North America Countries
I Wanna See You In The Colorado Mountains
- Image via Wikipedia
You could easily spend a lifetime just exploring the Centennial State’s scenic mountain country, which contains a plethora of stellar vistas teeming with wildlife, world class hunting and fishing, and historic mining towns with old-world Victorian inns or bed and breakfasts. Long term cabin rentals are ideal bases of operation for your family’s Colorado escape. The Rockies present sights for everyone, from outdoors enthusiasts to history buffs.
Start your trip of America’s Alps in the town of Durango, located in Colorado’s southwestern corner. In the winter, the tourist has their preference of five different ski resorts within an hour’s drive. In the summer, there is an almost infinite number of outdoor activities in and around the village, including hiking, backpacking and mountain biking, rock climbing, kayaking and golf. Rail fans will love riding the Durango & Silverton Railway, one of the last two remaining lines of the old Denver & Rio Grande narrow gauge railroad. Powered by steam locomotives and featuring both open cars and antique rail coaches from a century ago, this is an actual in service railroad that through the winter is the only manner to get in and out of Silverton to the north.
Traveling over the San Juan mountains, on the “Million Dollar Highway”, along the Rio de las Animas Perdidas, literally meaning “River of Lost Souls”, you will run into most historic mining towns that include Silverton, Telluride, Ouray and Ridgway. At Montrose, you will want to cut over to the east on U.S. 50, skirting the southern edge of Gunnison National Forest in order to see Gunnison and Salida, which is residence to one of the oldest whitewater kayaking events in the country, the FIBArk Race, which is the “weekend that Salida comes out to play,” held in June during the spring runoff.
It is difficult to select one place in Colorado’s mountain country that stands beyond the rest but the Rocky Mountain National Park and nearby Estes Park in the north central part of the state are absolutely front runners. Take advantage of local cabin rentals, or stay at the historic Stanley Hotel, where writer Steven King got the inspiration for The Shining. Founded by a settler from Missouri in 1859, Estes park is situated along the Big Thompson River, and is the gateway to the national park located just a few miles west.
You can travel down U.S. 34, the Trail Ridge Road, which has the distinction of being the highest unbroken highway in the country. This majestic drive will transport you to an height of over 12,000 feet above sea level and some of the most stellar mountain scenery in North America, if not the world.
Of course, Colorado is the West, and that means cattle drives and horses. Well, the grand cattle drives are long over and were primarily in the flat eastern part of the state, but you and your family can experience some of it at one of the area’s many “dude ranches”. Even with the great quantity of highways and jeep trails, there’s no better method to see this part of Colorado than from horseback.
