Indholdsfortegnelse for Colorado 2022 i National Park Journal

Last summer I fell in love with the Wild Basin area of Rocky Mountain National Park. It’s a lesser-known area of the park about a 30-minute drive from the two most popular park entrances in Estes Park, Colo. And because of that, it feels like you’re stumbling upon a secret place as you drive Wild Basin’s rutted dirt road to one of its trailheads. In all honesty, I hadn’t been there in 20 years. Back then, three of my friends and I decided in late September to backpack in Wild Basin. We didn’t know we’d need a backpacking permit so late in the season. When the rangers at the entrance station told us we needed to get a permit in Estes Park, we looked at our watches. It was late…

1 BEAVER MEADOWS ENTRANCE On the park’s east side lies the Beaver Meadows Entrance, the most direct entrance from Estes Park, a town that sits right outside Rocky Mountain National Park. An hour’s drive from Boulder and two hours from Denver, the lively Estes Park is the closest town to the park on the east side. Open year round, the Beaver Meadows Entrance is the most popular and is accessed by Hwy. 36. Stop by the Beaver Meadows Visitor Center to get information, books, maps and backcountry permits, as well as to catch the park shuttle. 2 FALL RIVER ENTRANCE On the park's east side, Old Fall River Road, a mostly gravel road with a speed limit of 15 mph, allows you to take your time to admire the scenery.…

Play in the giant sandbox of White Sands National Park. There are few things as striking as the glistening white sands in southern New Mexico, so stop here to experience this vast field of dunes yourself. White Sands National Park is the world’s largest gypsum dune field, which spans 275 square miles. Start your adventure at the park’s historic visitor center. Housed in the 1930s-era Pueblo Revival building are interactive exhibits, information on daily activities and a great film A Land in Motion to orient you. You’ll find the White Sands Trading Co. in there as well, which sells snacks, sandwiches and drinks. From the visitor center, take Dunes Drive, an 8-mile, one-way ride sprinkled with roadside exhibits, picnic areas, restrooms and trails. The first four miles are paved and…

Mesa Verde National Park’s cliff-dwellings might get all the attention, but southwestern Colorado is incredibly full of archaeological sites. Spend a few days in the towns of Cortez, Dolores and Mancos to see other historical sites like Canyons of the Ancients and Hovenweep national monuments. Stay at Canyons of the Ancients Guest Ranch, which has petroglyphs on the property and is just seven minutes from the national monument. Spend the day mountain biking Sand Canyon Trail in the monument, a 12-mile round-trip ride that will take you past tons of ancient dwellings built into the red-rock walls. Afterwards, relax in a rental cabin at the guest ranch. Indigenous history and culture isn’t limited to the past in this part of Colorado. Visit the Cortez Cultural Center to learn more about…

1 Great Sand Dunes National Park & Preserve For anyone who built magical kingdoms in sand boxes as a child, this national park is for you. Walk, sled and play in the dunes, dip your toes in Medano Creek if it’s running and climb or simply admire Star Dune, which stretches 750 feet into the sky. It’s the tallest sand dune in North America. Wear closed-toe shoes because cool morning sand can heat up to a dangerous 150 degrees on a hot day. PHOTO TIP: This national park has been designated an International Dark Sky Park. There are few places in this country as dark as Alamosa County, home to only 16,551 residents. Photograph the stars and Milky Way in the park at night, but leave glow sticks in the…

1 Snowy Range Scenic Byway Hwy. 130 This stunning road enables you to bypass Interstate 80, taking you past glacial lakes, granite peaks, gorgeous meadows and over the second-highest mountain pass in Wyoming. The breathtaking route reaches its high point at 10,000 feet. It’s closed mid-November to Memorial Day weekend. Head to the Green Rock Trailhead to hike the 3.2-mile, moderate Barber Lake Trail or the more difficult Libby Creek Trail that’s 3 miles. For exceptional views and some rock scrambling, head to Gap Lakes Trail. 2 Wyoming Territorial Prison State Historic Site Go on a guided or self-guided tour of this historic prison site built in 1872. For three decades, it housed some of the West’s most notorious criminals. The property is listed on the National Register of Historic…

It is impossible to stare at the skyline of Rocky Mountain National Park and not be compelled to at least wonder what it would be like to climb Longs Peak. Dominating the park's peaks and topping out at 14,259 feet, Longs is the ultimate adventure for experienced hikers. Don’t be fooled, though. It’s not a walk in the park. In fact, the 16-mile round trip hike will push hikers' lungs and stamina to the test. The reward? Unobstructed 360-degree views spanning the eastern plains and Continental Divide. The journey starts from Longs Peak Trailhead located along Hwy. 7 about 10 miles from Estes Park, Colo. Most hikers typically begin before dawn, since afternoon thunderstorms usually roll in around 12 or 1 p.m. and can be life threatening above tree line.…

