12 Magic Moments on Colorado's Public Lands / COME TO LIFE With more than a third of Colorado’s 100,000 square miles made up of public lands, it’s easy to find an adventure in our 42 state parks, four national parks, eight national monuments and other public lands. Get inspired by Colorado’s spectacular natural backdrop with these 12 amazing experiences and find others on the map below. 25 DINOSAUR NM ROCKY Estes MOUNTAIN Park NP Grand Lake 76 COLORADO STATE & NATIONAL PARKS Colorado State Parks National Parks 70 70 25 FLORISSANT FOSSIL BEDS NM MCINNIS CANYONS NCA National Monuments National Conservation Areas COLORADO NM GUNNISON GORGE NCA DOMINGUEZ-ESCALANTE NCA BROWNS CANYON NM BLACK CANYON OF THE GUNNISON NP See full state map on page 80A and city index on page 215. GREAT SAND DUNES NP 25 HOVENWEEP NM CANYONS OF THE ANCIENTS NM CHIMNEY ROCK NM YUCCA HOUSE NM MESA VERDE NP FROM LEFT: MILES/ANNA ZOROMSKI; KENNAN HARVEY; NATIONAL PARK SERVICE; LORY STATE PARK. 9 Feel true enchantment on the high-desert plains, where sweeping grasslands and vast blue skies point the way to JOHN MARTIN RESERVOIR STATE PARK . In winter, watch thousands of snow geese migrate in formation and effortlessly glide into the water. Summer months are ideal for watching sunrise over glistening, dew-covered plains near Las Animas. q Commune with the subtle charms of the WEMINUCHE WILDERNESS AREA . At nearly 500,000 acres near Durango, Sil-verton and Pagosa Springs, it’s our largest and has natural marvels that leave folks speechless. But it’s the quieter things that draw you in: Snowshoe rabbits scampering across a path. Beavers slapping tails on the water. The shaking of a tree branch when a rose finch has just departed it. Visit COLORADO. com/Wilderness to find others. w Experience the profound quiet of snowy BLACK CANYON OF THE GUNNISON NATIONAL PARK . Stewards of the park near Montrose do winter explorers a generous favor: They don’t plow one of its main roads. When the snow starts falling, South Rim Road becomes a track for snowshoers and cross-country skiers who make their way across pristine powder to a canyon overlook. e Waltz among the wildflow-ers at LORY STATE PARK . Despite its closeness to Fort Collins, you feel like you’ve been airlifted into serenity on Lory’s 26 miles of hiking and biking trails, which meander through green valleys, scenic gulches and pine forests. Collect images of every hue from the canary-yellow blossom atop a prickly pear cactus and fiery orange blanket flower to the pale-pink gayfeather and Caribbean-sea-blue larkspur. WANT MORE? GO TO COLORADO.COM/OUTDOOR-ACTIVITIES. COLORADO.COM / 49
Colorado Official State Vacation Guide 2017: Page 49
