Top Reasons to Go

Top Reasons to Go

Pikes Peak: Katharine Bates wrote "America the Beautiful" after taking a wagon and then a mule ride to the top of Pikes Peak. Today you can ride in a train on a cog railway to the top for the same see-forever views of Colorado Springs to the Kansas border.

Sporting on the Arkansas: The Arkansas River is one of the most popular rivers for rafting and kayaking in the United States. Several companies offer a variety of rafting trips from gentle floats to Class V rapids.

The U.S. Air Force Academy: Visitors from all over the country come to this mountainside campus to see the cadets marching on the parade ground and learn more about the Academy that trains the future leaders of the Air Force. Many also attend services in the stunning, nondenominational Cadet Chapel, whose sleek towers framed by mountains make it the second-most-visited site in the state, after Rocky Mountain National Park.

Hiking a Fourteener: Coloradans collect hikes to the summit of Fourteeners—mountains that top 14,000 feet above sea level—like trophies. Choose your mountain wisely, because some climbs are much tougher than others, but if you're a hiker in good shape and have the proper equipment, you might want to tackle a route on one of the region's Fourteeners, such at Mount Princeton, Mount Yale, or Mount of the Holy Cross.

Playing on the Sand Dunes: Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve, one of nature's most spectacular sandboxes, will allow you to feel like a kid again as you hike up a 750-foot dune—sinking in every step of the way—and then roll down the other side.