Denver/COS trip & airport recommendations

jwyatt

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jwyatt
I’ve had my eye on a Wed-Sat trip to Colorado Springs for a change of scenery this week, but weather outlook now is trending stormy there, while Denver is looking better.
So...any intel from the POA braintrust on which airport is most efficient / cost-effective for access to the tourist-parts of the metro area without requiring a rental car? Or is there a better way ... our pattern on past trips has been Uber to a hotel and then walk/public transit/Uber if necessary to various points of interest. No problem with controlled airports.

No real plan on what we do/see, my copilot’s given guideline is that it can’t all be aviation-related. Museums, zoo, scenic stuff, etc. Any info or can’t-miss suggestions for DEN or COS areas welcome, to be filed away for future travels. Not planning to get into the mountains on this trip, hopefully my schedule will align with one of the COPA workshops someday.
 
Seems that Colorado in the summer is always a 50% chance of scattered storms in the afternoon. I wouldn't worry TOO much about it; usually really scattered and moves through fast as it comes off the mountains.

I've been watching the weather myself, as I'm headed to COS from Kansas City on Thursday for the Pikes Peak Ascent on Saturday. I can't speak as much for Denver, but in Colorado Springs:

1) Cheyenne Mountain Zoo - neat zoo where you can feed giraffes from an elevated platform.
2) Bristol Brewing Company - cool brewery built in an old school building, great patio
3) Manitou Springs - cool, old-school downtown area with lots of little shops and restaurants, and a neat old arcade (beware, Manitou will be busier than usual due to the Ascent/Marathon)
4) US Olympic Training Center - they do tours, pretty cool place, neat to see where the athletes train
5) Incline - a "short" hiking trail in Manitou Springs - .8 mile hike up an old railway that gains 2000ft of elevation in that .8 miles. It'll be closed Saturday and Sunday this week.
6) Garden of the Gods - very scenic park/drive area in Manitou

I always land at KCOS and user Cutter; always been treated very well. While there is Uber in Colorado Springs, things are pretty spread out so I'd highly recommend a rental car.
 
No real plan on what we do/see, my copilot’s given guideline is that it can’t all be aviation-related. Museums, zoo, scenic stuff, etc. Any info or can’t-miss suggestions for DEN or COS areas welcome, to be filed away for future travels.

Added to list of things to do in CO Springs...

7) Pro Rodeo Hall of Fame
8) Trip to Cripple Creek maybe to gamble or take in the history of CO mining
9) Trip to Salida for river rafting
10) Royal Gorge

Just a few of the things I've done this summer in Denver that you might enjoy also - Journey/Def Leopard Concert, a couple Rockies Games, Museum of Nature and Science, Elitch's Amusement Park, Mile High Nationals, Larimar Square/Union Station, Denver Art Museum, Butterfly Pavilion, and a Broadway show at the Buell Theatre. Lot's of stuff to do in Denver if you don't mind the traffic. :mad:
 
KAPA - Centennial. Rent a car or convince someone to give you a ride to Light Rail. That takes you downtown (Rockies baseball, Bronco's playtime games, Elitch's, Larimer Square, Denver Art, theatres). Wings over the Rockies Museum just opened it's annex at KAPA. Haven't seen it yet, but supposedly, quite nice. The main musuem is not on light rail and not that easy to get to without a car. The Broncos' home and practice arena is walking distance (well, a long walk but it's a reporting point) from KAPA. Practices often open to the public.

Transportation in Denver assumes everyone works downtown, lives in the 'burbs. Not a great design but for the limited design, very effective.

With a car, everything is possible including Peoples' Republic of Boulder (Colorado's answer to Marin County) an hour drive south to Colorado Springs, or I-70 west into the mountains and have dinner in Frisco, Breckenridge, or Vail (1.5 to 2 hrs assuming minimal traffic) Don't forget to stop by Red Rocks, just for the view.

Closest airport to Royal Gorge is Canon City (1V6) (and Florence) about 40 sm/60 nm south of COS but there's no local transportation other than cab or rent a car. Many years ago the county declared no one may use the crew car other than county employees. Hence locals rarely fly down there. However, if you want to drive down, the Royal Gorge train ride (evenings) is fantastic. Dinner (optional) and an open car for riding thru the gorge. If you want to fly down and rent a car you get to fly right over SuperMax. Wave to Ted Kaczynski as you fly by. (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ADX_Florence) There are 9 prisons in Florence. Guess what the main revenue stream is?

Salida is not near COS - long drive over the mountains. Salida/Buena Vista have airports but unless you have mountain training/experience, not recommended. Salida, on the other hand, has 2 crew cars, each with county plates and you are more than welcome to use them. Both are nice little mountain towns at the bottom of the valley. Head north from Buena Vista and...Leadville! Grab a mountain CFI, fly to Leadville (officially Lake County Airport but I've heard that used only once in 20 years and that was an obvious tourist) to get your certificate for landing at the highest paved airport in CONUS. Relatively new office, nice crew cars, great people.

