Road Trip with the Chevy Traverse – Denver to Glenwood Springs

This is our second article in a two-part series covering Chevrolet family vehicles.  Our first covered our roadtrip to Phoenix from LA in the Chevy Equinox Premier 2.0T Crossover SUV.

My family and I just returned from a long and fun weekend in Colorado.  Chevrolet invited us to come out to Denver to learn about the latest features of the redesigned Equinox and Traverse cars, then take one for a spin…up to Glenwood Springs and back for the weekend.

We already enjoyed checking out the latest technology on the Chevy Equinox Premier 2.0T Crossover SUV, so our expectations were pretty high for the Chevrolet Traverse.  I have to say, the Chevrolet Traverse exceeded our expectations.

The Chevy Traverse SUV

Before we started on our road trip, we met up with Chevrolet marketing, communication, and engineers from Detroit to learn about the latest tech, safety, and capability features of the Chevy  Traverse and Equinox.  They had on display a number of the cars with demos to try out the cars’ features.

Our family had a blast seeing if all of these products from Costco would fit in the Chevy Traverse...

Within 4 minutes, the four of us filled the Traverse to its cargo capacity and there was even a little of room leftover on the side as well as the front passenger seat.  We were a little skeptical of it all fitting, but we proved them right!  See more of our Chevy Traverse adventures on Instagram.

We were fascinated by the fabric Chevrolet uses in their cars.  We had the opportunity to pour coke on the fabric and found it just puddled up instead of staining the fabric.  You can tell Chevrolet puts a lot of thought into families and their common issues.

When road tripping with the Equinox to Phoenix, I was blown away by their Surround Vision technology.  In Denver, Chevrolet gave us the chance to see it in action as well as showcase their rearview mirror camera.

They put a bunch of balloons in the back of the car so there was no way to see out the rearview mirror, let alone what was behind you. 

But with one flick of a lever, the rearview mirror turned into a perfect view of what was behind us, by displaying what the Traverse’s back camera saw, like the bike parked behind our car.

In addition, the backup camera displays on the middle entertainment center with a split screen of the backup camera on the right and a birds-eye view showing how close the car is to the bike, using Surround Vision. 

I was able to back up the Chevy Traverse over 20 feet and stop just in time before hitting the bicycle they had placed at the end of the test.  Amazing – such a great safety feature!

I couldn’t get a good shot of the rearview mirror at that time, but here’s a clear shot we got during our drive through the valley of the mountains.  Do you see how clear the rearview mirror is?

It doesn’t matter if the back of the car is filled with suitcases and gear, blocking my view.  This rearview allows me to see the back of my car using its built-in back camera.  Simply amazing.

After spending several hours learning about the features of the Chevy Traverse and Equinox, we hit the road. 

We all loved how the Chevy Traverse had tons of cupholders and little places to keep things safe or close at hand.  We used the spaces for our cups, bottles, sunglasses, snacks, trash, and more.

Our favorite place though was this high-tech hideaway, hidden behind the main entertainment console.  Just press a button and the whole LED screen moves up, exposing a secret cubby. 

Place phones and valuables here when using a valet or river rafting (more on this later!)  You can even create a code so the valet driver can’t access the secret cubby.

Now onto Glenwood Springs.  The drive ended there ended up having a lot of weekend traffic, but I did try the cruise control feature when I could. 

As I found out with the Equinox, I love the over-the-steering-wheel dash where I could keep track of the latest speed limit.  We also had a great time listening to XM satellite radio and our favorite Pandora stations, after logging into my account from the main entertainment console.

The drive to Glenwood Springs goes through a long canyon, with a few fun tunnels along the way.  It was fun looking up at the views through the two window sunroof. 

With the dual sunroofs, both of our kids in the back seat and my husband and I in the front seats could take in the view.

Keystone

About 75 miles out of Denver, we stopped at the Keystone ski resort town. Keystone features a Friday Afternoon Club every Friday in the Summer where you can ride up to the top of the mountain on their gondola for free. 

This scenic ride for the four of us would have normally cost over $75!  We loved the ride, the views, and the fun games they had to play at the top of the mountain.  The views were awesome.

We ate at Pizza101 in the River Run Village there (they have great gluten-free pizza), loved the Mountain Top Cookies (and their gluten-free cookies) in the same village, and admired the swarms of mini coops arriving to end their MINI Coop Takes the States road trip.  You’ve never seen so many MINI Coops in one place, there were hundreds of them!

It took us nearly 1 hour and 45 minutes to make it to The Residence in at Glenwood Springs that night.  Our kids enjoyed the extended legroom space in the back of the Chevy Traverse. 

My son told us that there was no hump in the back floor either (like our current SUV), probably due to the widened wheelbase Chevrolet recently initiated with the 2018 Traverse. 

Our kids also loved the luxury of having plenty of USB ports to recharge their gadgets.  There was even a full-size outlet plug!

Hanging Lake

Saturday morning we had a great breakfast at The Residence Inn and made our way to Hanging Lake, about a 12-minute drive away. 

When we arrived, the rangers told us there was no more parking in the parking lot.  We had already driven past a freeway roadsign that said the same thing 5 miles back, but we decided to try it anyway. 

The ranger manning the booth at the parking lot suggested we come back in the late afternoon. Needless to say, this is a popular activity in this region.  We were fortunate that someone was leaving just as the ranger told us and we got right in. 

There was only one parallel spot left.  No worries, I was excited to try out the cool Chevy Traverse Surround Vision and rearview mirror feature.  Backing into a parallel spot has never been easier.

Parking was free but there was a sign posted at the  beginning of the trail that beginning May 1, 2019, you will need a permit to come to Hanging Lake, there will be no more local parking (you’ll need to take a shuttle), and only 615 hikers will be allowed to take the hike each day.  Phew, glad we came now.

