Father’s Day Weekend Ride (June 12 through 15) Estes Park, Colorado

Please join us for a ride to The Rocky Mountain National Park and other attractions!
We will meet at the Smiths on Tramway and Central (200 Tramway Blvd SE, Albuquerque, NM) at 8:00 AM on June 12, 2025, pre-ride briefing at 8:15 AM, and KSU at 8:30 AM.
Additional details, including the routes will be added later; however, The Rocky Mountain National Park works on a timed entry system, and in order to secure spots, this needed to be posted now.
Important: As mentioned above, The Rocky Mountain National Park works on a timed entry system, and only one ticket can be obtained at a time (e.g. I cannot get tickets for the group.).
You will need to go to this website: https://www.recreation.gov/timed-entry/10086910/ticket/10086912
Once there, request tickets from 2:00 to 4:00 PM (this includes Bear Lake Road). Make sure you have your US Recreation Pass for the trip. That will be required also.
Now for the trip.
Day 1

We will travel up to Alamosa, CO. for lunch. After lunch, we will go to the Great Sand Dunes National Monument. After playing in the sand, we will ride to Salida, CO. for the first night’s stay.
Without an exact number, I could not get a group discount for the hotel; however, if there are enough of us, I may be able to get a discount after everyone has signed up.
Also, there are other hotels in the area if preferred; however, many of them have stairs with no elevator (I stayed at one of them last July.), and we are staying in the same hotel on the return trip.
Hotel: Baymont by Wyndham Salida
https://www.wyndhamhotels.com/baymont/salida-colorado/baymont-inn-and-suites-salida/overview
Group dinner will be planned.
Day 2
The Hotel has a free breakfast; however, feel free to go somewhere else.
We will meet at 8:00 AM in the hotel parking lot for pre-ride briefing, line-up, with a KSU at 8:30 AM.
From the hotel we will travel to Grand lake, CO. We will likely have lunch in Grand Lake. After lunch, we will fill up (very important) and go through the checkpoint for The Rocky Mountain National Park on highway 34.
We will spend the afternoon in Rocky Mountain National Park, enjoying the views, riding the twisties, and we will end up in Estes Park.
The hotel for Estes Park is the Columbine Inn. I stayed there last year, and you can park your bike outside of your room. There is a Quality Inn next door if anyone wants to go there for the night. Note: rooms are going to run a little above $200 per night in Estes Park.
The Columbine Inn doesn’t take reservations directly, all reservations must be made through a third-party site (found this out last year). I suggest one you are familiar with like Expedia or Hotel.com.
Group Dinner will be planned.
Day 3
The Hotel has a breakfast; however, feel free to go somewhere else.
We will meet at 8:00 AM in the hotel parking lot for pre-ride briefing, line-up, with a KSU at 8:30 AM.
From Estes Park, we will travel to Leadville, CO. In Leadville, we will stop for lunch and visit the National Mining Hall of Fame and Museum.
After the Museum, we will travel back to Salida CO., and stay there for the night. See first night hotel information.
Hotel: Baymont by Wyndham Salida
https://www.wyndhamhotels.com/baymont/salida-colorado/baymont-inn-and-suites-salida/overview
Group dinner will be planned.
Day 4
The Hotel has a free breakfast; however, feel free to go somewhere else.
We will meet at 8:00 AM in the hotel parking lot for pre-ride briefing, line-up, with a KSU at 8:30 AM.
From Salida, we will travel to Pojoaque, NM., and have lunch at Gabriel's.
After lunch we head home.
Important (Please Read)!
· Prepare for all weather types (cold, rain, heat, etc.)
· Expect long days (~ 9:00 hours for the first two days, this includes lunch and stops)
· We will be going the speed limit
· A large portion of the trip will be on high elevation mountain roads
· There will be times when we will have to travel I-70 which reminds me a lot of I-40
· We will stop for gas and breaks frequently. We will also stop at points of interest.
More to come.