Trying to pick a route to drive from Hutchinson to Colorado

Hi there

I%26#39;m back again for some advice regarding our driving route. We are going to be leaving Hutchinson and driving through to Estes Park in Colorado. So i%26#39;m trying to pick somewhere to stop overnight along the way.

I think my 2 options so far are to travel to Garden City and into Colorado straight across that way (hwy 400 i think) and up to Estes Park or to go up to the interstate 70 and follow it to Colby and across into Colorado.

Which would be the nicer town to stop overnight in and why?

The quickest route is not as important to us as the most interesting. And we are grain farmers so love to see the country side where wheat is grown. But i believe we can see that on any route we take in Kansas?!!

Garden City is not really half way, but we would go there is it is a nicer town as opposed to Colby.

Does anyone have any other ideas or suggestions? They are all welcome... thanks!

Kelly

Trying to pick a route to drive from Hutchinson to Colorado

I don%26#39;t know Estes Park, but Garden City is a nice little town with some good localy owned restaurants and a variety of motel options.

Trying to pick a route to drive from Hutchinson to Colorado

If you head north from Hutch to I-70 (via Highways 96 and 56 and 281) then on west to Denver and north (toward Ft. Collins), it takes about 8-9 hours.

I used to help my cousin with his horses at a show every July in Estes Park, and it is a beautiful area...be sure and eat the fresh trout (caught in the river there daily) yum!

Did you ever stop overnight halfway on your trip to Estes?

If it were me doing the trip, I would stop in Colby. It has everything a traveller needs all within the immediate area of I-70. Garden City does have some restaurants that are locally owned, but it also has some issues. I have been to both towns many many times and definately know what is a better option. And besides, the trip would be quicker on the interstate. Neither option has a lot of scenery really, but it%26#39;s only 2 lane to GC and a lot of truck traffic that you can get stuck behind.

Thanks Kansasbec, i have actually been thinking that myself about it being quicker and easier via Colby.

I have never found myself stuck behind traffic on that route. Though it is 2 lane, it is straight, has nice shoulders, light traffic and I have been able to drive a little over 70 with only a few easy passes.

It lets you make some great stops such as the Kanza Art in Mullinville, Lake Scott State Park and Chalk Pyramids.

www.kansastravel.org/liggettkanzaart.htm

www.kansastravel.org/scottstatepark.htm

http://www.kansastravel.org/monumentrocks.htm

If you do decide to go the I-70 route, some things to do along the way:

www.kansasoriginals.com This is a nice little stop to stretch your legs and pick up some gift items if you want authentic souvenires.

www.kansastravel.org/cathedralofheplains.htm a lot of people like to stop and take a closer look as it really is big. There are a lot of pretty churches in the area build by the same immigrants, but this is the biggest.

http://www.fhsu.edu/sternberg/ If you are interested in prehistoric history this is a good stop. Kansas used to be under an ocean so there are good fossils found in the area. Go farther west along I-70 to Oakley there is the Fick fossil museum. http://www.kansastravel.org/fickmuseum.htm Of course if you%26#39;re not interested in gazillion year old dead animals, you might not like these! ha ha

colbychamber.com/new%20website/…index.html Hopefully the link is not too long.

Either route will take you past many wheat fields, though now the harvest is already in. Milo and corn are growing right now. Sunflowers too, but it%26#39;s too early for them to bloom. Nothing prettier than acres and acres of blooming sunflowers! If you%26#39;d consider staying in Wakeeney or Hays, about an 1 hour and 1 1/2 hours east of Colby, I could arrange a farm visit first hand if that would be of interest.

And again, which ever route you decide, I hope you have a good stay! My daughter and I will be going to New Zealand and Australia for her trip and I am nervously looking forward to that!

Sorry I didn%26#39;t get back with you sooner....we never stopped on the way to Estes since we were pulling horses (and didn%26#39;t have children so no problem for us to drive straight through to our motel and get the horses unloaded)