1 GREAT SAND DUNES NATIONAL PARK & PRESERVE The continent’s tallest sand dunes join the rugged Sangre de Cristo mountains here in southern Colorado. Hike the striking High Dune on First Ridge, a 2-hour, 2.5-mile round trip walk up 699 feet of sand to the top. Then sled down with a sand sled rented at Kristi Mountain Sports in Alamosa, Colo., for extreme speed. Or beach it along Medano Creek, which flows April through June. Track the current and forecasted river flows on the park’s website. 2 MESA VERDE NATIONAL PARK Described as the pyramids of North America, the ancient settlements at Mesa Verde National Park in southwestern Colorado hold the early stories of our nation. About 1,400 years ago, Ancestral Puebloans built more than 600 dwellings into the gorgeous…

1 WATCH THE SUN RISE Wake up early to get to Bear Lake and hike 1.1 miles around the lake to catch the sun casting light over Hallett Peak and Flattop Mountain. Arrive 30 minutes before dawn. 2 HIKE TO OUZEL FALLS To see three waterfalls, head to the Wild Basin area of the park. Along the Wild Basin Trail, you'll see Copeland Falls, Calypso Cascades and Ouzel Falls. It's a 5.4-mile out-and-back moderately rated trail. 3 GO HORSEBACK RIDING Saddle up at Glacier Creek stables, the only stables inside the park, which are run by Hi Country Stables. 4 WATCH WILDLIFE Spot moose in the Kawuneeche Valley along the Colorado River and in the willows west of the Continental Divide. Note: this area will be recovering this year since…

CHEYENNE MOUNTAIN STATE PARK This beautiful park 7 miles west of Colorado Springs is home to the Dixon Trail, which provides 23 miles of easy-to-moderate terrain that's perfect for hiking and mountain biking. Meander through prairie grasslands and into the foothills to get a taste of the diverse terrain of Colorado’s Front Range. All Colorado state parks offer ranger-led nature talks, so be sure to check the park’s website for the most up-to-date schedule to learn more about the area you’re visiting. STEAMBOAT LAKE STATE PARK This alpine park 29 miles north of Steamboat Springs has so much to offer year-round, but winter might just be the best time to visit. A winter wonderland awaits. Rent a snowmobile in Steamboat Springs, or join a snowmobile tour and safely explore miles…

From Grand Lake, Colo., a lakeside village that sits at the park’s West Entrance to Winter Park, a lively ski town that turns on the heat in summer, you’ll discover hidden waterfalls, fantastic mountain biking trails, a gorgeous paved bike trail for families, wake boarding, SUPing, weekly live music in the park and horseback riding. Grand Lake, which sits a mile from the park, offers incredible kayaking, stand-up paddleboarding and motorized boating, along with a beach. A two-minute walk from the beach lies Grand Lake’s bustling little downtown with its charming historic boardwalk. Then head to Winter Park Resort, 40 minutes away, where you can ride Colorado’s longest alpine slide at the base area. You’ll also find incredible mountain biking and other base area activities like miniature golf, a rock…

It's been a wild two years for Rocky Mountain National Park in Colorado. The park has experienced record levels of visitors. It shuttered its entrances temporarily in 2020 as the global pandemic forced many national park sites to rethink how to keep staff and visitors safe. Then, the park shut down again in late 2020 when two of Colorado's largest-ever fires ripped through the park and burned 10% — the equivalent of a whopping 30,000 acres — of the park, plus 26 structures that were almost all seasonal employee housing. At the helm of the park sits Darla Sidles, who became the first female superintendent of the park in 2016. Two years ago, she launched an innovative and controversial day-use reservation system to address the tremendous increase in visitors to…

When you drive the 29-mile Snowy Range Scenic Byway through the Medicine Bow National Forest, you'll experience alpine lakes and granite peaks, a landscape you’d never see if you simply took I-80 from Laramie toward Yellowstone. When you reach Saratoga, Wyo., stop at The Snowy Mountain Brewery, which may be the only brewery in the country with its own hot springs resort. Soak in the 70-foot mineral hot springs pool or the teepee-covered smaller mineral pools. Then dry off and sip great local microbrews in the Snowy Mountain Biergarten or indoor taproom that serves pub-style food from sandwiches and handmade pizza to grilled steak. Spend the night in one of the rustic rooms at the on-site Saratoga Springs Resort. In the morning, play golf at the nine-hole public golf course…

