and salsas.
From here we drove to the parking lot of the BreckConnect Gondola. Although the gondola is free, there is a fee for parking. There was a line to reach the gondola cars as they were having a few minutes of halted service. We waited for about 20 minutes before we could get up. The ride to the last stop Peak 8, was pretty short. At this stop, there are several activities to choose from like alpine coaster, scenic chairlift, mountain biking, trampoline etc. There are some hotels with a restaurant as well. If you not interested in doing any of these activities, it may not be necessary to spend too much time here. We ere tired from the hike and were not looking to do any activities, hence we took the gondola down to the next station, peak 7. We hoped to find some scenic points or walks, however there was only more vacation rental properties and one cafe. There were some outdoor games and no crowds. We played some games for some time before noticing some increase in winds and clouds coming in. We headed down before the weather got too bad. We were lucky to be the last ones let down before the gondola closed for high winds and risk of thunder.
View from BreckConnect Gondola parking lot
Our dinner was at Pho Real. Here we had the best spring rolls and Pho ever. The place is conveniently located with a parking lot right behind it (paid through the app). It had plenty of outdoor seating and fast service.
After our amazing dinner we drove to the Minnie Mine loop trail. The drive to get here went through some gorgeous residential neighborhoods. The trail is rated busy, but was completely empty when we arrived around 6pm. We enjoyed this 1.5 mile hike in the beautiful golden hour. The weather and scenery could not have been more stunning. The trail offers a chance to view some ruins from the old mine and the worker camps. This adds another dimension to the already beautiful hike.
Minnie Mine loop trail
After completing this hike, we headed back to our Airbnb of the night.
Day 6 Maroon Bells, Snowmass Village
We packed up and started towards Twin Lakes after breakfast (about 1 hr and 20 minutes away). We are driving through Twin Lakes, grottos trail, Aspen, Aspen Highlands (shuttle parking) ending in Snowmass Village. The Twin Lakes area has camping and day use areas. We stopped here for a short time to enjoy the view of the clear lake reflecting the beautiful mountains surrounding it. It is a perfect spot of a picnic or even camping.
Twin Lakes recreational area
From here we drove the scenic Independence pass, which took us through and over the mountains towards Aspen. This 45 minute drive was stunning in every direction. If time permits stop by the Independence pass overlook. Once at the Grottos trail we followed the AllTrails app directions towards the waterfall. This does involve walking over and climbing rocks, however it was not difficult. Our dog enjoyed getting in the river and cooling off. We spent less than an hour here as we had to be at our shuttle stop by 1:30pm.
Grottos Trail
Next we wanted to pick up some lunch and drove through Aspen. We stopped by The Big Wrap first, but found an incredibly long line out the door. We picked up some veggie burgers and salad from a place next door which was open. We took the food and drove to the Aspen Highlands resort, the designated stop for the Maroon Bells Shuttle bus. Here we sat on some benches and enjoyed our food. We got on this dog-friendly shuttle to the Maroon Bells. The ride takes about 30 minutes. The shuttle arrives about every 20 minutes, the last one leaving at 5pm sharp. There are restrooms and water fountains available right near the bus stop.
Maroon Bells
We enjoyed gorgeous views of the Maroon Bells surrounded by wildflowers from many different angles and distances. We followed the Maroon Bells scenic loop trail a flat, 2 mile roundtrip hike in the midst of wildflowers. There were some bugs on this trail due to the lush plant life and river close by. We recommend bug spray. The trail does not have much shade, hence can get hot in the summer. Another great hiking option in this area is the Crater Lake trail. After completing our hike we took the shuttle back to the parking lot before making our way to Snowmass Village.
The entire town of Snowmass Village is like a beautiful mountain resort. After checking in to our hotel, we explored the town. We walked to Grub Thai for dinner. The food was fantastic, with great service. There are shops and many restaurants here. Walking a bit further we came to the Snowmass village gondola. This pet friendly ride leads down to the lower Snowmass village resort area. Here we found an ice cream place called Sundaes. It offered some unique flavors like s’mores and key lime pie. We took the gondola back up to the area near our hotel. The ride is around 5 minutes long.
Snomass village gondola
Once back at the hotel we took advantage of the hotel pool to go for a swim. After enjoying this long day thoroughly, we were ready to call it a night.
Day 7 Snowmass and Aspen Gondola
After breakfast we drove to the Snowmass village gondola parking building (close to where we had ice cream last night). The parking was free. We walked a short distance to the gondola entrance. Here we purchased a combination ticket for the Snowmass and Aspen gondola for about $40 per person. Dogs are allowed on both these gondola rides. By now our dog was becoming and expert on gondola rides. We went up to the main station where the Lost Forest park is located. My husband and son wanted to ride the alpine coaster. So they waited around in line for a long time to get tickets. If you know you want to get tickets for any activities up here, we recommend doing that first or even online if possible. There are very few staff members and most of the people have a lot of questions that take up a lot of time. After we secures the tickets, I stayed in the shade with our dog. The two of them enjoyed the speed and views of the alpine coaster. Once we finished that, it was time to head back to the car.
