Colorado 2026

The Whole Detour | June 2026

A seven-day Colorado trip, from Sunday to Saturday

Basecamp: Three Rivers Resort — Almont, Colorado

In June, we headed to Colorado for a family reunion near Almont. Of course, I couldn't go all the way to Colorado without doing a little extra exploring while we were there! We made Three Rivers Resort our basecamp for the week, mixing family time with mountain drives, a few hikes, and whatever detours caught our attention.

Sunday: The Drive to Colorado and Cottonwood Pass

We left South Dakota around 7:30 a.m. Sunday morning, planning to tackle the roughly 12-hour drive in one day. The first stretch was your typical, rather boring drive across the Nebraska plains.

We entered Colorado from the northeast and headed toward Denver, where the mountains eventually started coming into view. As someone who lives in the flatlands of South Dakota, seeing those mountains in the distance is always exciting!

Our route took us over Cottonwood Pass, which sits at 12,126 feet along the Continental Divide. Naturally, we had to stop at the top to take in the views.

We decided to follow a short trail up to the viewpoint above the parking area. I quickly regretted that decision when I realized just how much I needed to adjust to the elevation! Thankfully, the views made it worth the struggle. It was a pretty good introduction to the Colorado mountains—and a reminder that we weren't in South Dakota anymore!

Along the trail, we also spotted some mountain avens, moss campion, and phlox growing among the rocks.

We finally made it to our little cabin at Three Rivers Resort around 9:00 p.m. Mountain Time. The cabin was cute, and it made a great home base for our week.

Monday and Tuesday: Family Time in Almont

We spent the next two days taking it easy with family and adjusting to the elevation. Almont sits at around 8,000 feet, so after our little hike at Cottonwood Pass, I was grateful for the chance to acclimate!

We spent some time relaxing at the resort, watching hummingbirds fly around, playing yard games, and hanging out at Blue Mesa Reservoir. Not a bad way to spend a couple of days!

Wednesday: An Unexpected Stop at Lake Irwin

After a couple of days with family, we were ready to explore. We tried to pick a different direction each day.

Our first outing took us toward Kebler Pass, where a detour led us to Lake Irwin. It wasn't part of our original plan, but that turned out to be the best part.

We turned down a dirt road, and as we rounded a bend through the trees, the lake suddenly came into view. With the mountains rising behind it and wildflowers scattered along the shoreline, it was absolutely breathtaking, especially since we had no idea what was waiting around that corner.

We stopped to explore and ended up hiking almost two miles around the lake, with only about 100 feet of elevation gain.

Check out my Lake Irwin post for more about our hike!

On the way back to Almont, we took Ohio Pass and enjoyed even more gorgeous mountain views.

Thursday: Rafting the Taylor River and Exploring Italian Creek

Thursday morning started with a family rafting trip down the Taylor River through Three Rivers Resort. Our guide was great, and we had a lot of fun!

Later that day, we ventured northeast, heading past Taylor Park Reservoir toward Italian Mountain and American Flag Mountain. We turned onto County Road 759, also known as Italian Creek Road, with hopes of making it to Oliver's Cabin, an old mining cabin tucked away in the mountains.

Even before the road got rough, there was plenty to look at.

We figured this would be a good opportunity to test out the Bronco Sport Badlands' Rock Crawl mode and see just how far we could get. Along the way, we crossed paths with a group in 4x4s coming back down the mountain. They had been hoping to make it to the top but hadn't gotten much farther than the cabin. They warned us that we might have trouble making it that far ourselves, wished us luck, and we continued on our way.

The road soon split, and we took the right fork to avoid private property. We got a kick out of the signs someone had put up along the way.

As we climbed higher, the road became increasingly rocky, and we found ourselves bottoming out more often than we'd have liked. Thank goodness for those bash plates! We came close to reaching Oliver's Cabin but eventually decided we'd pushed the Bronco far enough.

Oliver's Cabin would have to wait for another trip. We sure had fun trying, though!

On our way back to Almont, we found another route through the mountains, taking Rocky Brook Road (Forest Road 748) toward Spring Creek. Along the way, we stopped at Spring Creek Reservoir, a quiet little mountain lake tucked among the trees.

From there, we followed Spring Creek Road (County Road 744) back toward Almont, spotting quite a few marmots along the way.

Friday: Gothic, Judd Falls, and a Few More Detours

Our final full day in Colorado took us along Gothic Road north of Crested Butte, past Gothic Mountain and the tiny historic village of Gothic.

Back in the 1880s, Gothic was a busy little silver mining town. These days, it's home to the Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory (RMBL), where scientists from all over the world come to study the plants, wildlife, and mountain environment. I liked that this little town had found a whole new purpose.

Just north of Gothic, we parked and headed out on a short hike to Judd Falls. Along the way, we had some great views of Gothic Mountain.

At the waterfall overlook, there was a memorial bench with an inscription that caught my attention:

“To the wayfarer, friend or stranger this seat is offered in the name of ‘the man who stayed.’”

The bench honors Garwood Judd, who stayed behind in Gothic long after the mining boom ended and most of the town's residents had moved away. I thought that was a pretty neat piece of history to stumble across on our hike!

I dug into more of the town's history in my Gothic post.

My Judd Falls post has more about the hike itself.

Emerald Lake and the Road Toward Devil's Punchbowl

After our hike, we continued north along Gothic Road toward Schofield Pass. The road narrowed to a single lane as it hugged the mountainside, with a pretty steep drop down to Emerald Lake below.

And that lake was gorgeous! I don't think I've ever seen water quite that shade of emerald green. I really wanted to get down there and explore, but we were already high above it, and there wasn't exactly anywhere to turn around!

I found out later that there's a small parking area and a short trail down to the lake. Apparently, we had driven right past our chance to stop without realizing it!

After passing Emerald Lake, we continued north over Schofield Pass at an elevation of about 10,707 feet. We eventually reached a parking area where the warning signs made it pretty clear that the road ahead wasn't something we wanted to attempt in the Bronco!

Instead, we continued on foot toward Devil's Punchbowl, exploring the emerald-blue pools and waterfalls along the creek. We crossed the water a few times, using logs in some places, and didn't see another person the entire time.

It was such a pretty area, and I'm glad we decided to explore a little farther on foot!

The Scenic Way Back: Paradise Divide

Of course, we couldn't just take the same road back to Almont!

We headed back toward Gothic Road and took the route toward Paradise Divide. The scenery up there was gorgeous, with mountain views and wildflowers scattered along the way.

Near the top of Paradise Divide, more than 11,000 feet up, we came across a little pond with campsites nearby and an incredible view overlooking the surrounding mountains and valley. I could have sat there taking in that view for quite a while!

From there, we followed Slate River Road (734) down through the valley and back toward Crested Butte.

Eventually, we made it back to Crested Butte, where we picked up Highway 135 south toward Almont.

Saturday: One Last Stop Before Home

Saturday came around, and unfortunately, it was time to head home. We left around 7:00 a.m. Mountain Time, taking the same route back over Cottonwood Pass.

We did get one last wildlife sighting on the way down when a moose crossed the road right in front of us!

After that, we settled in for the rest of the drive home, finally arriving around 10:00 p.m. Central Time.

We came for a family reunion and ended up with a week of mountain views, unexpected stops, and a few places we'll have to come back for. Lake Irwin was a detour we hadn't planned, Oliver's Cabin was one we didn't quite reach, and Emerald Lake gave us a reason to return.

See yuh next time, Colorado!