There are four National Parks in Colorado including Mesa Verde, Great Sand Dunes, Black Canyon of the Gunnison and Rocky Mountain National Park. These National Parks offer a variety of activities and scenic areas to explore. From the ancient world explored in Mesa Verde to the incredible views from Rocky Mountain National Park.
There are also multiple National Historic Sites and National Historic Trails to explore within Colorado National Parks. Do you have a favorite park you have visited in Colorado?
Colorado National Parks
Colorado is overflowing with breathtaking scenery, from the western slope where the Green River runs through Irish Canyon and meets up with the muddy Yampa (you can actually see the difference in the two rivers, the Green is literally green) to the Rocky Mountain range covered in thick forests and quiet lakes. It really is no wonder that we should want to preserve it through national parks.
When you think of Colorado, the first thing that comes to mind is the Rocky Mountains. But Colorado is actually a state with a large variety of landscapes and natural wonders to see. Let me take you on a short tour of this amazing state.
The State of Colorado boasts over 50 National Parks and Public Lands. Whether you love to hike, swim, climb mountains, ski, or just about any outdoor sport you can think of, it is here for you. This is definitely not a place where you want to stay indoors.
Colorado has four National Parks, all located in the western part of the state. While they have many things in common, each has its own distinct personality. Rocky Mountain National Park, Mesa Verde National Park, Great Sand Dunes National Park and Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park all have visitor centers, great scenery, campgrounds, hiking trails, and ranger programs.
Just those things alone would make each worth a visit. Their unique qualities are additional reasons to spend time in each park.
The national parks of Colorado have mountains, sand dunes, a mesa top, and a deep canyon.
Amache National Historic Site
The 424th National Park Service site was designated by President Biden on March 18, 2022.
The Amache National Historic Act was signed designating the site in Granada, Colorado as part of the National Park Service.
The site protects the Granada Relocation Center which was one of 10 incarceration sites established during World War II by the War Relocation Authority.
The site detained Japanese Americans from the West Coast of the United States under Executive Order 9066.
More than 10,000 Japanese Americans were incarcerated at Amache from 1942 to 1945.
The site currently consists of a historic cemetery, a monument, concrete building foundations, and several reconstructed structures.
Bent’s Old Fort National Historic Site
Bent's Old Fort NHS is located in southeastern Colorado approximately 65 miles east of Pueblo. The park is open year-round and offers the opportunity to visit a reconstructed 1830s trading post.
William and Charles Bent along with Ceran St. Vrain decide to build a fortified adobe trading post in 1833. The trading post was the only major settlement on the Sante Fe Trail between Missouri and Mexico.
It was the place to go to stock up on supplies and repair wagons. The trading post was abandoned in 1849. Today visitors can visit a 1976 reconstruction of the fort.
Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park
Black Canyon of the Gunnison NP is located in west-central Colorado approximately 60 miles southeast of Grand Junction. The park is open year-round on the south rim and mid-April to November for the north rim. The park offers hiking, camping, and a scenic driving tour.
The canyon, formed by the Gunnison River, gets its name from its black, lichen-covered walls. The park's main attractions include a drive along the southern rim, camping, and hiking. There is access to the river, however, be warned that it can only be reached by a hike that takes about 4 hours going down, 6 coming back up.
Rock climbing and rafting activities are also available within the Canyon.
Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park has canyon walls that drop 2000 feet. This canyon is deep and narrow. The only way to the bottom of the canyon is a day hike down and a day hike back up. The view from the top is worth a stop.
Colorado is a wonderful place for a plethora of activities and sight-seeing. Come prepared for all types of weather.
In the mountains, it can get very cold and rainy (or snowy!) even in the summer. Other areas are hot and sun-baked much of the year. It is in your best interest to have sunscreen on hand.
When you think of Colorado, the first thing that comes to mind is the Rocky Mountains. But Colorado is actually a state with a large variety of landscapes and natural wonders to see. Let me take you on a short tour of this amazing state.
The State of Colorado boasts over 50 National Parks and Public Lands. Whether you love to hike, swim, climb mountains, ski or just about any outdoor sport you can think of, it is here for you. This is definitely not a place where you want to stay indoors.
If you are into sightseeing, let me recommend to you the Comanche National Grasslands. With over 435,000 acres located in the Southeastern corner of Colorado, it is used for livestock grazing, wildlife habitation, and recreation.
There are trails allowing you to view all types of wildlife. The trails are home to over 257 species of birds, including Say's phoebes, Bullock's orioles, autistic rock wrens, western meadowlarks, lark sparrows and woodpeckers.
In the Picketwire Canyonlands area, you will see Dinosaurs tracks throughout the area. If you are not the hiking type, the park also offers horseback riding or mountain biking.
The Garden of the God's, located just west of Colorado Springs on Hwy 67, is perfect for those who are up to the challenge of mountain climbing. It is the home of Pike's Peak. Named after Zebulon Pike, he was the first white man to see the peak in 1806. He predicted at that time that no one would ever be able to scale the mountain.
Since then it has been accomplished many times. For those who want to see the summit, but may not be in physical condition for a mountain climb, there is a road leading to the top. The Pike's Peak Highway was built in 1915 at a cost of $350,000 at the time.
For the more traditional type of person who wants to reach the top, without the modern idea of a car, there is the Pikes Peak Cog Railroad, which was opened in June of 1891.
