Beauty of nature everywhere in Colorado

If there is one state I feel God spent more time fashioning together it’s my birthplace, Colorado.  I lived there for three years in the mountains about 70 miles west of Denver. During that time and a few subsequent summers later, I have been able to do some roaming around and will write about some of my travel recommendations.

The main thing to remember about many of the Western states is that one can’t mess up. The beauty is everywhere. Also, you might enjoy a small town that no media has ever reported on.  Plan a bit, but also just see where you end up.

Like other mountainous states, there are plenty of mountain trails to hike. Colorado has almost six hundred 13,000 foot, fifty-eight 14,000 foot, and other mountains just as majestic but not quite as tall waiting for footprints to massage them. Want to experience the mountains from your car?  Drive on any of the mountain passes to get close to the same feeling you would if you had hiked them.

Loveland:  The free Chapungu Sculpture Park has more than 80 Zimbabwean stone sculptures and is a nice stopover before getting to Estes Park.

Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP): Due to some of the fires that happened in the fall, much of this park is currently closed. When it does open, drive on Trail Ridge road (the US’s highest continuously paved road) after the winter either from the Estes Park or Grand Lake side to see spectacular sights through the park and hike various trails. Another recommended drive from the Estes Park side is to take the graveled 11-mile Old Fall River Road, which was the first auto route through the park.

Estes Park: Drive through a mind-blowing canyon to get here and try not to draw too many stares from your shouts as you see the mountainous views and elk meandering around town. The Estes side of RMNP is the most popular and well-known gateway to RMNP due to (I’m guessing) its accessibility from the interstate and Denver. Places to stay would be The YMCA of the Rockies, the Stanley Hotel, or at any of the cabins along the river.  I worked at the Y’s other location on the other end of RMNP outside Granby, which is another area worth your time to visit and stay. If you want to do a very challenging hike outside of town, do Longs Peak.

Boulder: If coming from I-70, head north on Highway 119 from Idaho Springs to Nederland, and then drive east to Boulder for yet another canyon drive. I stayed at the Boulder Adventure Lodge, which is a hostel. Enjoy the unusually shaped Flat Iron mountains.

Colorado Springs:  There is much to see in this area. Some of the places many will be familiar with are Garden of the Gods and Pike's Peak, where you can either take the world’s highest cog train up to the top or hike up the over 14,000-foot mountain. The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Training Center resides here as do about 500 of its coaches and athletes.

Manitou Springs:  A unique town close to the Springs. There are places around town to put fresh spring water into a water bottle along with a penny arcade to play old-school arcade games many of us grew up with.

Canon City: First head to the Royal Gorge, which until 2001used to be the world’s highest bridge (China’s Duge Bridge now owns that title.) To get across it, walk or zipline sitting down. On the other side, there are various attractions-even a ripcord over part of the canyon. This bridge goes over the Arkansas River and one of the deepest gorges in Colorado. Next, check out the Colorado Prison Museum in order to feel as if you are in a maximum security prison and to read the history of the inmates who were once there.

Great Sand Dunes NP:  You can just roll down the sand or rent a sand sled or board, go to the visitor center, and hike. There is a cool alien place called the UFO Watchtower close to the dunes heading north on Highway 17 just past Hooper with a gift shop and an area to view the surrounding San Isabel National Forest or possible UFOs at night. Take the time to wander around to see the odd assortment of items left by people hoping to have a connection with other beings.

Pagosa Springs:  Has three different hot spring businesses to choose from with varied levels of fancy.  If you are trying to save money, just skip them and go to the free one on the river. Ask the locals, and they’ll let you know where it is. There is less room but equally as good and interesting company there.

Mesa Verde NP:  To walk where the Pueblo Indians lived for over 700 years, check out a cliff tour when they are available. Right now they aren’t open to tour, but you can see some of them from the road.