Alpine Coaster
From here we drove to Aspen. We waited in line for quite a while again at Big Wrap and picked up some lunch. Next we tried to drive around to find street parking for the Aspen Silver Queen Gondola. We did not locate any other parking facility for this attraction. Street parking in Aspen downtown is paid and difficult to find. Since we already had tickets, we hoped in the Gondola right away. This ride was spectacular in terms of scenery, beauty, height and distance. It seemed like it was about 20 minutes long and was much higher off the ground than the other gondolas we rode in. With occasional wind gusts, the gondola car would swing making us a bit nervous. The views from the top were simply unbeatable. This gondola does not have any paid activities at the top. It seems the primary thing to do up here is simply enjoy the view. There was a cafe with indoor and outdoor seating, restrooms and lounging furniture as well. We enjoyed the view while eating our lunch. Then we walked around, took photos. Soon after, we noticed some dark clouds in the distance. We made our way down right away as we did not want to be swaying in the gondola in high winds and thunder.
Aspen Silver Queen Gondola
We had a 3 hour drive ahead of us to get to Montrose. We ordered take out from Guru’s Nepali Kitchen and picked it up on our way to the Air BnB. We had to stop by the grocery store as well to pick up water and breakfast pastries for the next few days. The portions were large and the food was decent. This Air BnB was well laid out, convenient and beautifully decorated. we enjoyed the evening longing in front of the TV.
Day 8 Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park
After breakfast we left and drove to Taco Bell. There are no restaurants of cafe’s in the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. Hence we wanted to have for lunch with us to avoid driving back and forth. After picking up our burritos, we headed towards the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park about 30 minutes away. This park has a unique beauty with the dark, sheer canyon walls, turquoise river deep down and incredible viewpoints. It is possible to see most of the south rim (the more visited part) of this park in about half a day. The north rim of this park is about an hour drive and does not have paved roads. Hence we stayed on the south rim. Once inside the park, the easiest way to see it is to follow the South Rim scenic drive. This Drive is about 7 miles long one way. Most of the trails and 12 overlooks are just off of this road. To head down to the river, take the East Portal Rd. This 6 mile road has a steep 16% grade.
We stopped at Tomichi point, the first view point on the South Rim scenic drive just past the park entrance. This stop offers restrooms and a great view. If you would like to start the rim rock nature trail from this stop, it will be shorter. after taking some photos and looking at the gorgeous view for some time, we drove on to the visitor center. The visitor center has more amazing views to enjoy a gift shop and picnic tables. We began the Rim rock nature trail from here. This 1.7 mile roundtrip trail took us back to Tomichi point and beyond along the rim of the canyon. We got some spectacular views of the canyon. The time was around 10:30 to 11:00 am in late July. The weather was too hot with no more than a few trees for shade spread out across the trail. Hence, we decided to turn around a bit before we reached the end of the trail.
Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park
Once back at the visitor center, we found a nice shady area outside the gift shop where our dog could cool down. There are water fountains available as well just at this location. We enjoyed our Taco Bell picnic style in a nice, shaded picnic table (the only picnic table we saw with shade).
From here we drove on to several more overlooks. Some overlooks had more parking spaces available, while parking was limited at others. We stopped by the Pulpit Rock, Chasm View, Cedar point nature trail (about a half a mile hike), Painted wall, Dragon Point and Sunset point. We were not able to find parking at the last overlook Warner point, hence we had to skip it. After taking in the view of the canyon from all these overlooks, we took the East Portal Rd to head down to the river. This road is about 6 miles of 16% steep grade. The road is fully paved the entire way. We had no issues in our large SUV. We saw several smaller sedans making the drive with no issues as well. From the vantage point of the river, it is a sight to see the sheer walls of the canyon. There is a campground, restrooms and picnic tables here as well.
View from the river in Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park
Once we enjoyed the view from the river, we headed out of the park to find something to cool us down. The temperatures were in the high 90’s and we were all ready for ice cream. In Montrose, we found a marble slab creamery near our Airbnb. There was a Root Juice bar nearby with fresh cold juices. Our son enjoyed some ice cream while we chose some juice. It was late afternoon by the time we made it back to our accommodation. We spent our time doing laundry, watching TV and staying cool indoors. We picked up dinner from a local Thai restaurant.
Day 9 Telluride
We started our drive to Telluride after breakfast (about 90 minutes). The drive through the mountains was gorgeous. Before long we were driving through quant mountain towns, following the river. Once in Telluride, we directly went to the Bridal Veil Falls trailhead. The trailhead has a small parking lot, which was full when we arrived (around 11 am). We ended up waiting for about 10 minutes until someone came and pulled out for us to get a spot. This parking lot has portable restrooms. This hike is a challenging 2 miles roundtrip. Most of the hike involves scrambling, climbing or walking over rocks or tree roots. There are 2 more waterfalls to enjoy along this hike. These stops might be a great place to enjoy a snack. The hike was a bit more challenging towards the end, but that made the finale more rewarding. The Bridal Veil Falls are simply gorgeous. They can be enjoyed right from the end of the trail, or you can hike a bit close and higher. The trail does continue further to the power plant as well. We stayed close to the trail as we were tired from all the climbing we already did to get here. The views were stunning. Next, we started heading back down. The hike down was a little faster and a little less challenging than the way up. We were so glad we did this hike to enjoy the stunning mountain views and the tallest waterfall in Colorado.
