Planning a summer vacation in Colorado is easy since there are so many things to do and places to see, yet impossible to list everything. With four National Parks, two National Grasslands, eleven National Forests, six National Monuments, one UNESCO World Heritage Site and too many festivals to keep track of, there is always something to do and see in Colorado.

Mountain climbing, hiking and biking

Colorado is the highest state in the lower forty-eight. If you like activities in the mountains then Colorado is the place. It is easy to find a mountain to climb, since there are 54 mountain peaks in Colorado that are over 14,000 feet in elevation (4,267 meters). These are known as 14’ers. For getting to the top, they range from the easiest category of class 1 to the hardest category of class 5. The class 1 mountains are mainly groomed trails. You still need to be in shape to hike at two miles above sea level. If you plan to go up one of these mountains, one word of advice is to always do this in the morning and be off the mountain by noon, that is when thunderstorms can suddenly appear and you never want to be caught on a mountain in a thunderstorm.

If you don’t feel like getting to the top of a mountain, there are plenty of mountain hikes where you can see alpine life from tundra flowers to big horn sheep. There are guided hikes as well to view wildlife and birds, plus many trails dedicated for mountain biking.

More mountains, driving high

You can drive up Pikes Peak or take the train to the top. You can drive the highest paved road in North America up Mount Evans. There used to be a restaurant at the top and the owner would drive people back down the mountain who thought they couldn’t take that drive back down the mountain, but the restaurant burned and it hasn’t been rebuilt. The drive up can be spectacular and the drive back down a bit of a white-knuckle experience for some. According to MountEvans.com the top 5 miles has grades of 2-5% but since you are above 12,000 feet it will feel like 10-15% grade. You can drive Trail Ridge Road in Rocky Mountain National Park, the highest continuous highway in the country, with more then eight miles above 11,000 feet with a grade never exceeding 7%, which is half as steep as the nearby Fall River Road. Trail Ridge climbs 4,000 feet in minutes as you climb above timberline to a top elevation of 12,183 feet (3,713 m). You could also drive to the highest city in the US, Leadville, CO. at 10,430 feet (3,179 m) above sea level.

National Parks

Colorado has four National Parks and each one unique in their own way.

• Rocky Mountain National Park located about 65 miles northwest of Denver. The park is 415 square miles in the middle of the Rocky Mountains on the continental divide. There are 60 mountains over 12,000 feet with the tallest being Longs Peak at 14, 259 feet. You can hike or climb Longs Peak and sign your name at the top. In the park you can see alpine and tundra flowers and wildlife including eagles, raptors, big horn sheep and elk. You can drive scenic routes, hike, climb mountains and there is also a shuttle bus that makes it easier to get to trailheads and other places without having to drive and then find parking.
• Mesa Verde National Park in southwestern Colorado is one of the countries best archeological preserves and also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. With cliff dwellings and 4,000 ancient sites built by the ancient Pueblo people known as the Anasazi. They built their homes in cliffs and under overhangs around 1200 A.D.
• Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve is located in south central Colorado near Alamosa and is home to the tallest sand dunes in North America. These sand dunes, possibly as old as 10,000 years are still growing and they change shape every day with the wind. The park also has tundra flowers and wildlife and six mountains over 13,000 feet above sea level. This might be the most unique and beautiful National Park in the United States.
• Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park is 250 miles southwest of Denver near Montrose, Colorado. The narrow canyon walls drop straight down 2,000 feet into the Gunnison River. The park has numerous warnings and you need to be careful, with the steep vertical drops along the trails and kayaking is restricted to the most experienced kayakers. The park has incredible views of nearby mountain ranges, the Gunnison River and bird watching along areas known as Chasm View, SOB draw, Exclamation Point and Deadhorse Gulch. Due to the dangers in the park, pets are not allowed because of the possibility of running off the shear drops.

National Monuments

• Colorado National Monument located near Fruita, Colorado is a monument to the beauty of the western valleys and high mesas of western Colorado. Brightly colored plateau and canyon country with naturally sculpted rocks that tower 2,000 feet above the Colorado River. This area is part of the geological formation known as the Colorado Plateau, which also forms the Grand Canyon, Bryce Canyon and the Arches.
• Hovenweep in southwestern Colorado near Cortez protects six pre-historic Puebloan-era villages spread over twenty miles.
• Yucca House is near Cortez and is part of Mesa Verde ancient Puebloan villages. There are no fees or facilities here.
• Canyon of the Ancients is a museum preserving the history of the culture and history of the four-corners area of the Ancestral Puebloans, Ute and Navajo Native Americans and Anglo settlers.
• Dinosaur National Monument in western Colorado north of Grand Junction on the Utah border is home to a large deposit of dinosaur bones and prehistoric fossils of fish and plant life from millions of years ago.
• Florissant fossil beds in southern Colorado near Divide is home to many more fossilized plants, animals and giant petrified tree stumps showing a very different climate and time for this part of the US.

Interesting factoid about the sand dunes

There are numerous streams in Sand Dunes National Park, if it weren’t for the streams the sand dunes would blow away.

In the second part of this Colorado vacation article, the National Grasslands and many other sights, activities and festivals will be listed.

Plan a summer vacation in Colorado part 2

Sightseeing guide to Denver, Colorado

Tips on how to acclimate yourself for a high-country vacation