Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Hiking & Backpacking
Trails across the state beckon for day hikers and overnight backpackers between late May
and early October. Many of these trails are accessible by county and forest service roads
that are subject to closure. Contact the local ranger district if you plan on hiking early or
late in the season. Trails are accessible year-round in lower-elevation destinations such as
Boulder and Colorado National Monument.
Excellent long-distance trails for through hiking include the Colorado Trail and the
Continental Divide Trail (
www.continentaldividetrail.org
).
NATIONAL PARKS & MONUMENTS
Bent's Old Fort
National Historic
Site
In southeastern Colorado, on the north bank of the Arkansas River, this small site was an early
prairie trading post for settlers.
Black Canyon of
the Gunnison Na-
tional Park
The Gunnison River cut this deep, narrow and scenic western Colorado gorge nearly 2500ft be-
low the adjacent plateau. It also features forests of ancient piñon pines.
Colorado Nation-
al Monument
Once dinosaur country, this 18,000-acre reserve near Grand Junction, in western Colorado, dis-
plays the most colorful, distinctive forms that only erosion can create.
The Green and Yampa Rivers flow through this 298-sq-mile reserve in northeastern Utah and
northwestern Colorado, where dinosaur fossils lie in impressive quarries. Native American petro-
glyphs embellish nearby scenic canyons.
Dinosaur Nation-
al Monument
Florissant Fossil
Beds National
Monument
Volcanic ash covered this former lake bed in the mountains west of Colorado Springs, preserving
6000 acres of fossil flora and fauna, including petrified sequoias.
Great Sand
Dunes National
Park
This spectacular dune field spreads for approximately 55 sq miles in the San Luis Valley, with
the tallest dune rising, staggeringly, to almost 700ft.
Hovenweep Na-
tional Monument
In southwestern Colorado and southeastern Utah, this 300-acre monument preserves the ruins of
defensive fortifications that once protected a vital water supply for pre-Columbian inhabitants.
Mesa Verde Na-
tional Park
In southwestern Colorado, covering 80 sq miles, this park is primarily an archaeological pre-
serve. Its elaborate cliff dwellings are relics of Ancestral Puebloans.
Only a short hop from Denver, this park straddles the Continental Divide, offering 395 sq miles
of alpine forests, lakes and tundra covered by summer wildflowers and grazed by bighorn sheep
and elk.
Rocky Mountain
National Park
