Ride the Divide

After nearly two decades of dragging three kids to adventures across all fifty states and now more than seventy countries, I have a pretty clear sense of what actually works for families and what just looks like it should. The gap between those two things is wider than most people expect. I have shown up to plenty of experiences that were technically open to kids and watched the whole thing quietly fall apart because nobody had actually thought it through. So, when I find something that is genuinely built for families, not just tolerant of them, I put that on my list.

One of the most consistent questions I get when I send out an invite is some version of, are kids welcome? Is this a couple’s trip? How young is too young? I understand exactly why it keeps coming up. Parents have been burned. They have shown up to things that required skills nobody mentioned, or spent the whole day managing anxiety instead of actually enjoying themselves. That experience leaves a mark. So, they ask before they commit. My answer for this one is simple. Yes. Bring everyone.

Grand Adventures in Winter Park, Colorado runs a fully guided off-road tour to the top of the Continental Divide in Can-Am Maverick side by sides, and it is about as close to a perfect family adventure as I have found anywhere. The machines are the kind of vehicle that makes you excited just looking at them standing still. Bold, capable, purpose-built for terrain like this. And yet if you can drive a car, you can drive one of these. Grand Adventures has refined this route thousands of times, and the whole experience is engineered so that the thrill is fully accessible, not reserved for people with off-road experience or great technical skills.

You gear up, get a quick briefing, and go.

That is it.

The route climbs 15 miles up the historic Corona Pass Road through the Arapaho National Forest, gaining elevation as you wind through forests, over rocks, and across trails with just enough complexity to feel genuinely adventurous without ever tipping into stressful.

The guides set the pace and know every inch of the terrain. You are never navigating, never second-guessing, never wondering if the next section is beyond what your family can handle. And that containment is not a limitation. For a parent, it is everything. It is what finally allows you to stop managing the experience and just be inside it with your kids.

As you climb, the views start to open up in a way that builds perfectly. The Fraser Valley drops away behind you. The Rockies stretch out in every direction.

You pass the historic Moffat Railroad trestle, a remnant from when trains actually crossed these mountains at nearly 12,000 feet, and the guides bring that history alive at every stop. There are multiple places to get out, explore, take pictures, and let the moment sink in.

And then you reach the top.

Standing on the Continental Divide at the summit of Corona Pass is one of those views that earns its reputation. Almost 360 degrees of Colorado spread out around you, and you got there in a machine you drove yourself, through real terrain, as a family. That combination of accomplishment and shared experience is exactly what I am always chasing when I design adventures for people, and this delivers every single time.

What I have learned after all these years of doing this with kids is that the best family experiences share one quality. They permit parents

to enjoy themselves.

Not just tolerate the activity while keeping one eye on everyone else, but actually be present in it. This does that. From the moment you gear up in the parking lot to the moment you crest the Divide and everyone climbs out into that view, you are in it together. The smiles start before you leave and they do not stop.

Grand Adventures is one of my favourite operators anywhere in the world for exactly this reason. They understand that the best adventure is the one that works for everyone in your group, not just the most experienced person or the most fearless kid. They have built something here that hits every mark.

Winter Park is roughly 90 minutes from Denver. Book at grandadventures.com or call 970.726.9247. Tell them Reject Average sent you.