Colorado National Parks: Rocky Mountain National Park and More!

The state of Colorado boasts four out of the 58 national parks in the United States. With the Rocky mountains stretching throughout the entire western half of the state, there are many places to explore in throughout Colorado, with the best places of all in the government protected national parks.

Rocky Mountain National Park

Rocky Mountain National Park is the sole national park in the north central region in the state of Colorado. Elevations in this park range anywhere from 8,000 feet to 14,259 at the summit of Longs Peak, featuring breathtaking views from anywhere you might be. While travelling throughout this park, there are two very different climates due to the fact that the Continental Divide runs directly through the upper peaks of the mountains. With 359 miles of trails for hiking, there are a vast array of places for scenic photographs, backpacking, camping, horseback riding and just enjoying the sounds and sights of nature. Five camping grounds are accessible via car, while many others can be found while backpacking through the trails. Animals in which this area is a natural habitat to include bighorn sheep, coyotes, black bears, elk, deer, cougars and many species of birds.

Black Canyon of Gunnison National Park

The Black Canyon of Gunnison National Park is located about 15 miles east of Montrose in the Southwest region of Colorado. This park offers breathtaking views from up in the mountains into the canyons below. While exploring the canyons, you will find that the walls dramatically drop nearly straight down into very narrow valleys with snake-like rivers below. Visitors will find more than 100 camping sites that are accessible via car throughout different times of the year. Commonly seen are black bears, deer, marmots, bighorn sheep, badgers, elk, skunks, multiple bird species and many other animals native to the area.

Mesa Verde National Park

For the historian junkie, Mesa Verde National Park is probably the most interesting of national parks that you will want to visit. It is situated in the southern-most western region of Colorado, offering a fascinating trip back in time to 600 A.D. up to 1300 A.D.. This park was declared a protected national park in 1906 because of the cliff dwellings that were found throughout the park area, which was once home to Ancestral Pueblo tribes of America. Many of these dwellings can be actually walked through, while imagining what each individual room may have been used for so many years ago.

Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserves

The Great Sand Dunes National Park is situated in south central Colorado, about 127 from Pueblo. This fascinating park features the tallest sand dunes in all of North America, with trails for hiking. The dunes lie just in front of multiple 13,000 foot peaks, making for a spectacular view for photographs. Natural sandy beaches are available for swimming around the creek beds and lakes.

References and Resources:

http://www.nps.gov/applications/parksearch/state.cfm?st=co