Seeking vacation ideas

I'm thinking of taking the wife to Colorado and visiting Mesa Verde NP and Black Canyon NP during the week of Thanksgiving. Any tips, suggestions, ideas or must do/see things would be greatly appreciated.

 

Might as well go through Telluride while you're in the area, snow + Telluride is pretty fucking nice

 

Sure hoping to get into some snow!

 

Might help if you include the things that interest you all.

 

Mainly going for the sightseeing (vistas, mountains, wildlife ect... and maybe some mild off roading. Wouldn't mind finding some snow or trying skiing/boarding if there is enough snow. Heck, any ideas from good places to eat/shop to visitor attractions would be welcomed.

 

Personal opinion, skip Black Canyon and focus on the southern area. It's a fair chunk of a day drive between the two and there is a *lot* to do in the area. Depending on how many tours you do (and many of the ruins require a tour to get close), Mesa Verde can take a couple of days. You could see 'enough' in one day I guess... There's also Canyon of the Ancients / Hovenweep on the other side of Cortez, which is much more remote, less populated/visited, and closer interaction with the ruins. But the sites are spread out many miles apart. We did a driving loop over a day that hit almost all of them, with short get out/hike/walk at each. There's a local museum up north a bit that can give you plenty of info - the Anasazi Heritage Center.

Heading east from Cortez/Mesa Verde, depending on where you're staying is Durango. You could get tickets to take the train up to Silverton and back, which is a day long thing. I'm not sure if they'd be on winter schedule yet then or not, check into tickets early if you plan to do this.

And speaking of snow and the lateness of the year, it's entirely possible most of the trails will be closed due to snow by that point. Maybe, maybe not, but probably given the elevation. To hit Telluride you'd probably have to drive around and be looking at 145 vs 550 as north and south routes, because the passes between may be closed. 550 is also, in my opinion, the more scenic highway. Silverton and Ouray are both nice places to visit and along 550 on your way north (but yeah, if you get to Ouray you're only a couple hours from Black Canyon, so if you're going anyway...). Telluride if ski is open, ain't gonna be cheap and will be crowded. It's a nice town and I love to visit, but you can look at Telluride as what happens to a town like Ouray or Silverton when ski resorts invest in the place.

No matter what you do, I'm sure you'll enjoy it and there will be far more you'd like to do than you have time for.

 

really appreciate the advise, will definatley look into some of these options, loving the train ride idea.

 

I live in the area. Mesa Verde is definitely worth it also you can check out the four corners. Your chances of snow is good we have already had some.

 

The Durango /Silverton Train is awesome.. One of my favorite vacation memories..

 

+1 for the Ouray / Durango drive. Love Ouray and ice climbing may be up and running by the time you get there.