Pick-Your-Passion Itineraries / COME TO LIFE Denver Estes Park Grand Lake STOPS: 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 1 ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK 70 34 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 2 GREAT SAND DUNES NATIONAL PARK & BLACK CANYON OF THE GUNNISON NATIONAL PARK Montrose 50 ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK, EFRAÍN M. PADRÓ. 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 3 MESA VERDE NATIONAL PARK GREAT SAND DUNES NATIONAL PARK 550 Cortez Alamosa 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 4 BLACK CANYON OF THE GUNNISON 160 MESA VERDE NATIONAL PARK LEAVE NO TRACE HELP US SAVE THESE SPECIAL PLACES FOR GENERATIONS TO COME BY STAYING ON TRAILS AND ROADS, PICKING UP TRASH AND HEEDING SIGNS. VISIT LNT.ORG FOR MORE INFORMATION. To find volunteer opportunities in areas you plan to visit, download the YourCo app. WANT MORE? SEE PAGE 40 AND VISIT COLORADO.COM/NATIONALPARKS. COLORADO.COM / 79
Colorado Official State Vacation Guide 2018: Page 79
