Colorado Tourism
The images you see on this site are a good cross section of the beautiful scenery in the state of Colorado. Our state has as great a selection of tourist attractions as you will find anywhere in the United States.
Colorado National Parks and National Monuments provide a diverse selection of environs including mountains, grasslands, semi-arid desert, archeological cornucopia, and historic landmarks. Colorado state parks are very beautiful and varied as well.
Colorado Recreation
Many people choose Colorado for their vacations because they like to include backpacking, biking, downhill skiing, cross country skiing, snow shoeing, snowmobiling, skating, river rafting, mountain climbing, or golf into their trip. More adventuresome folks will rock climb, snowmobile in the backcountry, take a jeep tour over steep mountain passes not accessible by paved roads, and bungy jump off the Royal Gorge bridge.
For laid back people, we also have great historic tours, calm mountain lakes on which to canoe, short day-hikes, safe wildlife viewing, gambling, national park visits and relaxing mountain drives.
What To See in Colorado
Aspen viewing is a popular autumn activity in Colorado, with outstanding contrasts of summer green grass, gold and rust aspen trees, with snow capped peaks in the southwest mountain areas of the San Juan mountains. The Sneffels range is located here, as well as the "Million Dollar Highway"— US 550. All the major towns are national historic districts.
History buffs will love Colorado! From archeological sites at Dinosaur National Park in the northwest corner to the Anasazi Country in southwest Colorado where you will find Mesa Verde National Park ancient history is visible here. The San Juan mountains include many hisoric mines, and just about every town is a National Historic District. While on the west slope, take a Colorado wine tour across the vineyard regions around Grand Junction and Palisade.
Rocky Mountain National Park is located just an hour north of Denver in the north central area of the state. It straddles the Continental Divide between Estes Park on the east and Grand Lake on the West. Lodging is plentiful and the activities include walking the galleries in both towns, and a trip to the visitor center on the summit at the continental divide. Elk viewing is incredibly popular in the park. Hiking to the primary visitor lakes is easy and the drive across the park on Trail Ridge Road provides breathtaking views of the Rocky Mountains.
A few hundred miles to the west lays "Ski Town, USA", Steamboat Springs. If you want to experience real Colorado snow skiing, head to Steamboat Springs. But the area also is an outdoorsman's heaven for fishing and hunting around the Yampa River.
Most of Colorado's nationally known ski resorts are scattered from north to south along the continental divide. Summit County is known as "Colorado's Playground" for winter and summer time activities. But don't miss Winter Park just southwest of Rocky Mountain National Park. Winter Park ski area is open year around. When the snow melts, the ski lifts are used to bring mountain bikers up to trails that traverse the mountain, and a alpine slide that resembles a bobsled run, but is ridden on a sled with wheels.
The popular ski towns of Vail, and Aspen are located just about in the center of the state. But for a more small town experience, try Crested Butte. It's a little harder to get to, but worth it if you want to get away from the jet set. Crested Butte also has excellent wildflower meadows in the summertime.
The southern portion of the state contains, agricultural lands, the tallest sand dunes in the nation, hot springs, and even some snow skiing. The Sangre De Cristo mountains are all the more majestic because of the stark contrast of the high plains from which they spring.
Colorado national forests are a real treasures. They are scattered north to south across the entire state and offer excellent opportunities for camping, guided fishing expeditions and hunting -- as well as an oppertunity to find your inner peace again! All of the forests provide excellent aspen tree scenery, but be sure to stop and appreciate the spruce and pine groupings as well.
The main arterials for transportation are I-25, running north and south along the front range, and I-70 crossing Colorado east and west. But don't forget to get off the beaten path. Our scenic byways include Guanella Pass, Mount Evans, Peak to Peak highway, and Cache La Poudre-North Park in the North Central; Pawnee Pioneer Trails and South Platte River Trail in the Northeast; Colorado River Headwaters, Flat Tops Trail, and Grand Mesa in the Northwest; Los Caminos Antiguos, Top of the Rockies, Silver Thread, Gold Belt Tour, and Frontier Pathways in the South Central; Highway of Legends, and Santa Fe Trail in the Southeast; and Alpine Loop, Trail of the Ancients, San Juan Skyway, Unaweep/Tabeguache and West Elk Loop in the Southwest.
Happy Vacationing! Remember, you don't need to see it all in one visit.