Colorado Travel Guide

GALLERY

A playground for nature lovers and outdoor enthusiasts, Colorado has majestic landscapes, raging rivers, and winding trails perfect for activities from biking to rafting. The heart of the Rocky Mountains has scores of snow-capped summits towering higher than 14,000 feet and trails from easy to challenging for exploring them—as well as roads offering spectacular drives. Skiers flock to the slopes here for the champagne powder and thrilling downhill runs. Need a break from the outdoors? Urban adventures await in cool cities like Denver, Boulder, and Aspen.

Guidebooks for Every Journey

Fodor's Colorado

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Fodor's Essential Southwest: The Best of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, and Utah

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Fodor's Complete Guide to the National Parks of the USA: All 63 parks from Maine to American Samoa

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Fodor's The Complete Guide to the National Parks of the West: with the Best Scenic Road Trips

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Fodor's Best Weekend Road Trips

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ROAD TRIPS

The Best of Colorado

Aimee Heckel

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Guidebooks for Every Journey

Fodor's Colorado

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Fodor's Essential Southwest: The Best of Arizona, Colorado, New Mexico, Nevada, and Utah

Easy Planning
Local Writers
Itineraries
Helpful Maps

Buy Now See All Guideboks

Fodor's Complete Guide to the National Parks of the USA: All 63 parks from Maine to American Samoa

Buy Now See All Guideboks

Fodor's The Complete Guide to the National Parks of the West: with the Best Scenic Road Trips

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Local Writers
Itineraries
Helpful Maps

Buy Now See All Guideboks

Fodor's Best Weekend Road Trips

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Local Writers
Itineraries
Helpful Maps

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Top Destinations

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Vail Valley

If Aspen is Colorado's Hollywood East, then her rival Vail is Wall Street West. So popular is this ski resort with the monied East Coast...

Aspen and the Roaring Fork Valley

The Roaring Fork Valley—and Aspen, its crown jewel—is the quintessential Colorado Rocky Mountain High. A row of the state's famed Fourteeners (peaks over 14,000 feet)...

Aspen

One of the world's fabled resorts, Aspen practically defines glitz, glamour, and glorious skiing. To the uninitiated, Aspen and Vail might be synonymous. Between the...

Keystone

One of the region's most laid-back destinations, Keystone is understandably popular with families and, as the state's largest night skiing operation (with lifts running until...

Granby

The small, no-nonsense town of Granby (elevation 7,935 feet) serves the working ranches in Grand County, and you’ll see plenty of cowboys. What the town...

Fort Collins

The city sits on the cusp of the high plains of eastern Colorado, but is sheltered on the west by the lower foothills of the...

Boulder

No place in Colorado better epitomizes the state’s outdoor mania than Boulder, where sunny weather keeps locals busy through all seasons. The bicycle count rivals...

Boulder and North Central Colorado

With spectacular scenery and an equally appealing climate, north central Colorado contains a string of sophisticated yet laid-back cities and endless opportunities for outdoor adventure...

Grand Lake

The tiny town of Grand Lake, known to locals as Grand Lake Village, is doubly blessed by its surroundings. It’s the western gateway to Rocky...

Glenwood Springs

Once upon a time, Glenwood Springs, the famed spa town that forms the western apex of a triangle with Vail and Aspen, was every bit...

Southwest Colorado

The reddish rocks found in much of the state, particularly in the southwest, give Colorado its name. The region's terrain varies widely—from yawning black canyons...

Outside Great Sand Dunes National Park

The vast expanse one sees from the dunes is the San Luis Valley. Covering 8,000 square miles (and with an average altitude of 7,500 feet)...

Great Sand Dunes National Park

Created by winds that sweep the San Luis Valley floor, the enormous sand dunes that form the heart of Great Sand Dunes National Park and...

Side Trips from Denver

If you have ever wondered why folks living along the Front Range—as the area west of Denver and east of the Continental Divide is known—continually...

Denver

You can tell from its skyline alone that Denver is a major metropolis, with a Major League Baseball stadium at one end of downtown and...

Crested Butte

Like Aspen, the town of Crested Butte was once a small mining village (albeit for coal, not silver). The Victorian gingerbread-trim houses remain, many of...

Copper Mountain

Once little more than a series of strip malls, Copper Mountain is now a thriving resort with a bustling base. The resort's heart is a...

Winter Park

Winter Park Resort is easily navigable from the small village at the base anchored by Zephyr Mountain Lodge and the Fraser Crossing and Founders Pointe...

South Central Colorado

Stretching from majestic mountains into rugged, high desert plains, south central Colorado has plenty of 14,000-foot peaks, astounding natural hot springs, striking red-rock outcroppings, rivers...

Golden

Golden was once the territorial capital of Colorado. City residents have smarted ever since losing that distinction to Denver by "dubious" vote in 1867, but...

Gunnison

At the confluence of the Gunnison River and Tomichi Creek, Gunnison is an old mining and ranching community and college town. It’s been adopted by...

Summit County

Summit County, a mere hour's drive from the Denver Metro Area on a straight shot up I–70, is Denver's playground. The wide-open mountain park ringed...

