Destinations in Colorado
13 destinations to explore
Amache National Historic Site
Granada, Colorado
Amache, also known as the Granada Relocation Center, near Granada, Colorado was one of ten incarceration sites established by the War Relocation Authority during World War II to unjustly incarcerate Japanese Americans. Over 10,000 people, most American citizens, were incarcerated at Amache from 1942 to 1945.
Bent's Old Fort National Historic Site
La Junta, Colorado
In the 1840s the Arkansas River was the border between territory claimed by the United States and Mexico. Located along the river, Bent's Fort was an adobe trading post on the Santa Fe Trail, where traders, trappers, travelers, and the Cheyenne and Arapaho tribes came together in peaceful terms for trade. Today, a reconstructed fort allows visitors to explore the front line of Westward Expansion.
Black Canyon Of The Gunnison National Park
Montrose, Colorado
Big enough to be overwhelming, yet still intimate enough to feel the pulse of time. Come see some of the steepest cliffs, oldest rock, and craggiest spires in North America. Forces of nature and the Gunnison River sculpted this canyon over two million years. The result is a vertical wilderness of rock, water, and sky.
Colorado National Monument
Fruita, Colorado
Colorado National Monument preserves one of the grand landscapes of the American West. But this treasure is much more than a monument. Towering monoliths exist within a vast plateau and canyon panorama. You can experience sheer-walled, red rock canyons along the twists and turns of Rim Rock Drive, where you may spy bighorn sheep and soaring eagles.
Curecanti National Recreation Area
Gunnison, Colorado
Three reservoirs and surrounding lands make up this recreation area in western Colorado. It is a landscape of tradeoffs; natural and human made features exist together. Geologic wonders are abundant from the sagebrush shrublands to forests. Visitors can experience the park year-round on both land and water.
Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument
Florissant, Colorado
Beneath a grassy mountain valley in central Colorado lies one of the richest and most diverse fossil deposits in the world. Petrified redwood stumps up to 14 feet wide and thousands of detailed fossils of insects and plants reveal the story of a very different, prehistoric Colorado.
Great Sand Dunes National Park & Preserve
Mosca, Colorado
The tallest dunes in North America are the centerpiece in a diverse landscape of grasslands, wetlands, forests, alpine lakes, and tundra. Stay on a moonless night to experience countless stars in this International Dark Sky Park! Open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week year-round. There are no timed entries or reservations to visit.
Hovenweep National Monument
Cortez, Colorado
Hovenweep preserves six prehistoric sites built between A.D. 1200 and 1300 which may have served as ceremonial centers. Explore a variety of structures, including multistory towers perched on canyon rims and balanced on boulders. The construction and attention to detail will leave you marveling at the skill and motivation of the builders.
Manhattan Project National Historical Park
Denver, Colorado
The Manhattan Project is one of the most transformative events of the 20th century. It ushered in the nuclear age with the development of the world’s first atomic bombs. Most of this development took place in three secret communities located in Hanford, WA, Los Alamos, NM and Oak Ridge, TN. Today, you can visit these three sites that make up Manhattan Project National Historical Park.
Mesa Verde National Park
Mancos, Colorado
For over 700 years, the Ancestral Pueblo people built thriving communities on the mesas and in the cliffs of Mesa Verde. Today, the park protects the rich cultural heritage of 27 Pueblos and Tribes and offers visitors a spectacular window into the past. This World Heritage Site and International Dark Sky Park is home to over a thousand species, including several that live nowhere else on earth.
Rocky Mountain National Park
Estes Park, Colorado
Rocky Mountain National Park's 415 square miles (265,807 acres) encompasses a spectacular range of mountain environments. From meadows found in the montane life zone to glistening alpine lakes and up to the towering mountain peaks, there is something for everyone to discover. Along the way explore over 300 miles of hiking trails and incredible wildlife viewing.
Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site
Chivington, Colorado
On November 29th, 1864, Chiefs Black Kettle, White Antelope, Left Hand and others were encamped with around 750 Arapaho and Cheyenne people in a valley by the Big Sandy Creek. A hope for peace, brought forth by Black Kettle was in the balance. It was a tragic day where the blood of the Cheyenne and Arapaho was shed, and a painful memory for generations of Native Americans was made.
Yucca House National Monument
Cortez, Colorado
Yucca House National Monument preserves a large unexcavated pueblo with a stunning setting in Montezuma Valley, nestled between Mesa Verde and Ute Mountain. Since Yucca House was protected as a national monument in 1919, it has remained largely untouched, offering intrepid visitors a sense of discovery and preserving the pueblo's beauty and integrity for future generations.