Bridal veil falls trail
After the hike we were famished. We parked near Telluride downtown and headed to the middle eastern patio restaurant Caravan. After enjoying some Fresh falafels and hummus, we walked 5 minutes to the Telluride Gondola Station. The Telluride gondola ride is absolutely free. The ride gives gorgeous views of the mountains surrounding the town of Telluride. We rode the gondola to the Village stop (the 3rd stop). We walked around here for a short time while enjoying an over priced iced chai. Again we had to head back down to the town to avoid some afternoon rain storms as are common in these mountains.
View from inside the Telluride gondola
We walked less than 10 minutes to our car. There are tons of restaurants, shopping and hiking to explore In Telluride. However, this is all we had time for in this trip. We definitely hope to make it back here again soon. We picked up some mediocre Nepali take out this time from a restaurant called Himalayan Pun Kitchen. The portions were large, but the food was just okay.
Day 10 Ouray, Durango, Pagosa Springs
We left our Airbnb to head towards Ouray about 50 minutes away. We went directly to the cascade falls parking lot just a couple of minutes away from the downtown area. This trail is about half a mile roundtrip with a little bit of climbing required. There are restrooms in the parking lot. The area can be further explored by walking closer to the falls or even to a mountain cave across the stream. Since we had a packed day full of long drives, we simply wanted to the falls, took some photos and started back on the road. Ouray is a gorgeous time to explore if time permits.
Cascade falls in Ouray
Next we were driving the Million Dollar Highway to get to Durango (1hr 45 min drive time). There was some construction on this road, hence we ended up waiting at the beginning of the Million Dollar Highway up in the mountains for an additional 30 minutes or so at a standstill. When traffic was finally allowed through, we began our drive. This is another breathtakingly beautiful drives in Colorado. No pictures and videos do justice to the beauty. We did not find this drive particularly scary or sketchy. Some sections are windy and have a strep drop off. However we felt safe in out large 4X4 SUV. Even though the gorgeous views continue throughout this drive, the Million Dollar Highway is until the town of Silverton.
Traffic at the beginning of the Million Dollar Highway
Once in Durango, we headed to the downtown area to have lunch at Fired Up Pizza. We have visited Durango on a previous trip and enjoyed walking around the downtown area, trying out some amazing restaurants. Metered parking is available on the street. It was a hot day. We could not leave without grabbing some ice cream from Cream Bean Berry. They have some unique flavors and homemade waffle cones.
The drive from Durango to Pagosa Springs is about an hour long. Pagosa Spring offers some stunning mountain views, great hikes, waterfalls, wildflowers and hot springs. There are free hot spring pools made all around the river. The Springs hot springs resort looks beautiful as well with an amazing hot springs/ pool area as well. We saw people renting out large floaties and floating down the river too. Since we were short on time, we picked up some iced chai from Root House Coffee Shop. From our parking at the coffee shop, we walked across the bridge to the Springs Hotel grounds to check out the “mother spring”, said to be the deepest hot spring in the entire world which feeds all the other hot springs in the area. Next we walked down to the river. Unfortunately all the large floats and tubes in the water scared our dog, hence we did not end up staying for long. We plan to be back to Pagosa Springs in the future to enjoy the hot springs and the waterfall hikes in the area.
Pagosa Springs, near the Springs Hotel
We started the roughly 2 hr 45 min drive to Santa Fe. Once in Santa Fe we headed straight to the Railyard district to a restaurant called “La Choza”. This is our favorite New Mexican restaurant in Santa Fe, having tried it on a previous trip. There was a 90 minute wait but we ended up getting a table in about an hour. The food was just as amazing as we remembered and we were so trilled to have come here again. After dinner we headed to the hotel and called it a night.
Day 11 Santa Fe
After a spectacular breakfast at our hotel, we headed out to the plaza area of Santa Fe. We parked at one of the parking garages. We were here on a Saturday and by 10 am the parking lot was pretty full. There was a Hispanic Artisan Market happening with handmade jewelry, art and amazing local food. However pets were not allowed in the plaza area for the market. My husband took our dog and found a shady spot to people watch. My son and I wandered the market, ate some snacks, bought some bracelets and especially some New Mexico Chile. After shopping we headed to the Burrito Company for lunch. The burritos were massive and we ordered way too much food. We enjoyed the weather with some rain on the horizon from the patio overlooking the market. We highly recommend Los Poblanos boutique about a block away from the Burrito Company. They have amazing small batch bath products, kitchen wares and food items.
Our lunch at the Burrito Company
We were sad to leave Santa fe after such a short time, but we had to be on our way to Lubbock. The drive was about 5 hours long. We stopped by the Tikka Shack to pick up some dinner before heading to the hotel. After checking in we enjoyed our dinner and settled in for the night.
Day 12 Austin
We began our 6 hour drive back to Austin after breakfast. Lunch was at a Subway around the midway point. We made it back home by late afternoon.