305 Best Sights in Colorado, USA

Less than an hour's drive southwest of Great Sand Dunes is a sanctuary for songbirds, waterbirds, and raptors (it's also home to many other types of birds, along with mule deer, beavers, and coyotes). The Rio Grande runs through the park comprising more than 12,000 acres of natural and man-made wetlands. You can take a 4-mile hike round-trip along the river or a 3½-mile wildlife drive on the park's western side or a drive along Bluff Road to an overlook on the park's eastern side. The refuge office is staffed by volunteers sporadically from March through November and closed in winter, but a self-service kiosk provides visitor information year-round.

During the gold rush days, the Argo Gold Mine and Mill processed more than $100 million worth of the precious metal. To transport the ore from mines in Central City, workers dug through solid rock to construct a tunnel to Central City, 4½ miles away. When completed in 1910, the Argo Tunnel was the longest in the world. During a tour of the mine and mill, guides explain how this monumental engineering feat was accomplished. Admission includes a small museum and a gold-panning lesson.

About 8 miles east of La Junta, Bent's Old Fort National Historic Site painstakingly re-creates what life was like in this adobe fort. The 1840s fort was situated along the commercially vital Santa Fe Trail, providing both protection and a meeting place for the soldiers, trappers, and traders of the era. The museum's interior reveals daily life at a trading post, providing looks at a smithy and carpenter's workshop and featuring educational films and guided tours.

A peaceful respite awaits in this three-block park in the cultural heart of downtown, site of the State Capitol. A 1919 Greek amphitheater is in the middle of one of the city's largest flower gardens, and in spring, summer, and fall, it's the site of festivals such as Cinco de Mayo, Taste of Colorado, and the People's Fair. On Thursday, food trucks offer lunchtime alternatives. The park was born in 1906, when Mayor Robert Speer asked New York architect Charles Robinson to expand on his vision of a "Paris on the Platte." Two of the park's statues, Broncho Buster and On the War Trail, depicting a cowboy and an Indian on horseback, were commissioned in the 1920s.

This 330-foot-high, 20-floor structure emulates the Campanile of St. Mark's Square in Venice, and it was the tallest building west of the Mississippi when it was built in 1909. William Cooke Daniels originally commissioned the tower to stand adjacent to his five-story department store. Today it's an office building with a cabaret in the basement as well as the city's most convenient clock tower. It's particularly striking—the clock is 16 feet high—when viewed in concert with the fountains in the adjacent Skyline Park.

Once a temperate subtropical climate, Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument was perfectly preserved by volcanic ash and mud flow 34 million years ago. This little-known site is a haven for paleontologists. The visitor center offers a daily guided walk and ranger talks in the amphitheater in summer, or you can follow the more than 14 miles of well-marked hiking trails and lose yourself in the remnants of petrified redwoods from the Eocene epoch. Once a month, you can lose yourself in the star-filled skies with the park's Night Sky Programs. Certified as an International Dark Sky Park and featuring volunteer astronomers from the Colorado Springs Astronomical Society who bring additional telescopes and insights, it's worth planning a late-afternoon visit/hike to then hang out for an evening of galaxy-viewing. See the website for their schedule.

The largest and deepest natural lake in Colorado, Grand Lake offers calm waters for boating, fishing, and kayaking. It also feeds into two much larger man-made reservoirs, Lake Granby and Shadow Mountain Lake. These three bodies of water, along with Monarch Lake and Willow Creek and Meadow Creek reservoirs, are called the "Great Lakes of Colorado."

Straddling the Colorado–Utah border, this monument is known for distinctive square, oval, round, and D-shape towers that were engineering marvels when they were built around AD 1200. The buildings are spread throughout a series of ancient villages, once home to 2,500 people. The visitor center is on the Utah side of the monument. Per rangers, don't attempt to use your GPS to find Hovenweep. Most devices will take you either over rough dirt roads or to more remote parts of the monument.

