Suggestions for Colorado Trip

I have a week off, and I'm planning on road-tripping out to Colorado from Tennessee. I've only been to the Montrose/Telluride area of the state before, and I loved the Blue Lakes Trail near Mt. Sneffles last year. 

I'm looking for some suggestions on camping/day hiking for the last week of May/first week of June. I'm hoping to avoid the crowds, and I'd like to find one central area to stay and day-trip from.

Thanks!

Adam

You will be too early in the year for the upper elevations.  I remember going to Grand Lake for Memorial Day which is around 6,800 feet. It was frozen solid.  Early in the year the National Grasslands out east of Denver are in bloom with herds of antelope and sage grouse. You might try some of the lower elevation country over by Grand Junction.

I live in northern Nevada and it is still snowing. We had frost the last two nights. Snow is forecast for Tahoe next week.

I live in Durango 6500' and have been to Silverton 9300' and it still cold there around 45 day time temps. Still gets cold rain and snow. Durango is warm and dry. 

You could do parts of the Colorado Trail, but like ppine said the higher elevations are stil in snow, the San Juan's are still covered.

This is Kendall mountain above Silverton and is about 12000'. You can see in the trees at town level there is still a lot of snow.

These are the San Juan's from Durango. 

You may try Mesa Verde to see the Anasazi ruins?

Yes Gary. Maybe a Durango, Cortez, Mesa Verde trip.

Chaco Canyon would be a good option if wanting the Anasazi/Pueblo ruins, Canyon of the Ancients west of Cortez would also be a good spot to try. If wanting the mountain experience, Buena Vista is a good staging area for the Collegiate Range (though some parts might be technical this time of year.) Beyond that prepare for winter conditions to early summer. We just had eight inches blow through Fort Collins, after a few weeks of sixties to eighties.

Yesterday it snowed 6 inches in Silverton and over a foot in Boulder, Colorado. Check out this link for Colorado weather; https://graphical.weather.gov/sectors/colorado.php 

The above weather map is from that site.

Chaco Cyn is a great place to visit. I have been there many times.  The mention of Buena Vista is very familiar. I was coming over Wolf Creek Pass 45 years ago in December in a VW bus and my lights quit around 2200.  The Sheriff came by and offered us a place to stay .... in his jail.  We settled in and he locked us up. We left early, around 0530.

Some of Colorado's best ski conditions occur during the spring due to all the late season storms.

Great. Thanks for the info. I'm looking at checking out the sand dunes and working my way west. Maybe day trip out to Moab. Has anyone been up to Telluride lately? I know the skiing's about done and it's too early to hike. Any specific suggestions in that area?

You may do the Colorado Trail, I am doing the last 75 miles of it from Molas Pass to Durango in late June.

http://www.pmags.com/colorado-trail-end-to-end-guide-2 

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