Denver/Rocky Mountains or Austin Texas

[popsickle555]

DH works for an American company and has two potential work trips happening this year to the above places that we can ‘tag along with’. Both fall during school hols so I plan to go too and take the children to one of them.

The Denver trip will be end of August
The Austin trip will be October half term

DC’s are 11 and 8.

Has anyone been to either of these places with kids? Happy to travel around. I can drive that no issue but just really wondering which would offer the most interesting experience for the kids. DH would need to work 3-4 days so I’ll be solo with the kids those days.

maximum stay for either would be 2 weeks but ideally 10 days.

Has anyone been to either of these and could you share any tips?

I dont know Denver as i only flew in and out, but the Rocky Mountains National Park is beautiful and tourism is based around outdoor sports. For a surrounding trip then the four corners area (Colorado, Utah, New Mexico, Arizona) is awash with national parks and monuments and spectacular scenery. Its $80 for an annual pass to all the national parks https://www.nps.gov/planyourvisit/passes.htm You can even camp in the parks (there are places in Denver that will rent everything you need), or get an RV, or just use motels (but places in or near national parks tend to book up ahead). Or you could go through the Rockies north to Yellowstone. End of August is end of the summer tourist season (US schools go back earlier than us) with tourist trade dropping alot after Labor Day (first Monday in Sept). It would be hot in August in Utah / NM but its dry heat and indoor places will mostly be air conditioned. You can see example road trips on https://triptik.aaa.com/home/ The mileages seem huge but on the freeways its quick and easy driving. You could do a 6-7 day road trip from Denver and see some amazing places. The kids dont have to love hiking you can see alot from the car and short walks.

@popsickle555 I would do Denver. I think Colorado is a better tourism state.

Are you travelling separately from
DH when there? We have been to Durango and Telluride. There are outfits that do off road tours in Auray. It’s exciting countryside around there!!Mesa Verde is interesting snd Estes Park is beautiful.

Yellowstone is a long way. There’s enough in Colorado and nearby in Utah. Will be hot there though. Nicer climate in Colorado.

Texas doesn’t do it for me.

I used to go to Denver frequently on business. I like it, it's a nice city but I can't really comment on how suitable it is for kids.

However, be aware that there's a big homeless problem in Denver, like many US cities. I haven't been since before Covid (I changed jobs so no more Denver trips). It was pretty shocking when I was there and I think things have degenerated significantly. It doesn't mean you shouldn't go but you need to be aware. For example, the Denver Art Museum is great but walking to/from there through Civic Center Park was a shocker. Every single bench was taken up by homeless people, in some parts there were big groups. I found it quite intimidating and I don't intimidate easily (there's a big homeless problem in the area where I live in London so I'm used to it - and on my first day in my US travel job, I had to literally step over a homeless person to get in our Houston office). So just be very aware and keep your wits about you. The CBD was generally safe but there were quite a lot of opportunistic thefts etc along 14th street (Denver equivalent to Oxford St so similar issues to Oxford St). The locals are usually very friendly though. I was surprised how many people said 'good morning' to me when I walking to work.

Away from the actual city, lots of the locals recommend visiting Boulder as it's super-laidback. And of course you have great access to the Rockies with an easy drive to resorts like Vail, Breckenridge etc. Fabulous for outdoor sports.

I haven't been to Austin yet (planned for next year) but I'm desperate to see the nightly bats under the bridge there. Might be worth checking if there'll still be there in Oct as it will be near or at the end of 'bat season'.

Sorry, just realised I did a typo. I meant 16th street (i.e. 16th street mall) not 14th. Fat fingers, sorry!

@HundredMilesAnHour What major US/Canada/UK city doesn’t have a homeless problem? It’s part of travel.

I haven’t been to Denver itself but we passed through the area while on a road trip and it was my favourite part of the trip (we went from west coast to east coast, so did a lot!). The arches national park is close (in American terms!) and that’s spectacular, we also stopped at Grand Junction which has a cool National Monument (it’s like a sightseeing/ scenic driving route with absolutely spectacular views), and we also did the Georgetown Loop railroad which is a little steam train thing in the Rockies. We did this without children though so not sure how much cool rocks and landscapes would appeal to them!

I’ve also been to Austin. It’s a cool city but we spent a few days there and I’m not sure how much more there would have been to do if we stayed longer. The heat in Texas is also quite a lot more oppressive as it’s super humid. It felt like stepping into a very hot shower room when you went outside, whereas while Utah / Colorado were hot, the heat is drier and so it’s much more tolerable to be outside. I’m not sure what the temperatures are in Austin in October though.