The byway (Routes 119, 72, and 7), a 55-mile stretch that winds from Central City north through Nederland to Estes Park, is not the quickest route to the eastern gateway to Rocky Mountain National Park, but it's certainly the most scenic. You'll pass through the old mining towns of Ward and Allenspark and enjoy spectacular mountain vistas. Mt. Meeker and Longs Peak rise magnificently behind every bend in the road. The descent into Estes Park provides grand vistas of snow-covered mountains and green valleys.

The world's highest cog train departs from Manitou Springs and follows a frolicking stream up a steep canyon, through stands of quaking aspen and towering lodgepole pines, before reaching the timberline, where you can see far into the plains until arriving at the summit. Advance reservations are recommended in summer and on weekends, as this three-hour trip sells out regularly. Reserve a spot next to the engineer, the Engineer's Seat ($78.50), for front-row views for the uphill direction of the journey.

Carved by the Arkansas River more than 3 million years ago, the Royal Gorge canyon walls tower up to 1,200 feet high. The site is known for the 1877 Royal Gorge War between the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad and the Santa Fe Railroad over the right-of-way through the canyon. Rival crews laid tracks during the day and would dynamite each other's work at night until the Denver & Rio Grande eventually prevailed. Today, a private company runs the Royal Gorge Bridge and Park, featuring the highest suspension bridge in the country, constructed in 1929 as a tourist attraction. The 956-foot-high bridge sways on gusty afternoons and the river can be seen clearly between gaps in the boards, adding to the thrill of a crossing. Climb the canyon walls on the Via Ferrata cable system or ride the astonishing aerial tram (2,400 feet long and more than 1,000 feet above the canyon floor) or experience the Cloudscraper, America's highest zip line. Renovations to the park following a devastating wildfire in 2013 brought a Children's Playland with a playground, carousel, maze, and splash pad to the site. A ride on the Royal Rush Skycoaster ensures an adrenaline rush—you'll swing from a free-fall tower and momentarily hang over the gorge. Also on hand are outdoor musical entertainment in summer, and the usual assortment of food and gift shops.

An effort is under way to fully restore the three-story Tabor Opera House that opened in 1879, when it was proclaimed the "largest and best west of the Mississippi." It hosted luminaries such as Harry Houdini, Buffalo Bill, and Oscar Wilde. Shows on the current schedule are mostly music and dance, but there's also a community talent show to give local stars a spotlight on the famous stage.

Tour this facility to catch a glimpse of the coin-making process, as presses spit out thousands of coins a minute. There are also exhibits on the history of money and a restored version of Denver's original mint prior to numerous expansions. More than 14 billion coins are minted yearly, and the nation's second-largest hoard of gold is stashed away here. To schedule a 45-minute tour and prepare for your visit (there are strict security guidelines), visit the Mint's website. Reservations are required for all tours, which are guided (Monday to Thursday from 8 to 2), free, and available to visitors age seven and older. The gift shop, which sells authentic coins and currency, is in the Tremont Center, across Colfax Avenue from the Mint.

There are cabins available through the 10th Mountain Division Hut Association near Eagle, Vail, Leadville, and Breckenridge.

A National Historic District, Golden's 12th Street has a row of handsome 1860s brick buildings.

The stately sandstone Avery House was built in 1879 by Franklin Avery, who set the tone for Old Town's broad streets when he surveyed the city in 1873. You can tour the inside on weekends. The Avery House is just one of 36 sites on the Poudre Landmark Foundation's historic walking-tour map, which includes several self-guided options.

The campus here contains several superlative examples of 1930s WPA-commissioned murals in its administrative building. The college's Luther Bean Museum and Art Gallery displays European porcelain and furniture collections, and exhibits of regional arts and crafts.

The inspiring 63-mile Alpine Loop Scenic Byway joins Lake City with Ouray and Silverton. The road, typically open late May or early June through early October, has unpaved sections that require a high-clearance, four-wheel-drive vehicle. Dizzily spiraling from 12,800-foot-high passes to gaping valleys, past seven ghost towns, the trip is well worth the effort.

