Family Trip - Rollercoasters, Caving, Rafting, E-Biking, Hot Springs - Glenwood Springs, CO 6/25-28/26

Emily Hacken
1 minute ago
8 min read

Sample Itinerary:

Day 1 -

Take train or drive to Glenwood Springs (arrive around 11 am)
Chill out, Hot Springs (Penny Springs, Iron Springs or Glenwood Springs), Hotel Pool
Order food from Walmart delivery, Go out to eat
Smores at Best Western outdoor fire pit (if you are staying there) - they also have a playground, sand volleyball court and corn hole with a grassy area (need to bring own roasting sticks)

Day 2 -

Glenwood Springs Amusement Park
Treats Games & Laser Tag at Two Rivers Park - 8 PM

Day 3 -

E-Biking - Glenwood Canyon Trail/Rio Grande Trail
OR
Wild West Family Morning - Free Doc Holliday Museum (basement of Bullocks) then take the Free Bus to Kid Hike to Doc Holliday Grave & Hope Tree 10 AM
Lunch - Dominos Pizza and Sweet Coloradoughs (donuts)
River Rafting - 3:00 PM - meet at Hanging Lake Co-Op (located next door to La Quinta) OR,
Hot Springs, Cycling/Ebikes: on Riverwalk 1 mile +

Day 4 -

Drive or train home

Directions:

Amtrak Station - Salt Lake, Provo, Glenwood Springs

Hotels (all on the same road - walking distance from the train station)

Penny Hot Springs

Iron Springs Hot Springs

Glenwood Springs Hot Springs

Glenwood Caverns Amusement Park

Two Rivers Park

Bullocks Western Wear

Doc Holliday Grave Trailhead

Dominos

Sweet Coloradough

Hanging Lake Adventure Co-Op (Rafting/E-Biking - walking distance from hotels)

Glenwood Canyon hiking/biking trailhead

Cost:

Amtrak tickets - $30+ per person one way
Penny Hot Springs - free (on the roadside)
Iron Springs Hot Springs tickets - $50-125 (Discount QR code below)
Glenwood Springs Hot Springs tickets - $42-60 adults; $30-38 youth; 2 and under free (wait to book until you are there - ask your hotel for the "Red Card Pass" for $50 adult tickets; see QR code below)
Glenwood Caverns Amusement Park tickets - $80-85; $53-58 gondola and cave; $33-38 gondola only (tickets cheaper if purchased online and get 10% off at most hotels - QR code below)
Two Rivers Park - free
Hanging Lake Adventure Co-Op -
- Rafting tickets - 1/2 day $78 adult; $74 youth
- E-Biking tickets - $20-25/hr; $12/hr (regular bike)

Activity:

Amtrak - (see Transportation below)
Iron Springs Hot Springs - 16 pools. North of Amusement Park. Can take bus or drive. Select "Day Pass”. Normally - Adult $60, Child 12 under $48. Discount tickets
Glenwood Springs Hot Springs - Large and medium hot springs. Cold pool with diving board and lap lanes. Lazy river with tubes (closes at 5pm). Showers, paid lockers. 8am-10 pm
Glenwood Caverns Amusement Park
- Go early or late, less crowds. Opens 9am-7pm
- Hit the Alpine Coaster first. Usually most popular so good to hit early.
- Free ice at Caverns
- Free Sunscreen Pumps at Information
- Cavern (Cave Tours) run every 20-40 min. Just wait outside.
- Free fudge samples at souvenir shop
- Bring water bottles
- Food is same price no matter where in the park you eat.
- You can store your backpack in cubbies at all the rides
- You can bring your own food and drinks, however, your cooler or bags must be small enough to comfortably hold on your lap during the gondola ride to the top of the mountain. (see photos below for other tips)
Two Rivers Park - Laser Tag
- (5-10 min walk from Hotels). We met at the Large Stage and everyone just ran around. Trees, fields, etc
Wild West Morning -
- Start at the free Doc Holliday Museum (basement of Bullocks). See his guns, stolen sheriff badges & more! Can leave optional donation. (Take the free bus from the La Quinta Inn to the next stop)
- Take the Free Bus to the short but hot hike to Doc Holliday Grave & Hope Tree - You will need to still walk a few blocks up the hill after getting off the bus.
  - Doc Holliday Hike - 0.7 mile round trip. The trailhead has water and shade. The rest of the trail has little shade. You pass the Hope Tree covered with ribbons (bring your own if you wish). Then finish the rocky path up to the cemetary on top. Incidentally, the old town put the cemetary in the gully where the drinking water came from and got everyone sick and many bodies washed all over. What they could find, they dug and put back on the hill but this is why many graves aren't really the true "resting spot" - including Doc Holliday. All Trails Trip Report
E-Biking
- Glenwood Canyon Recreation Trail - 16.3-mile paved, multi-use paved path stretching east from Glenwood Springs, Colorado. Suspended alongside the roaring Colorado River. You can also watch rafters floating down the lower sections.
- Rio Grande Trail - Aspen to Glenwood Springs Trail - 42 miles one way. Paved downhill ride if you take the one way bus shuttle up to Aspen. Rides through a John Denver memorial. Beautiful ride. For bikers who want to ride the entire distance between Glenwood Springs and Aspen, the Roaring Fork Transit Authority’s (RFTA) Bike Bus is the way to go. The seasonal, weekend-only bus is outfitted to carry up to 14 bikes. From stops in Glenwood Springs, visitors can ride up the valley and disembark at Ruby Park in Aspen where they can connect to the Rio Grande trailhead for miles of breathtaking downhill cruising. See www.rfta.com/ for rates and schedules. Trail Details
Rafting (Hanging Lake Advnture Co-Op - Rafting company is conveniently located right next to the hotels: La Quinta, Silver Spruce & Best Western.
- Anyone staying anywhere else can park for FREE in their parking lot. They shuttle us to the river and back again. Rental includes the shuttle, life jackets, guide etc. Sign online waiver.
- Wear: swimsuit, shorts, water shoes with heel strap, sunscreen. Bring Water bottle/snack if you want. This is a guided tour.
- No packs on the river. They will stow them for you at the store. Yes waterbottles on the rafts.
- Discounted Group Rate: Adults: $65.60, Youth (12 & Younger): $60.80
- Photos - $56 per boat
- Total duration: ~3-3.5 hours | Time on the river: 2 hours

