5 Reasons Central Colorado Is Your Ultimate Summer Trip

Big Thrills Under A Big Sky: Discovering Central Colorado’s Summer Playground | Man of Many
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Home / Culture / Travel
SPONSORED TRAVEL
Big Thrills Under A Big Sky
: Discovering Central Colorado’s Summer Playground
In Partnership with Colorado Tourism
By Man of Many -
Sponsored
Updated: 5 May, 2026
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Readtime:
20 min
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At Colorado’s centre lies a summer playground like no other. Pairing a treasure trove of adventurers’ delights with a thriving arts offering of music, literature, and theatre, it’s the kind of destination with something for everyone. Plus, it’s the ultimate opportunity to score bragging rights with your friends as you move from rugged thrill-seeking to high-minded culture within a single action-packed day.
Welcome to the second of three road diaries exploring Colorado’s adrenaline-fuelled adventures, stunning natural landscapes, and rich cultural offerings, with Man of Many as your guide. In this instalment, we’re starting in iconic Aspen and winding our way to the highest incorporated city in North America, Leadville.
Along the way, we’ll discover Gold Medal fishing waters, vibrant downtowns, thrilling mountain bike trails, and star-filled skies guaranteed to blow your mind. Let’s go!
If you’re already sold on exploring Central Colorado’s warm-weather wonderland, make sure to visit Intrepid via the link below to book your next holiday.
Visit Intrepid
Aspen
There’s nowhere in the world quite like Aspen. Located in the heart of the White River National Forest, it’s surrounded by the peaks of the Elk Mountains and has a well-earned reputation as one of the greatest ski destinations in the world, thanks to the four ski mountains accessed via one lift ticket, and just as importantly, for its non-stop apres ski action. However, even after the snow has thawed, Aspen continues to offer so much more.
Our journey begins here, and it doesn’t take long to discover that adventure is a year-round pursuit in this alpine oasis. In fact, ask any local, and most will tell you that while winter’s what got them here in the first place, they stayed here because of the summers. With a wide variety of activities to choose from, including hiking, biking, rock climbing , fishing, horseback riding, paragliding, and more, guests are very much spoiled for choice.
Plus, while Aspen is what makes this area world-renowned, the surrounding countryside, with its quaint villages like Woody Creek and Snowmass, is every bit as stunning. They’re quirky, too. Woody Creek, for instance, was the long-time home to the famous gonzo writer, Hunter S Thompson, and must be seen while you’re in the area.
Departing from our downtown accommodation at Limelight Aspen, our first activity sees us drive 45 minutes north-west to the beautiful Roaring Fork Valley. There, we drop by the Aspen Outfitting Company, whose kind staff members hook us up with an expert tour guide, along with premium rods, hand-picked flies, and Simms waders and boots. Now we’re ready for some world-class fly fishing.
With our experience in this style of fishing being somewhat limited, we’ve opted for a half-day guided outing. On the 15-minute drive to our fishing spot, our friendly guide regales us with some local history and a few fly fishing fundamentals.
Once we arrive at our Gold Medal fishing spot (a designation by Colorado Parks and Wildlife for top-tier trout fisheries that consistently produce a high density of large fish), we quickly wade out into the water. It’s wonderfully cool, while the air is warmed by the golden sun. With a few false starts, it’s not long before we feel our way into the rhythm of it all. For the most part, fly fishing is an immensely soothing activity, punctuated with bursts of action each time a trout grabs hold of a fly. Having had quite a few laughs and caught a surprising haul of fish, we drop our gear back at Aspen Outfitting Company and return to town.
Time being a precious resource, thanks to all that Aspen has to offer, we waste none of it, choosing to follow our fly-fishing expedition with an afternoon e-biking to The Maroon Bells, North America’s most photographed mountains. Happily, the route to get to these natural landmarks is also one of Colorado’s most iconic rides. Across a 26 km round trip from the Aspen Highlands to Maroon Lake and back, we climb almost 400 metres, passing through one picturesque grove after another and taking in the imposing Pyramid Peak along the way. As we finally round the bend to Maroon Lake and come face to face with the Maroon Bells, it’s instantly clear why these twin peaks, each reaching over 4,200 metres, have captured the imagination of so many photographers, professional and amateur alike. They’re a stunning sight to behold.
As the evening closes in, we head out to take in a sight of an entirely different kind. Being a tourist magnet, you won’t be surprised to hear that Aspen sees a multitude of internationally renowned musical acts pass through every year. On our night there, we’re fortunate enough to secure tickets to see Band of Horses at Belly Up, Aspen’s premier music venue. The band plays a mesmerising set that has the whole room in the palm of their hand. Showcasing a harder edge live than they do on record, the band’s performance leaves us with a satisfying ringing in our ears as we shuffle out of the venue.
The next morning, feeling a little worse for wear in the best way, we down coffees paired with a selection of doughnuts and head to the Aspen Art Museum for some much-needed serenity. Once housed in an old converted hydroelectric plant, these days the art museum is one of the most striking buildings in town: there are four levels of exhibition space across 3000 m2, which means there’s a lot of space for a wide range of contemporary works from local and national artists.
From enormous painted canvases to sculptures and audio-visual works, the whole place feels imbued with Aspen’s adventurous spirit. Drawing inspiration from the region’s alpine landscape and history of experimentation, it’s an offering that you wouldn’t find anywhere else, and that’s the wonder of this place: there’s nowhere like Aspen.
With the ringing in our ears from Band of Horses finally fading, we spend the rest of the day strolling between museums and galleries, while replenishing ourselves with bites and drinks as we go. From Aspen Art Museum, we make our way to Aspen Grove Fine Arts, Raven Gallery, Royal Street Fine Art, and finally arrive at Wheeler/Stallard Museum. It’s a low-key but welcome change of pace.
However, it can’t last. The next day, we’re up early for a final taste of adventure before we say goodbye to beautiful Aspen. The local paragliding school—appropriately named Aspen Paragliding—offers the kind of birds-eye view we can’t pass up. Booking a tandem flight, we secure an 8:15 AM take-off, which consists of a two-hour round-trip, including the drive up the mountain. Having strapped in with our instructors, there’s no backing out as we launch into the air more than 900 m above our designated landing spot. In-air time lasts around 15 minutes, which is more than long enough to take in the mind-blowing views from that altitude. It’s an invigorating ride, even for those who aren’t afraid of heights.
Discover Aspen attractions at Colorado.com
Glenwood Springs
Departing Aspen, our next destination lies an hour’s drive down valley, at the point where the Colorado and Roaring Fork rivers meet. Known as Colorado’…

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