Telluride:  After the ski season, take the free Gondola up the mountain and hike the See Forever Trail to feel as if you are in the Alps or another mountainous place.  This town has the most 13 and 14,000-foot mountains in North America. There are plenty of hikes and biking in the area. You might even get lucky on the trail like I did and see adrenaline junkies on their mountain bikes or AmeriCorps workers eating lunch resting from doing trail maintenance. The campground in town was full, so I stayed outside Sawpit at a BLM (Bureau of Land Management) free campground called Fall Creek Recreation site. There were a few people who stayed in their RV right off the road and some tenters as well, which was perfectly legal. If you have a 4-wheel drive vehicle, you’ll be able to do some free camping closer to town.
Ridgeway:  There is a clothing optional hot springs called Orvis Hot Springs, which costs $22. Not everyone would be comfortable walking around strangers naked, but the people were very respectful, I had a number of interesting conversations, and the patrons were from all over the USA as well as local.

Million Dollar Highway:  This stretches from Silverton to Ouray. There is an old mine, and places to take photos and hike. On the trail in Telluride, I met a gal from Boulder who recommended hiking her favorite trail, the Ice Lakes (currently closed due to the fall fire) outside Silverton. She said it is very packed, you’ll need a 4-wheel drive vehicle to get to the trail head, and to camp as close to it the night before hiking as possible.

Black Canyon of the Gunnison NP: Located outside Montrose (South Rim) and Crawford (North Rim), with the Gunnison river running through here. See it and its canyon walls from the rim.
Blue Mesa Reservation: On the way to Gunnison, with fishing, swimming, and boating opportunities, enjoy Colorado’s largest lake.
Crested Butte: Since I had arrived so late in the evening, I wasn’t able to find a cheap open campground so parked in a parking lot of a BLM campground and “slept” in the backseat of my car right outside town.  This is another ski town that has hiking, mountain biking, a good farmer’s market, and ma and pa shops. If you have time, you can hike from here to the Maroon Bells in Aspen, which are probably the most photographed set of mountains in the state. Aspen is a town known as being where the wealthy live and the “regulars” can’t afford. There is a John Denver memorial in town that is worth your time to see.

Colorado National Monument: Near Grand Junction. I haven’t been here for many years but remember loving seeing the beautiful red rocks and hiking around to see spectacular views.

Dinosaur National Monument: Part of this is in CO, and part in Utah. To see a plethora of stars and wade in the Green River, stay at the Green River Campground. There are places nearby to see petroglyphs and a homestead where a single lady, Josie Bassett Morris, stayed for 50 years. Rocks shaped like dinosaur faces and a building where you can see dinosaur bones inside the museum reside here also. This is in the far NW corner of the state.

Glenwood Springs: Getting here from I-70, one sees yet another beautiful canyon, has a famous hike, the Hanging Garden, right outside town (permit needed) as well as the largest mineral hot springs pool in the world. It has an old West feel with biking, white water rafting, kayaking, and visiting caves as its popular attractions.

I-70: Avon, Vail, Silverthorne, Dillon, Frisco, etc.: Stop at any of these towns to find skiing, shopping, hiking, biking, and beauty. There is an amazing bike trail that goes through the various ski resorts like Breckenridge, A-Basin, and Keystone. I started in Frisco and biked around the reservoir on a day with clear blue skies and happy tourists. In the winter, I took a free bus around the resorts just to take in the scenery.

Mount Evans scenic highway: Close to Idaho Springs off I-70, about 60 miles west of Denver, drive up America's highest paved road. If you have time to hike, slowly and safely follow the cairns (piles of rocks) to the top or just drive up.

I just scratched the surface of places to visit in the #1 state in America (my opinion). My recommendation is to just drive anywhere north, south, or west of Denver and see where you end up. The entire state is a gem, and you won’t be disappointed.

As travel again becomes an option, Karen Hendrickson offers a guide to visiting Colorado. Hendrickson is a Kasson-Mantorville High School graduate who now teacher ESL in Rochester.