Gear:

Ipads and head phones with downloaded shows and games for the car or train ride, Water bottles, Electrolyte powders and granola bars. (Hot springs asks you not to bring food or water but it is very dehyrating of a place. If you are discreet and not in the water they are chill about it) Paper, crayons & ribbon for the kid hike to do grave stone rubbings and tying a biodegradable ribbon on the Hope Tree, UV mini lights to see phosphorus in the caves (staff seemed pretty chill if you wanted to do it yourself), microwave popcorn for the hotel, pillows and blankets for the train, 2 swimsuits, clothing, hat, sunscreen, aloe vera, sunglasses, closed toed shoes, water shoes, small backpack (amusement park will let you store at each ride), toiletries, pillows/blanket for the way there

Transportation Tips:

Amtrak
- Get the Amtrak app to track your train arrivals (usually have some delays)
- Provo Train Station - Parking at the train station is slim and not the best neighborhood. We have parked when we have gone just don't leave anything valuable out. Quiet time on the train was 7am so be quiet when you board! Quiet after 9pm.
- Plenty of space on train to bring your own pillow and blanket
- Download movies and games ahead of time on iPads because train does not have WiFi. Mobile hotspots work 3/4 of the time except around the Colorado/Utah border.
- Bring card games, books or paint kits to pass the time
- You can bring several big bags and security checks are minimal. We recommend bringing one packed with shelf stable snacks and food.
- Seating is similar to first class section on a plane with multiple outlets at every 2 seat sections. Can lay seats almost flat with leg rests up. Kids can sleep sideways.
- Bathrooms are small and on the first level with luggage.
- Train sections - First cars are first class cabins, then first class private rooms, dining car, observatory car, coach seating. Luggage, bathrooms and cafe are on the lower level.
- Youth cannot wander around unaccompanied and no wandering without shoes due to pinch points between the train cars.
- Scout out the observation car ASAP for game playing tables, preference is the river side, South Side (on the way there). Observation car fills up between Grand Junction and Glenwood Springs section.
- There is a longer stop (15 min) at Grand Junction where you can get out and get a snack or ice cream bar and walk around.
- Warning - as you enter Colorado, it is not uncommon for rafters and tubers to pull down their pants and moon you. :)
- Food on the train
  - Eating on the train (expensive but a fun experience - we preferred the breakfast as it was cheaper and a beautiful sunrise at the same time) Breakfast $20-25 per person; Dinner $45/person. Also a snack car on the bottom level of the train
  - Bring your own food and have any time
Glenwood Springs
- Walking- Most places are 10-15 min walk from the hotels downtown- amusement park, rafting, restaurants, Amtrak station.There is an elevator to cross the bridge which is great for luggage.
- Best Western offers a free shuttle for guests from Amtrak station. Call: 970-945-8535
- Free Bus - here is the current schedule even though it says 2022. There is not a stop at the Amtrak station. There is a stop at La Quinta hotel near the hotels and on 9th. Great to get around town but with my luggage staying at another hotel, we have just walked and rolled our luggage. Bus is great takes you for Free to Walmart, LDS Church, Restaurants, near Trailhead for Doc Holliday Cemetary hike
- Request on Demand Ride Service - no Uber but the next best thing
- Track the bus with this app Myrfta

Food Tips:

Walmart Grocery Delivery to your hotel or just bring a bunch of food from home.
Dominos Pizza - Mix & Match deal for $6.99 each (when you buy 2 or more, medium 2 toppings, wings, sides, desserts. You can also get a Large 1-topping Carryout Pizza for $7.99. Delivery or carry out. They are located next to “Sweet Coloradough” Doughnuts so after the Kid Hike we could take the free bus and hit both.
Amusement Park -free fudge samples at the souvenir gift shop.
(Also at Amusement Park, free sunscreen pumps at Information and free ice cups at the Caverns).
Quodba Mexican Restaurant has a kids meal that was great. $7.50 for quesadilla with meat, rice, chips and a drink. Walking distance from hotels.
Slope & Hatch - Downtown, delicious fusion tacos, try chimichurri steak, al pastor, we have loved everything
Sweet Coloradough - Doughnuts, iconic, Colorado state flag doughnuts, doughnut sandwiches, optional activity after the kid hike Saturday. Note- the location by the hotels is not open yet but a free bus after the hike takes us there.
Glenwood Canyon Brewpub- Downtown, pot pie was very tasty.
Smoke Modern BBQ - Downtown, try burnt ends mac & cheese.
Doc Holliday Tavern in the shopping district - Cool old West atmosphere and two billiard tables in the back and it costs only a dollar per game. Burgers and other sandwiches and good fries. About $12 per meal.