1 Backpack the Needles The Needles is Canyonlands’ most popular backpacking area for good reason. First, its trailheads are easily accessible by most cars. Second, it usually has seasonally accessible water. And third? It’s just plain gorgeous. Trips range from 7.5 to 23 miles. The 23.2-mile Big Needles Loop is a great choice. Backcountry camping permits open four months in advance of each season. Spring permits open Nov. 10, summer permits open Feb. 10, fall permits open May 10 and winter permits open Aug. 10. Backcountry campsites in The Needles require you to pack out your solid human waste. Outdoor stores like REI sell WAG Bags, which contain chemical crystals that gel your #2, neutralizing it. Throw it away when you get back to civilization. 2 Hike Fiery Furnace Arches’…

1 Get Active The Boone Family Mountain Center at the Estes Park location houses all adventure activities, including an indoor climbing wall and bouldering wall. At Snow Mountain Ranch, hike the 2-mile round-trip Waterfall Trail, an easy trail that enables you to reach the top of the waterfall. 2 Soar through the Air Both locations offer indoor and outdoor rock climbing walls, which are really fun. At Snow Mountain Ranch, hit the summer tubing hill and coast down a long white slide. Afterwards, kids ages 8 and up and adults should check out the Forest Zip Line where you climb a 35-foot pole or ladder to ride a 600-foot-long zip line. Participants must weigh under 250 pounds. 3 Go to the Craft Studio and Library Whether you’re constantly crafty or…

You can access Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park’s South Rim, where the visitor center is located, easily from Montrose, Colo. This natural wonder is an International Dark Sky Park, meaning it’s the perfect destination for stargazing. The park offers many opportunities for night-sky viewing and constellation tours, including some with telescopes. Check the visitor center for the most up-to-date schedule. Here are four road-trip tips to make sure your car is ready for any adventure: 1 CHECK YOUR BATTERY Before your road trip, check your battery’s charge. Heat saps its strength, so make sure you have a full charge, especially before you drive through Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. 2 INFLATE YOUR TIRES Avoid a tire blowout or wasting gas mileage by inflating each…

On your way to or from Colorado from the Midwest, take a break from the road to stretch your legs at Pawnee National Grassland. Known for its Pawnee Buttes, two iconic hill-like features that rise 250 feet from the prairie floor, the grasslands offer the opportunity to see wildlife like coyotes, prairie dogs, and more than 300 species of birds. You can get to Pawnee Buttes via the Pawnee Pioneer Trails Byway, which is 128 miles and takes about three hours. It’s a gorgeous way to experience the prairie, as well as historic farming towns like Fort Morgan and Brush that make up Morgan County. Woven together by strong agricultural threads, this area is known for its sugar beet and dairy farms and is home to one of the state’s…

1 Experience the Views Black Canyon is named for its sheer black cliffs that plummet 2,000 feet to the Gunnison River below. Get a peek into the canyon’s depths at one of the South Rim’s 12 overlooks on Rim Drive. Our favorites? Chasm View, Painted Wall, Pulpit Rock and Sunset View. 2 Camp in the Canyon For a truly unique camping experience, check out the East Portal campground. Situated right next to the river, you can fish "Gold Medal" waters, hike or just enjoy the views. Looking for a more intense adventure? Hike to the Gunnison River from the canyon rim. This experience is not for the faint of heart. There are no clearly marked trails, the journey is steep and often quite a scramble and frequent hazards include poison…

Traveling through New Mexico is like exploring a foreign country where every turn gives you a different glimpse into a magnificent blend of cultures and food. From El Paso, Texas, drive to Carlsbad Caverns National Park and White Sands National Park. Farther north, incredible outdoor activities near Santa Fe await you, as do the impressive settlements left behind by Ancestral Puebloans in Bandelier National Monument. On the way to Colorado’s Mesa Verde National Park, stop in Farmington, N.M., for a wilderness tour and in Cortez, Colo., for wine tasting and good food. Then head to Alamosa and Great Sand Dunes National Park in the stunning San Luis Valley in Colorado. Afterwards, head north to the historic town of Grand Lake on the western edge of Rocky Mountain National Park [see…