The hike was steep and definitely tiring, but we made it to the top.  It was worth the hour and a half hike up, the blueish-greenish water was extraordinary.  We also enjoyed the 3-minute hike up to Spouting Rock and the chance to get wet a little.  It took 3 hours round trip, but this included about a 25-minute rest at the top.

Glenwood Springs

After the hike, we headed back to our hotel for a swim.  We rested a bit, grabbed some dinner downtown, then around 7pm, we headed to Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park, which rests 1,400 feet ABOVE Glenwood Springs.  You need to pay for their gondola ride to ascend the mountain to get to the amusement park.

Although they are known for their thrill rides like the Giant Canyon Swing (that extends over the Canyon below (think over 1,400 ft!), what Glenwood Caverns is best known for is their caves.  First discovered in the late 1800‘s, they were purchased and opened to the public again in 1999 as a part of the Adventure Park.

The caves are fascinating and well worth the admission.  Our family loved the guided tours and exploring the tunnels throughout the tour.  We had no trouble with lines, as we visited Glenwood Caverns Adventure Park after dinner, which seemly is a less crowded time to go.

After descending back down the mountain, we found our Chevy Traverse, ready to hop in and head back to the hotel.  But before getting in we noticed a glowing Chevrolet sign on the pavement underneath the back of the car.  Reminiscent of the famous Batman logo in the sky, we were intrigued.  

We learned that it’s a sign to let you know where to kick your leg for the back tailgate to open automatically.  Chevrolet wanted to help make it easy to know where to kick, as well as remind you this feature is available.  Pretty cool.

As I mentioned above, it is obvious to me that Chevrolet employees drive their own cars and as a result, cater them to the needs of families.  My family and I were very impressed at how many features and comforts were included in the Traverse to make driving in it a real pleasure.

Even a small detail like the button on every handle of the Chevy Traverse so that when the driver approached the car (with the key fob), all could open their own door.  With our current SUV, everyone has to wait until the driver pushes his/her button on the handle for the doors to unlock. My kids like the control of unlocking the door themselves.

No visit to the Colorado Rockies would be complete without a Colorado River rafting experience.  We hopped into a raft with our Guide, Griffin from Whitewater Rafting, located in Glenwood Springs.  They drove us up the river a bit and we rafted down.

We hit the rapids right away. They said they were class III and IV rapids.  We got soaked but had a blast.  Most of the trip was calm, however.  We took in the beauty and serenity of Colorado’s majestic mountains.  Certainly a highlight of many highlights during this road trip.

On the trip back to Denver, we took the opportunity to try out the new marketplace, a part of the connected experience in the Chevy Traverse’s entertainment center.  Chevrolet generously pre-paid and added a number of choices of food and beverages we could order from Dunkin Donuts. 

We chose our order in the parking lot of Dunkin Donuts and the order was sent.  We drove up to the drive-thru order sign, told them we already ordered and went to the window.  They had already received our order and were preparing it.  Wow, that was fast.  In theory, we wanted to place our order on the freeway but we arrived sooner than we thought we would.

In the Marketplace, there are a number of different partners where you can order things ahead of time so they are ready when you arrive.  Slick.

Chevrolet is well-known for their OnStar service.   I have never used it before, so I was curious…and nervous.  The thought of talking to someone I didn’t know and in a sense, “inviting them into our space,” as we drove along felt weird. 

I called anyway and asked the OnStar operator how long she felt it would take us to get to the Denver airport, as we were sitting in bumper-to-bumper traffic on the freeway between Keystone and Denver.  She knew exactly our GPS location and was able to give me an estimate, though it wasn’t perfect because the traffic was heavier than usual.

She also looked up alternate patterns that could help us get to the airport faster, but found they would take longer than the path we were on.  In talking with the OnStar rep, I found out that she could help us find parking in cities and even find a restaurant.  I began to see the benefits of having someone with a bird’s eye view riding shotgun with us.

Of course, there are plenty of other OnStar benefits as well.  Now all Chevrolet vehicles come equipped with OnStar features including Crisis Assis, SOS Emergency Services, Roadside Assistance, Crash Response, Vehicle Diagnostics, In-Vehicle App Access and more.  You get to try them out for 1-month before the services diminish in number.

Of course, dependent upon the features you are most interested in, you can subscribe to monthly OnStar services.  Some will remain free, while other OnStar services are bundled anywhere from $14.99/mo to $59.99/mo.

One of my favorite OnStar features was the ability to coordinate the Chevrolet app with the OnStar entertainment console. I was able to get directions to where we were going using the Chevrolet app on my phone and send them directly to the entertainment console, it occurred instantly.  Sweet!  Oh, and that reminds me, your 1-month trial includes a 4G HotSpot in your car (up to 3 GB).

I could also use the app to check my tire pressure in all four wheels, lock and unlock the doors…even start the engine (as a part of an OnStar monthly plan)!  The app also has some great learning videos on the Traverse as well to better understand its features.  

Inside and out the Chevy Traverse has a lot going for it, our whole family instantly liked the car and added cabin space, compared to our current SUV.

The Chevrolet Traverse has a striking appearance to our current SUV.  There are a number of similar technological features.  But honestly, our current SUV doesn’t hold a candle to the powerful pick-up, roominess, family-centered features, and technology advancements to the Chevrolet Traverse.  Now the question becomes, whose turn is it when we buy our next car, mine or my husband’s? 🙂

*Transportation, lodging, gas, and some activities were included by Chevrolet as a part of this family trip to check out the 2018 Chevy Traverse and Equinox.  All opinions and road trip choices are our own.