At 11,796 feet above sea level, this is the highest visitor center in the National Park Service. Open only when Trail Ridge Road is navigable, the center also houses the park's only gift shop and snack bar.

If you're looking for a great view without the effort, try the ¾-mile Animas Overlook Trail. It takes you past signs explaining local geology, flora, and fauna before bringing you to a precipice with an unparalleled view of the valley and the surrounding Needle Mountains. It's the only wheelchair-accessible trail in the area. From town, it's a 45-minute drive up Junction Creek Road.

The Arapaho/Roosevelt National Forest and Pawnee National Grassland, an enormous area that encompasses 1.5 million acres, has fishing, sailing, canoeing, and waterskiing, as well as hiking, mountain biking, birding, and camping. Contained within the Arapaho National Forest is the Arapaho National Recreation Area (ANRA), a 35,000-acre expanse adjacent to Rocky Mountain National Park that contains Lake Granby, Shadow Mountain Lake, Monarch Lake, and Willow Creek and Meadow Creek reservoirs. Toss in neighboring Grand Lake and you have what's known as Colorado's Great Lakes.

This center rotates a fine permanent collection of Native American tapestries and Western contemporary art, including the only complete series of lithographs by noted printmaker Paul Pletka. The fantastically carved doors—done by a WPA artist in the 1930s—alone are worth the visit. Take time to view the elegant historic homes along North 7th Street afterward. Admission is always free for children under 12; it's also free on Tuesday for everyone.

Known for its rotating contemporary exhibits and woven-look exterior design, this non-collecting museum exhibits mainly new pieces from top national and international artists, often commissioned by the museum. Designed by Shigeru Ban, the 33,000-square-foot facility is a three-story glass cube encased in a woven, wood-veneer exterior screen that gives passersby glimpses of the exhibitions. Inside, a glass elevator and an open-plan design create a bright space, and the rooftop sculpture garden and café offer prime views of Aspen Mountain.

On this hour-long tour, visitors trek 1,500 feet into one of the region's great silver mines. Tour guides are actual miners and they explain various mining techniques and point out remaining silver veins and other mineral deposits. Tours depart every hour, and light jackets are wise year-round, as it's chilly in the mine. Gold-panning lessons in the adjacent stream are included in the tour price. On summer weekends, come early for a tasty, inexpensive breakfast.

A self-guided walk along paved and gravel trails takes you through a group of four mesa-top dwellings. The community, which covers nearly 7 acres, dates back to the year AD 650, the Basketmaker Period, and includes a primitive, semisubterranean pit house and what's left of a multistory stone pueblo. Allow about 45 minutes to see the sites. The trail is 2.25 miles round-trip.

From November to April, the Denver Nuggets play at Ball Arena (formerly Pepsi Center); from October to April, the Colorado Avalanche and the Colorado Mammoth play there, too. The 19,000-seat arena is also the primary indoor venue for large musical acts such as Bruce Springsteen, Kevin Hart, and Carrie Underwood, as well as performances such as Disney on Ice. Tours of the facilities are available several days a week.

This 23-mile round-trip drive offers superlative views of Longs Peak (14,259-foot summit) and the glaciers surrounding Bear Lake, winding past shimmering waterfalls shrouded with rainbows. You can either drive the road yourself (open year-round) or hop on one of the park's free shuttle buses.

The virtually flat nature trail around Bear Lake is an easy, 0.6-mile loop that's wheelchair and stroller accessible. Sharing the route with you will likely be plenty of other hikers as well as songbirds and chipmunks. Easy.

Housing the park headquarters, this visitor center was designed by students of the Frank Lloyd Wright School of Architecture at Taliesin West using the park's popular rustic style. The center has a terrific 20-minute orientation film and a large relief map of the park.

At 8,200 feet above sea level, the Betty Ford Alpine Gardens are the highest botanical gardens in the world. This oasis of columbines, alpine plants, colorful perennials, and wild roses offers stunning views of the Rocky Mountains from meandering pathways that pass beside streams and waterfalls. The gardens are free to the public and open year-round; peak flower season is June through August. Guided tours are available.