2018-12-10 07:23:29
The thing about our four National Parks is how amazingly different they all are. You’ll come upon landscapes in one that you won’t find in any other park. So, really, you can’t just see one — you’ve gotta collect them all! 8 DAYS RECOMMENDED, 630 MILES STOPS: 1 ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK The park welcomes millions of visitors each year and still manages to nurture cravings for solitude. Daybreak is the best time to explore the park’s stunning see-through lakes, sweeping meadows and dew-spritzed forests. Top picks: Drive Trail Ridge Road (summer only), hike/snowshoe to Chasm Falls, peek in on the elk herd in Moraine Park 2 GREAT SAND DUNES NATIONAL PARK & PRESERVE Nestled in a spot where the Sangre de Cristo Mountains buckle inward, the highest mountains of sand in North America have been building and shifting for eons — the result of the San Luis Valley’s unique wind patterns. Top picks: Sled or sandboard down the dunes, splash around in Medano Creek, hike a dune at dusk — when the light gives them a rich gold color and shadows snake across them 3 MESA VERDE NATIONAL PARK Mesa Verde’s Ancestral Puebloan cliff dwellings have been inspiring interest in this ancient culture for more than 100 years. Tucked securely into cliff walls, the adobe-constructed homes, buildings and kivas are a novel sight. Top picks: Cliff Palace tour, Chapin Mesa Archeological Museum, Mesa Top Loop Road drive 4 BLACK CANYON OF THE GUNNISON NATIONAL PARK Sheer black walls plummet almost 2,700 feet on this 53-mile stretch of narrow gorge, revealing millions of years of natural history and so named because the walls are often shrouded in shadows, making them appear black. Top picks: Gold Medal fishing, Morrow Point boat tours, dark-sky stargazing ranger programs COLORADO FIELD GUIDE ESTABLISHED IN 2017 We have even more itineraries on our website that will get you around Colorado with the ease of a local — especially to the places many visitors don’t even know about! Visit COLORADO.com/FieldGuide. CARE FOR COLORADO With a little preparation, a spirit of adventure, and a soft spot for nature and the past, you’ll be on the trail to exploring Colorado like a local. See page 17 for more information. WANT MORE? SEE PAGE 41 & VISIT COLORADO.COM/NATIONALPARKS.
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