Family Road Trip Breckenridge and Denver

Travel road trip day! We left Chicago at 3 AM for our drive to Breckenridge. We planned to stop in Denver on the back end of our trip, so we had 16 hours of driving ahead of us. I packed a cooler full of food. We took I-80 most of the way through Iowa and Nebraska and arrived in Breckenridge around 7 PM. It’s incredible where you can be after 16 hours of driving. The mountains were lush and green from the heavy snowfall totals from winter.

Our VRBO was right on Breckenridge Mountain (Our Mountain Honey) with hiking outside our front door, and the town a ten-minute walk. I always look for properties where I can walk to everything. For me, vacation is about rest, relaxation, and celebration-but also exercise. We started with a morning hike. We then met up with my Fam at Tin Plate Pizza in Breck! So wonderful to see them. Pizza was delicious!! Then good times and family dinner back at our house.

Took our quick AM hike to walk our dog Auggie! We said goodbye to family and then took an easy hike to Sawmill Reservoir. This trail is the perfect family-friendly hike and begins 5 minutes from downtown Breckenridge. Superb lunch at Kenosha Grill on the dog-friendly “paw”tio!

We woke early and headed to Mohawk Trailhead on our way to Mohawk Lake. This hike is challenging and so beautiful–you will walk through dense forest, see streams and waterfalls, a lovely meadow, and the spectacular lakes and view up top! We had an excellent reward dinner at Blue River Bistro. Excellent cocktails, service, and food!!

The boys went off to fly fish, and we girls decided to shop in downtown Breckenridge. Started with Crown Coffee and Crepes A La Cart–I cannot recommend these enough!! The guys had a great experience with “,” caught lots of fish, and worked on their technique. Fabulous dinner, always a favorite of ours, at the inventive Twist restaurant in Breckenridge!

Off to climb Mt. Huron, a 14’er 50 minutes past Twin Lakes Reservoir. We left Breckenridge at 4 AM to get an early start around 6 AM. Fun to pass through Leadville, the "highest" town in elevation in the U.S.. We made it to our hike, and began our 7.7 mile trek classified as hard. It was, but so worth it. Take your time! Spectacular views, my favorite 14’er by far. I loved peaking this with my husband and kids. Be sure to check out the ghost town of Winfield near the trailhead. We peeked in windows on our way out–there are many ghost towns in the mountains, a vacation in and of itself! We stopped at Twin Lakes Res to visit my mother’s memorial stone ❤️ before heading home and ordering a much-deserved pizza!! Twin Lakes is a great little town and recreation area at the beginning of Independence Pass. There's a great little emporium, coffee shop, burrito place, and perhaps another little restaurant. Fun history museum of the Twin Lakes Area. Keep going on Independence Pass, my favorite Colorado pass for its beauty..and Aspen sits on the other side!

Rest. Short morning hike and breakfast at Cool River Coffee House–a name that lives up to the experience!! It is a beautiful setting next to the river and the best breakfast sandwiches and smoothies. Francesca left us to live the ranch life near Grandby for a weekend with a friend. The rest of us rented mountain bikes from Slope Style in Breckenridge–these guys are the pros in town and gave excellent advice on where to go, and the bikes were the best quality! We could barely ride up the hill, so perhaps mountain biking the day after a 14’er isn’t wise. We were in pain but had a great time. Post-biking, we stopped at the patio of Motherloaded Tavern in Breckenridge for beers, cokes for the kids, and an order of fries (SO GOOD!). Great local feel and the “motherly” waitstaff made you never want to leave. The dude playing guitar was so good–I wish I got his name! We moved on to a nice dinner at Blue Fish Sushi. Great atmosphere, mountain modern with beautiful views.

Met up with friends at Kenosha Grill again!! The fantastic “paw”tio also has giant Jenga, cornhole, and other fun lawn games. Such a great spot for families and dog owners! Dinner at Mi Casa Mexican, sooo good and love the atmosphere! Amazing I Scream Gelato for dessert...perfect day.

Early departure for Denver with a detour through Grandby to pick up Francesca and head to Denver, hitting Empire, and over Berthoud Pass over to I-70. Whoops on a Sunday afternoon–avoid mountain highways on Friday and Sunday! We were looking forward to some R&R on the rooftop at Denver’s Cherry Creek Halcyon Hotel. Our home away from home when visiting Denver. I love it because it’s very “Denver” in its aesthetic–modern with earthy touches. It's obvious they care about sustainability by offering glass jugs and watering stations (almost every product throughout the hotel was very eco-friendly). Also, they are super dog-friendly!! Dinner at my Dad’s house was the perfect ending to a busy day.

We began our day at Local Jones, Halcyon’s epic restaurant–rated the best breakfast in Cherry Creek for good reason. These are the BEST breakfast potatoes you will ever have. Went straight up to the pool after a dog walk. Before heading to the pool, the front desk gave Auggie so much love. They gifted him a new bandana and gave him lots of hugs! Halcyon favorites: the rooftop pool, the service, cocktails, and food! I threw a last-minute surprise birthday party for Paul on the rooftop with the help of their excellent Ashanti. Before the big surprisse, I took Paul for cocktails nearby at the sexy Ay Papi, a Cuban-inspired cocktail lounge that will TAKE YOU THERE! Leaving was hard, but I needed to get Paul to his party! The storms moved in, so our party was moved downstairs to Local Jones. We didn’t mind at all; they saved the day, and it was a great celebration!

We walked a few blocks over to Aviano Coffee, an open-air coffee shop with a great patio! Great burritos (from bacon to vegan) & gorgeous coffee! They also handed the coffee over sans lids and junk :-). We headed to the pool and worked up our appetite for arguably the best sushi in the USA: THE SUSHI DEN. WE EXTENDED OUR VACATION to enjoy Sushi Den/Izakaya–two sushi sister restaurants next to each other, closed on Sundays and Mondays. Yes, we needed to leave Tuesday, but we didn’t for our favorite restaurant. It didn’t disappoint!!!! It was better than ever. The Sushi Den & Izakaya alone are reasons to visit Denver. We ended with THE BEST ice cream at the famous Bonnie Brae in Wash Park–you cannot visit Denver and miss this iconic Denver landmark!!

We left at 3 AM the following morning. This is when you leave Denver if you want to drive to Chicago in one day. The 14-hour drive is perfect for reflecting on the wonderful memories shared, thinking of, and missing friends and family already. But looking forward to getting home!