COME TO LIFE / 12 Magic Moments on Colorado's Public Lands 12 magic moments ON COLORADO’S PUBLIC LANDS HELP US SAVE THESE SPECIAL PLACES FOR GENERATIONS TO COME BY STAYING ON TRAILS AND ROADS, PICKING UP TRASH AND HEEDING SIGNS. To find volunteer opportunities in areas you plan to visit, download the YourCo app. There’s nothing like a hike through rugged, untamed wilderness or a peaceful picnic amid colorful wildflowers to awaken the imagination and stir the senses. 1 Feel an exhilarating 5 Zip along the uncrowded waters of NAVAJO STATE PARK . Expansive stretches of water wrap around flat-topped mesas and steep-sided canyons. Treat yourself to a glowing orange and pink sunset hike on the scenic Piedra Trail, climb alongside Navajo Lake from Windsurf Beach to Arboles Point and gaze out over the streaming river. 6 Walk in dinosaur footprints in COMANCHE NATIONAL GRASSLAND . Standing in Picketwire Canyon with your foot swallowed by a three-toed impression left in the bedrock by a brontosaurus 150 million years ago, one’s imagination runs wild picturing what it might have looked like when dinosaurs inhabited the area near today’s La Junta. The footprints are reached after a flat 5-mile hike, bike or horse ride. 7 Cool off in the brisk water at GREAT SAND DUNES NATIONAL PARK & PRESERVE . Each spring Medano Creek emerges from the mountains behind the dunes near Alamosa to form a gently flowing stream. Visitors cool hot feet after tromping around the dunes, build sandcastles and splash around in its rhythmic waves before it retreats back into the mountains in July. 8 Hear the crescendo of the powerful triple waterfall in RIFLE FALLS STATE PARK . On a hot summer day, the mist that drifts from the exhilarating gush of water over 70-foot-high limestone cliffs and the dark caves below are a sublime natural air condi-tioner. These geologic attractions near Rifle draw photographers, spelunkers, fishers and campers to this singular state park. It’s an understatement to say the scene created by the waterfalls is picture perfect. 48 / COLORADO.COM CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT; BUREAU OF LAND MANAGEMENT; JASON LEWANDOWSKI; LISA SEAMAN; MILES/DENISE CHAMBERS; GREAT SAND DUNES NATIONAL PARK & PRESERVE; FLICKR/GREG WILLIS; CLASSIC VISIONS. stomach somersault as your boat shoots the whitewater rapids in BROWNS CANYON NATIONAL MONUMENT — the state’s newest, near Salida. One of the nation’s most popular locations for rafting, this Arkansas River-carved beauty also hosts fishers, campers, mountain bikers, ATVers, cross-country skiers, hikers and Collegiate Peaks Scenic By-way drivers. The canyon is also a great place to see bighorn sheep (Colorado’s state mammal), elk, deer, eagles, falcons and many other wildlife species. 2 Frame photos through the arches in MCINNIS CANYONS NATIONAL CONSERVATION AREA . North America’s sec-ond-largest concentration of natural arches can be found in this area near Grand Junction. There are no paved roads or high-tech visitor centers, but 4x4 trails and a rugged hike can lead prepared adventurers to the most spectacular red-rock arches, spires, rock bridges and caves. 3 Explore ancient dwellings tucked into the cliffs of MESA VERDE NATIONAL PARK . Seven hundred years ago, Ancestral Puebloans lived in these intricate structures made of clay and stone, which are nestled beneath the cavernous cliffs of sandstone mesas. Explore these ancient ruins, as well as thousands of other archeological sites near Cortez. 4 Watch for wildlife in the MOUNT ZIRKEL WILDERNESS . With 170 miles of trails that vary in elevation by 5,000 feet, it may seem as though this area near Clark would lure only the most experienced trekkers. But it’s not quite as rugged as it sounds — gradual rises in elevation make it a good first-time (albeit well-prepared) backpacking adventure, with almost guaran-teed moose and elk sightings.
Colorado Official State Vacation Guide 2017: Page 48
