Rocky Mountaineer Comes to Colorado

Rocky Mountaineer Return to ColoradoRocky Mountaineer, known for its upscale rail service in Vancouver and the Canadian Rockies, will be entering the American market this coming summer. The Rockies to the Red Rocks route will be a two-day rail journey between Denver and Moab, Utah, with an overnight stay in Glenwood Springs, Colorado. The train will voyage along the Colorado River, passing through steep rock canyons and breathtaking desert scenes along the way. Like the existing Canadian routes, Rocky Mountaineer’s U.S. option will offer passengers a similar onboard experience, including regional cuisine, entertaining storytelling, jaw-dropping scenery, and high-end, service in their custom-designed glass-dome coaches. The route will launch with 40 departures across 10 weeks from August 15 to October 23, 2021. If interested, please let ActiveTravels know and we’ll check pricing and availability.

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Broadmoor’s Wilderness Gem, The Ranch at Emerald Valley, Reopens June 24th

The Ranch at Emerald ValleyAnyone planning a driving trip out West this summer should consider a lengthy stay at that classic resort, Broadmoor, in Colorado Springs. It’s not just the championship golf courses, ziplining, tennis courts, and hiking in the Rockies that entice. Broadmoor also runs two lodges nestled deep into the mountains that were once owned by the resort’s founder, Spencer Primrose. I had the pleasure of checking out both lodges on an Austin Adventures trip back in 2017. The Ranch at Emerald Valley, ringed by 11,000-foot peaks, is a bucolic slice of heaven. Indeed, it’s hard to tear yourself away from the vista of pasture, trout ponds, and towering peaks. I could have easily spent the day on the pond throwing out my fly and seeing if luck was in my favor. But I’d be foolish not to take advantage of the horseback riding routes that lace the outskirts of the property.

The Ranch at Emerald ValleyI hopped into a saddle on a stallion named Lady Bug and off we went on a 90-minute ramble through dense forest high atop a ridge peering at the craggy summit of 10,073-foot Mount Vigel. Many of the trails we rode that day were created by mules and workers to lay down a pipeline built in the 1930s that once brought water from a nearby reservoir to Colorado Springs. After a full day of hiking and horseback riding, I returned to Emerald Valley to soak my weary body into a cedar-lined hot tub while snacking on a favorite dessert at the ranch, peach-filled donut holes.

The Ranch at Emerald Valley’s 13 one-, two-, and three-bedroom cabins are ideally suited for social distancing. Please contact ActiveTravels if you’d like us to check availability.