Pick-Your-Passion Itineraries / COME TO LIFE Denver Estes Park Grand Lake STOPS: 1 ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK The ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK 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 70 34 2 GREAT SAND DUNES NATIONAL PARK & LONGS PEAK AND GLACIER GORGE FROM BEAR LAKE IN ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK, GLENN RANDALL. 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 BLACK CANYON OF THE GUNNISON NATIONAL PARK Montrose 50 GREAT SAND DUNES NATIONAL PARK & PRESERVE 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 550 Cortez Alamosa 4 BLACK CANYON OF THE GUNNISON 160 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 MESA VERDE NATIONAL PARK 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. COLORADO.COM / 79
Colorado Official State Vacation Guide 2019: Page 79
