I really don't know much of what to do out here but my last time out there was to spread my grandfathers ashes with family at the top of Mount Evans.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mount_Evans_Scenic_Byway
It features the highest paved road in North America so you can drive right up and have a short hike up to the summit. On the way back down pass through Idaho Springs and stop at Beau Jo's for some excellent pizza.
If you do visit Mount Evans, maybe wear one of your favorite borderline inappropriate t-shirts in honor of Grandpa Bob. 
PowerKraut wrote:
I'm a driver not a hiker 
Garden of the Gods is definitely on the list and the Cliff Dwellings.
We also would like to do an ATV tour and maybe zip-lining. Any operators you can recommend?
Colorado Springs (Pike's Peak, Garden of the Gods) and Mesa Verde are on opposite ends of the state with a fairly long drive in between. A fairly pretty drive (take Hwy 50 through Canon City to get there) but if you're going that far there are a lot of interesting things to do. ATV tours should be fairly strong in the Ouray area, although see the previous discussion about snow.
Alternately, from Colorado Springs, take Hwy 50 to Montrose then head south on 550 to get to Durango. It'll add an hour or two to the trip but it's worth it.
OK, current thinking is to skip Canon City entirely, hammer down straight from the airport all the way to Durango on Day 1. Four nights in Durango (booked the General Palmer Hotel). Planning to do the remaining three nights in Grand Junction, then blitz I70 to Denver on our departure day. Any recommendations for a reasonably priced, centrally located hotel in GJ would be most appreciated.
Also, thinking about just renting an SUV (which I'm sure will be some sort of pseudo-ute, not a real 4WD truck) to allow for light off-road driving rather than going with the day rental of a full-on Jeep. I'm not anticipating doing anything too stupid. Is the perceived benefit of higher ground clearance and AWD worth something, or am I dreaming?
Ground clearance will help if you want to go up to Animas Forks, but it's doable in a normal car. There's a way to get to Mineral Point from there as well. I can probably come up with directions if I think for a while. You'll go in from Silverton. Again, snow may be a thing as these roads are definitely not plowed.
Past Animas Forks, coming in to Mineral Point from the backside.
A tall vehicle will actually help with sightseeing, you can see over guardrails down into the chasms.
In GJ, look for one of the hotels on Main St by the convention center: Hampton Inn Downtown, Fairfield Inn & Suites or SpringHill Suites. Main St is a good place for walking, with a bunch of restaurants, cool stores (including a couple of photography galleries) and no franchises other than the hotels themselves 
It'll make for a good base of operations.
In reply to Keith Tanner:
I meant the Cliff Dwellings in Manitou Springs, not in Mesa Verde
What are your dates in May? Late will be better for backcountry driving. Winters here are very inconsistent, and so is meltout. Can get you better information closer to the dates, but a ballpark idea of the dates would help us make recommendations. The monument up by Junction is great as well - red rocks, not pointy mountains. In SW Colorado you can have pretty much anything within a couple of hours drive.
If you get to drive just one backcountry "Jeep" road, for scenery it should probably be Yankee Boy Basin out of Ouray - just 8 miles, and a passenger car can drive about 2/3 of it these days, but it's pretty amazing.
Side note on C. W. McCall - real name Bill Fries, he's in his 80s now but still lives in town, and still has that great speaking voice. A good guy, served three terms as mayor of Ouray.
The 25 miles between Silverton and Ouray on 550 will take you around 45 minutes, but should not be missed - one of America's most scenic drives. Allow a couple of hours between Durango and Ouray, partly due to scenery, partly due to twisty road, partly due to Winnebagos on the twisty road. This ain't the Dragon, you won't get to go fast - and no guard rails (helps with snow removal).
OK, got the itinerary locked in: Durango (4) -> Ouray (2) -> Grand Junction (1). Hotels in GJ were a problem, so we opted for an intermediate stop in Ouray. Now just trying to nail down the rental car. Had one booked through Hertz, then read the multiple horror stories of their Denver airport location. Cancelled that. Now working on trying to find a similar price through Enterprise.
Really appreciate all the help, with special thanks to Jim and Keith. I owe each of you a beer at least. I'll PM once we get close to our departure date and see if we can find a time when I can make good on that debt.