What struck me was the time of year, it still could be pretty hot in Denver in August but it’s a great gateway to go up into the mountains and Boulder used to be a nice location to explore from.
Austin in October could be a sunny nice break from grey gloomie England if it’s Halfterm at the end of Oct. It’s a Uni town pretty hip or used to be as it’s a few years since I went through both.
The national parks can be really good experiences if you like outdoors hiking scenery etc. depends what you’re into Big Bend National Park is fab and you can canoe through the canyon which is breathtaking. But Texas is huge so that’s a long drive from Austin.

True. However I travel a lot to the US (I worked there on and off for 20+ years) and Denver was particularly shocking. Perhaps not as much as post-Covid San Francisco (where I was recently) but not far off. And from a tourist perspective, possibly more in intimidating as it spilled out into areas tourists where more likely to frequent. I used to travel to Denver for 2 weeks out of every 6 and managed a team of Denver locals so I'm just saying this based on one brief visit and without getting the input of people who have lived there all/most of their lives.

Damn, I really shouldn't try and type when balancing my laptop on my chest. 🙄I meant to write I'm NOT just saying this based on one brief trip.

The OP will be fine but better she's aware rather than surprised as she may not expect it in Colorado.

Austin and go to the Formula 1 Austin is a lot of fun, San Antonio isn't far either.

OMG brilliant idea @jfshu! The dates work perfectly! And the OP's DH's company will be covering the hotel so no issues with extortionate F1 hotel rates.

Vancouver has huge issues. So does London. It’s never nice to see. Both are more touristy then Denver. I don’t think of Denver as a top tourist destination. It’s where you went to work@HundredMilesAnHour Its also why op is going with her dh. He’s working. She’s an accidental tourist!

It’s better to go out from Denver where the countryside is amazing. We loved it. There’s way more to see than ski resorts too. It’s a fascinating state and plenty to explore which Dc would enjoy. It has a fascinating mining history and fabulous off road possibilities.

If you do Denver once DH joins you you could do the California zephyr which is an amazing experience and then a few days in California.

Why is California better then Colorado in August? Don’t see the advantage of that.

Thanks for all the tips. Colorado seems to be wining at the moment and DH's work have also said that's a better choice for 'a family' due to where the Austin event will be.

We are waiting on dates but I think the plan will be to all fly over together mid August, we will have approx a 7-8 days together (doing whatever we choose in the Colorado area) and then he will go off to his conference and I will either take the kids elsewhere for 3 days while he is there (not sure all of us can be accommodated) or we will stay nearby to where he will be so that we can all fly home together. The other option is I fly home with the kids earlier but a week seems too short to me so I think we need to be at least there for 10-12 days total.

I think you have a decent plan. You will find something to do in Colorado if you plan. Work out how dh can get back to Denver and you stay on somewhere. The mountains are not far from Denver but Denver is on a plateaux and less interesting - in my view!

A good place to spend time with your children, possibly on your own while husband is working, would be Estes Park. In the summer there are lots of things to do and getting around is easy on shuttle buses or just walking.

It is six years since I was there and I hope it has not changed!

Haven't been to Denver but I was in Austin in March and HATED it. Everyone says "it's cool for Texas" but the "for Texas" in that sentence is doing a lot of heavy lifting. Also, Texas has really, really retrograde laws around women's health, so if there is any chance you might have an ectopic pregnancy, that's a reason to avoid it. Or, you know, because it is a place where your rights don't matter...

This is so true about Denver and the plateau. The first time I went to Denver, I was with my boss and he was raving about how much he loves Denver. I remember being in an Uber from the airport heading into the city thinking "seriously? the place is flat and barren and looks like we've landed on the moon!" But Denver really grew on me. The people are lovely, the food is amazing and I just really like the vibe. I've been there many times since that first trip and now I rave about how much I love Denver too. Sadly I've never managed to time my trips for when the rodeo is on. Maybe one day. Until then I make do with trips to Rockmount and hope that between the aisles of Western gear, I'll bump into a cowboy. ;-)

Austin City Limits (music festival) is in October. Weather is temperate all year round.

End of August is a great time for Colorado. Schools in the USA tend to go back mid August so things are generally quieter.

If you're not averse to doing a bit of driving, I'd be tempted to head to Moab and Arches NP then work my way back to the Rocky Mountains NP and Denver

I went to Boulder in Colorado and it was really beautiful.

red rocks is worth a visit (although I haven’t taken children there and I love music so might be a different highlight for me!)

San Francisco certainly is very shocking (I was there pre-covid) and I've traveled to a lot of major cities. Haven't been to Denver although it's on my list for next year and I appreciated you sharing this experience.

Great, thank you for these tips. If anyone has recommendations of things to do with the kids then please do send them over but I plan to start researching. I am sure we will be able to fill 10 days pretty easily :-)

If it were my kids I'd be out walking in the awesome mountains. No brainer choice. I'm sure your googling is as good as mine for finding good walking routes.