Colorado Parks

Any season of the year is the correct season to experience Colorado’s parks. With forty-two currently open and two more being developed, there is plenty of opportunity to enjoy the wonders of nature and pursue invigorating recreational activities.

There are 54 mountain peaks over 14,000 feet to explore. With some of the highest dunes in the Great Sand Dunes National Park, one can hike to the top then slide or sand-board down, build sand sculptures or simply take in the scents and sights of the diverse flora and fauna. Rocky Mountain National Park has elevations between 8,000 feet to 14,259 feet for activities such as: backpacking, bicycling, birding, camping, equestrian riding, fishing, horse pack trips, natural wildlife viewing, and snowshoeing. The Arkansas Headwaters Recreation Area, covering some of the lowest areas, spans 150 miles of the Arkansas River and offers fishing, rafting, kayaking, picnicking, hiking, camping, mountain biking, and sightseeing among deep canyons, broad valleys and towering mountain peaks.

If history is a passion, archaeological sites are protected in Mesa Verde National Park, where cliff dwellings, native multi-story buildings, sandstone shelters and other ruins dating back 1500 years are toured. Dinosaur Ridge, Dinosaur Monument, and Picketwire Canyon offer even earlier historic sites. Other early historic sites include Bent’s Old Fort, Fort Garland, Fort Uncompahgre, and the Frontier Pathways Scenic and Historic Byway offer investigation of life of the frontier and West. Bachelor Syracuse Mine or towns such as Breckenridge, Leadville and Central City lets one know what the mining boom was like.

The Colorado Parks offer many ways to experience Colorado’s unique nature.