Colorado Springs

The contented residents of the Colorado Springs area believe they live in an ideal location, and it's hard to argue with them. To the west...

Ouray

The town of Ouray (pronounced you-ray) is nestled in a narrow, steep-walled canyon in the shadow of the San Juan Mountains. It was named for...

Durango

Wisecracking Will Rogers had this to say about Durango: "It's out of the way and glad of it." His statement is a bit unfair, considering...

Steamboat Springs and Northwest Colorado

Varied terrain attracts bold outdoors enthusiasts, and genteel towns are tucked among the craggy cliffs for those seeking quieter pursuits. Whatever your choice, the northwest...

Silverton

Glorious peaks surround Silverton, an old mining community. The town reputedly got its name when a miner exclaimed, "We ain’t got much gold but we...

Telluride

Tucked away between the azure sky and the gunmetal mountains is Telluride, the colorful mining town–turned–ski resort famous for its celebrity visitors (Oprah Winfrey, Tom...

Salida

Imposing peaks, including 14,000-plus-foot Mount Shavano, dominate the town of Salida, which is on the Arkansas River. Salida draws some of the musicians who appear...

Ridgway

The 19th-century railroad town of Ridgway has been the setting for some classic Westerns, including True Grit (the original John Wayne version) and How the...

Georgetown

Georgetown rode the crest of the silver boom during the second half of the 19th century. Most of the impeccably maintained brick buildings that make...

Palisade

Palisade is Colorado's version of Napa Valley, with the highest concentration of wineries in the state. It's an easy day trip from Grand Junction; meander...

Nederland

A former mining and mill town at the top of Boulder Canyon and on the scenic Peak to Peak Highway, "Ned" embodies that small, mountain-town...

Breckenridge

Breckenridge was founded in 1859, when gold was discovered in the surrounding hills. For the next several decades the town's fortunes rose and fell as...

Creede

Creede, a flash-in-the-pan silver town, was known in its heyday as Colorado’s rowdiest mining camp. When silver was discovered here in 1889, hotels, saloons, banks...

Frisco

Keep going past the hodgepodge of strip malls near the interstate and you'll find that low-key Frisco has a downtown district trimmed with restored B&Bs...

Snowmass

One of four ski mountains owned by Aspen Skiing Company and one of the best intermediate hills in the country, Snowmass has more ski-in ski-out...

Leadville

Sitting in the mountains at 10,152 feet, Leadville is America's highest incorporated city. The 70 square blocks of Victorian architecture and adjacent mining district hint...

San Luis and Fort Garland Loop

To get a real feel for this area, take an easy driving loop from Alamosa that includes San Luis and Fort Garland. In summer, take...

Colorado National Monument

Colorado's version of red rock is nowhere more spectacularly on display than at Colorado National Monument. Created between 65 and 225 million years ago, the...

Steamboat Springs

Steamboat got its name from French trappers who, after hearing the bubbling and churning hot springs, mistakenly thought a steamboat was chugging up the Yampa...

Buena Vista

Skyscraping mountains, the most impressive being the Collegiate Peaks, ring Buena Vista (pronounced byoo-na vis-ta by locals). The 14,000-foot, often snowcapped peaks were first summited...

Grand Junction

Grand Junction is where the mountains and desert meet at the confluence of the mighty Colorado and Gunnison rivers—a grand junction indeed. No matter which...

Grand Mesa

Small, quiet towns along the 63-mile Grand Mesa Scenic and Historic Byway (Highway 65) provide just enough support for the plethora of outdoor opportunities available...

Meeker

Once an outpost of the U.S. Army, Meeker is still a place where anyone in camouflage is in fashion. Famous for its annual sheepdog championships—a...

Craig

Craig is home to some of the best fishing in the area. Guided trips to the hottest fishing spots are available, as are horseback pack...

Rangely

The center of one of the last areas in the state to be explored by European settlers, Rangely was dubbed an "isolated empire" by early...

Pueblo

In 1842 El Pueblo trading post, on the bank of the Arkansas River, was a gathering place for trappers and traders. Today the trading post...

Pagosa Springs

Although not a large town, Pagosa Springs has become a major center for outdoor sports. Hiking, biking, and cross-country skiing opportunities abound here, and there’s...

Alamosa

The San Luis Valley's major city is a casual, central base from which to explore the region and visit the Great Sand Dunes...

Montrose

The self-described "Home of the Black Canyon" sits amid glorious surroundings, but it’s otherwise a typical Western town with a small historic center, where you'll...

Evergreen

Once a quiet mountain town, today Evergreen is a tony community filled with upscale, extravagantly designed homes. The downtown core remains rustic in feel, however...

Redstone and Marble

About an hour’s drive from Aspen, Redstone is ringed by the impressive sandstone cliffs from which the town draws its name. The entire town, now...

Hot Sulphur Springs

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Trinidad

If you're traveling on I–25 and want to stop for a night in a historic town with character instead of a motel on the outskirts...

Carbondale

The artsy, outdoorsy town of Carbondale sits under looming Mount Sopris (12,965 feet), and its Main Street is lined with century-old brick buildings that house...