Another fun trip flying from COS is south past PUB then turn west, climb to 13.5K over Mosca Pass. As you come over the pass, you're flying over Great Sand Dunes Natl Monument. Make a stop at Hooper (dirt strip) for the hot springs then into Alamosa.

No matter what you do flying, the west side of I-25 is heavy with Restricted and Alert areas. Plus both the USAF Academy (COS) and the USAF IPT (PUB) are out flying all the time. Be on flight following but don't depend on it. I've seen zoomie traffic long before it was called to me (when it was waaaay too close!)

Cheyenne Zoo got hit really bad last week in the hail storm. Every car in the parking lot was damaged/trashed and a number of animals were killed.

If you're a fan of Stargate, you can drive up CO route 115, turn onto Norad Rd and I think you can still get to the parking lot and see the tunnel entrance. No tours anymore, you must be VIP to visit. Sorta disappointing because the area around it has become the 'burbs, altho it must be fun to have a mailing address of XXX Norad Rd.
 
Wow, I knew we had plenty of local knowledge here but this is awesome, much more detail than I imagined...many thanks for taking the time to share! I think we’ll head to KAPA this time, grab a car and a hotel in the south Denver suburbs (cheaper than downtown, enough to pay for the car), and do a couple days in Denver and a run down the highway to Colorado Springs for a day. Check off a few things to see, and some recon for more to do next time.
I’ve been flying much more again this summer, and it makes me want to keep up the pace, so having this area in my pocket as a doable weekend trip (4:30 one way) will be nice.

bradg33, good luck on the race! :thumbsup:
 
Wow, I knew we had plenty of local knowledge here but this is awesome, much more detail than I imagined...many thanks for taking the time to share! I think we’ll head to KAPA this time, grab a car and a hotel in the south Denver suburbs (cheaper than downtown, enough to pay for the car), and do a couple days in Denver and a run down the highway to Colorado Springs for a day. Check off a few things to see, and some recon for more to do next time.
I’ve been flying much more again this summer, and it makes me want to keep up the pace, so having this area in my pocket as a doable weekend trip (4:30 one way) will be nice.

bradg33, good luck on the race! :thumbsup:
OK....does this mean we need a POA meetup? At last count, there are over 45 CO members, with 3 that no longer live in Colorado but we still claim them. We could probably scrounge up 5-8 or so. Come to think of it, the last time was many months ago when Mark came to ski.
 
Wow, I knew we had plenty of local knowledge here but this is awesome, much more detail than I imagined...many thanks for taking the time to share! I think we’ll head to KAPA this time, grab a car and a hotel in the south Denver suburbs (cheaper than downtown, enough to pay for the car), and do a couple days in Denver and a run down the highway to Colorado Springs for a day. Check off a few things to see, and some recon for more to do next time.
I’ve been flying much more again this summer, and it makes me want to keep up the pace, so having this area in my pocket as a doable weekend trip (4:30 one way) will be nice.

bradg33, good luck on the race! :thumbsup:
If you'd like, one or more of us would be happy for an excuse to fly you to Leadville.
 
OK....does this mean we need a POA meetup? At last count, there are over 45 CO members, with 3 that no longer live in Colorado but we still claim them. We could probably scrounge up 5-8 or so. Come to think of it, the last time was many months ago when Mark came to ski.
I’m in for a meetup if there’s interest. Schedule is wide open for this trip, aside from we may possibly go see a concert on Friday night, and need to be headed back home in the afternoon on Saturday, unless wx prohibits.

Leadville would be awesome, too, if my right-seater wants to occupy herself in town awhile; I’m just a 2-seater RV.
 
I was at COS 2 months ago, Cutter there was great. Denver had questionable weather forecasts, strong TS predicted, COS was better, as it turns out, Cutter put me in their hangar anyway (it was empty except for another Mooney).
 
I’m in for a meetup if there’s interest. Schedule is wide open for this trip, aside from we may possibly go see a concert on Friday night, and need to be headed back home in the afternoon on Saturday, unless wx prohibits.

Leadville would be awesome, too, if my right-seater wants to occupy herself in town awhile; I’m just a 2-seater RV.
You'll want to head home in the morning, don't wait for the afternoon and the Tstorms. Make it Sun AM early.
 
Hmm.... I am planning a fall trip to Casper, Cody etc... wondering if I should add kapa to the list
 
Hmm.... I am planning a fall trip to Casper, Cody etc... wondering if I should add kapa to the list
KAPA sounds like a great airport to flyinto
Its in the mtns right?
 
I will be coming from east, hoping there are not much in my way
Nothing at all to the east. Busy place but had no trouble getting in. Try a different FBO than TAC Air, and make any car rental plans early... We couldn't find a car to have unless we wanted a luxury brand.
 
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