If you’re in the market for a rental car, there are plenty of places that will rent you a vehicle. But, if you’re in the market for a once-in-a-lifetime experience, then Peak Overland is the choice for your rental vehicle needs.
Our vehicles are customized for adventures, and here is a round-up of some of our favorite locations near Denver.
Montezuma:
If you want to take a Jeep out on the trails, you would be hard-pressed to find an area better than the old mining town of Montezuma. This town has plenty of jeep trails with a mixture of challenging routes such as Webster Pass, and Red Cone, along with easier trails that allow you to go to great heights for incredible panoramic views, but without the challenging terrain.
In Montezuma, you’ll find camping areas, and the town also boasts wonderful hiking routes, breathtaking scenery, fishing, and old mining relics. Please remember to respect private property in Montezuma and not park or loiter in the town.
Montezuma is located about 3 miles beyond the ski resort of Keystone, which is an easy hour to hour and fifteen-minute drive from Denver. This would be a good trip if you only have 2-3 days.
Halfmoon Creek (just outside Leadville):
Just outside of Leadville, another old mining town, is Halfmoon Creek, a wilderness camping, hiking, and wheeling area. Halfmoon Creek offers Jeep trails, camping sites, and hiking opportunities.
Leadville is about an hour and half to an hour and 45 minutes from Denver, so this would be a better trip if you have 3-4 days.
Buena Vista
Roughly the same distance from Denver as Leadville (via a different route) you’ll find Buena Vista. This is a popular area for trout fishing, multiple 14er hikes, great scenery everywhere you look, and plenty of Jeep trails as well.
This is another good trip if you have 3-4 days. You could even combine it with a stop in Leadville and move down to Buena Vista before heading back to Denver, or vice versa.
San Juan Region
For jeeping, it is difficult to imagine a better destination than the San Juan region. Silverton, Ouray, Telluride, and Lake City have unparalleled jeeping opportunities, combined with camping, awe-inspiring scenery, fishing, historic mining structures, and even old ghost towns. The Alpine Loop is a well-known Jeep road, but there are hundreds of other trails, loops, and short excursions to explore. If you want a larger town as a staging area, Durango is ideal for you. For something closer to the trails, choose Silverton or Ouray, which are both rustic but have modern amenities. If you want classy and sophisticated (and expensive), Old West Telluride is where you will want to head.
The area is roughly a 6.5-7.5hr drive from Denver, so you’ll use up almost two full days getting to and from Denver – making it best for a week-long trip.