You could venture out onto Farmington’s miles of trails, rivers, wilderness and cultural sights on your own, but if you’re looking for a truly incredible experience, the best way to see Farmington is with a guide. There are no trails through the other-worldly Bisti/De-Na-Zin Wilderness just 45 minutes from downtown. Book a trip with Navajo Tours USA, a Diné-owned guide service that will share the indigenous history of the incredible badlands formations. Or, opt for a truly unique experience with Destination Meditation. This company takes you on a guided hike through the stunning rock formations to a perfect spot to take a deep breath. There, they’ll guide you through a meditation. Looking to get your blood pumping? Stop by 505 Cycles at 4301 E. Main Street in Farmington to rent…

If you visit this colorful historic downtown nestled in one of the most striking mountain settings you’ll ever see, you may just want to move here. Dotted with art galleries, boutiques and cafes, Creede is one of Colorado’s best-kept secrets. In 1890 silver was discovered in the area, and it fueled a boom that gave rise to Creede’s beautiful buildings and vibrant community that still exist today. One of its outstanding gems is the Creede Repertory Theatre. Founded in 1966, it’s a nationally recognized theater that serves 20,000 patrons each summer. With a rotating schedule, you can see five different plays in one week. And while the theater itself seats 230, buy tickets in advance before they are sold out. Outside the theater, stroll uphill to reach the Underground Mining…

Brendan Leonard, creator of the popular website semi-rad.com, is an author, illustrator and all-around exceptional outdoorsman. He recently wrote Hike the Parks: Rocky Mountain National Park, a guidebook to 35 of the park’s best hiking trails. While some of his adventures like running 52 marathons in a year might have most of our heads spinning, his forté is making the outdoors feel approachable to all through his humorous essays, illustrations and charts chronicling his thoughts and adventures. From outlining all the things in Yellowstone that could kill you to a flow chart posturizing that as long as you didn’t die, it was a good adventure, Leonard’s Sharpie-style illustrations will remind you not to take life outside too seriously. Leonard’s first trip to Rocky Mountain National Park was as a kid…

"GREAT SAND DUNES PANORAMA” SEE IT:This image was captured in late afternoon July 23 in the first section of smaller dunes that you can reach by walking in from the Sand Pit parking area. PRO TIPS: When capturing images of sand dunes try to go either early morning or later afternoon into sunset to avoid the midday sun that’s high in the sky. When the sun gets lower and closer to the horizon, it creates more shadows and highlights. This will give more definition and details to the serpentine-like dune formations. SHOT DETAILS: Nikon D850 camera and a Tamron SP24-70mm Di VC USD G2 lens. KEN HUBBARD’S GEAR FOR NIGHT PHOTOGRAPHY 1 HEADLAMP Night photography in Great Sand Dunes National Park can yield some amazing images. First and foremost, remember…

With more than 45,000 miles of trails in Colorado, there’s something for everyone whether you’re a hiker, mountain biker, equestrian or OHV-user. But how do you go about choosing which trail to explore? The state of Colorado has you covered. The COTREX app, which is also available on desktop, makes it incredibly easy to find trails, plan routes, view maps even when you’re out of cell service range and record your adventures. The best part? It’s free. The trail descriptions on many mapping apps are user-generated, which can lead to inaccurate or outdated information. COTREX works directly with land managers like the National Park Service, U.S. Forest Service and Bureau of Land Management to make sure trail descriptions, including mileage and elevation, are accurate and that information like wildfire-related closures…

A short drive from the park’s West Entrance lies River Run RV Resort, a 200-acre resort with unparalleled amenities in Granby, Colo. You can paddleboard, swim in a pool, soak in hot tubs, fish in the headwaters of the Colorado River and lace up at the mini-bowling alley. There’s also a putting green, yoga lawn, fitness center and a dog park. When you’ve worked up an appetite, you can stroll to The Summit Bar & Grill and Headwaters Tavern, perfect places to enjoy a meal, grab a drink and relax. Offering more lodging options than any other property in the area, the resort has vacation home rentals, Airstreams and Conestoga wagons. For those who prefer camping under the stars, you can pull up to a tent or RV site. And…

Don’t let this sleepy town tucked into the folds of the mountains fool you. Its small population of 350 year-round residents is counteracted by the extraordinary number of outdoor activities the area offers. Fish the legendary waters of the Rio Grande River that meets the South Fork in town or try fly fishing with a local guide. If you’re a golfer, head to the Rio Grande Golf Course, a difficult but spectacular mountain course. Bring an ATV, Jeep or bike. The area offers hundreds of miles of trails designated for motorized traffic. These trails will take you from mountain peaks and amazing vistas of the San Luis Valley to creek bottoms and dense forests. Hikers can jump on the Continental Divide Trail or explore the Weminuche Wilderness just two miles…