Colorado is a state which is abundant in nature and would take a lifetime to explore completely.
Colorado National Monument
Colorado NM is located in western Colorado approximately 10 miles west of Grand Junction. The park is open year-round and offers hiking, camping, and a scenic drive.
The 23-mile Rim Rock Drive offers the opportunity to view epic views of stunning rock formations.
Curecanti National Recreation Area
Currecanti NRA is located in west-central Colorado approximately 80 miles southeast of Grand Junction. The park is open year-round and offers the opportunity to enjoy boating, swimming, and other water-based activities.
Just upstream from Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park this NRA was created from three dams on the Gunnison River. The park offers boat tours into the canyons and hiking trails that lead into the canyon.
Dinosaur National Monument
Dinosaur NM is located in Northwestern Colorado and northeastern Utah. The park is open year-round though some roads may close in the winter with snow. The park offers the opportunity to view dinosaur fossils and rock art along with scenic drives, camping, and hiking.
Paleontologist Earl Douglas found eight vertebrae of a dinosaur called Apatosaurus in 1909 in the arid badlands of Eastern Utah. He had stumbled upon the world's greatest collection of dinosaur fossils.
Remains of 10 species of dinosaurs have been found in the area. These remains range in size from less than a foot to around 76 feet long.
The park also offers white water rafting and hiking trails.
Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument
Florissant Fossil Beds NM is located in central Colorado approximately 35 miles west of Colorado Springs. The park is open year-round and offers the opportunity to see fossilized plants and small animals.
More than 1,700 species of plants and insects have been identified from fossilized remains within the National Monument. One interesting thing is there are no dinosaur fossils found within the park.
The park offers 14-miles of hiking trails and interpretive programs at the visitor center.
Stock Image: Nyker
Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve
Great Sand Dunes NP is located in south-central Colorado approximately 120 miles southwest of Pueblo. The park is open year-round though winter can be cold. The park offers the opportunity to go sandboarding, hiking, and to explore the sand dunes.
Great Sand Dunes was originally a National Monument, only being renamed a national park in 2004. Here you can find sand dunes up to 750 feet, the tallest in America, and perhaps 12,000 years old.
Along with being home to these ancient sand dunes, the park contains a diverse landscape, including alpine lakes and tundra, mountains, forests, grasslands, and wetlands. If you are going to visit the dunes, it will require a little walking-across the Medano Creek. The park is located close to Alamosa, CO.
Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve have the tallest sand dunes in the United States. The dunes were formed by the winds that blow sand along the San Luis Valley and pile it up in front of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. During part of the year, Medano Creek flows at the base of the dunes providing a contract between sand and water.
Hovenweep National Monument
Hovenweep NM is located in southwestern Colorado and southeastern Utah approximately 150 miles south of Grand Junction. The park is open spring through fall and offers the opportunity to tour thousand-year-old pueblo ruins.
There are six pueblo communities protected within the park that encompass the remains of dwellings, kivas, and multistory towers. Four of the pueblos are in Colorado and two of them are in Utah. They are spread over 20-miles of remote area.
The only units accessible by paved roads are the visitor center and Square Tower Group.
Mesa Verde National Park
Settled within Montezuma County, CO, and east of Cortez, this park is one of the most popular sights to see. Here you will find the ruins of villages and homes built up to 13 centuries ago by the ancient Pueblo Indians. These dwellings reside mostly right on cliff faces, the most popular to see being Cliff Palace, possibly the largest cliff dwelling in North America.
This ruin features 220 identified rooms and 23 kivas. Unfortunately, Cliff Palace is not open during the winter months, and can only be viewed on ranger-guided tours.
However, there are many other notable sights to see in the Park, including the Mesa Verde Reservoirs, and other cliff dwellings. Lodgings and camping are available both within and near the park.
Mesa Verde was established to protect the ruins of the Ancestral Pueblo people. These ruins are found on the top of Mesa Verde and in the cliffs surrounding the mesa.
The ruins date from A.D. 600 to A.D. 1300. The road to the top of the mesa is very steep and winding. Located at 8000 feet the climate at the top is dry and cool. You can get snow in late summer and spring.
Follow the drive around the top of the mesa to see the ruins that are open to the public. Several of the cliff dwellings are open only by ranger tour. These require a reservation, so stop at the Far View Visitors Center and get your tickets early.
Check with the ranger before purchasing tickets as the climb down to some of the ruins is very strenuous. Many of the other cliff dwellings can be seen from the pull-offs as you follow the drive around the top of the mesa.
Be sure to take your binoculars to get the best view of these unusual dwellings. There are also ruins on top of the mesa. Most are only a short walk from the parking lot and are well worth the visit. There are paths with self-guiding tours to give you a history of each ruin.
You can see a lot of the park in one day but if you want to spend the night and do not camp Mesa Verde also has a lodge and restaurant in the park.
Rocky Mountain National Park is blessed with some of the prettiest mountains and lakes you could ask for, they also have a very large elk population with over 3000 elk in the summer and fall and 600-800 spend the winter in the park.
Rocky Mountain National Park
Located northwest of Boulder, CO, and near the towns of Estes Park and Grand Lake. The park features stunning mountain views ranging from forests to tundra to lakes and streams. It is also home to the Continental Divide and the headwaters of the Colorado River.
You can find here Longs Peak, the highest point in the park, reaching 14,259 feet (the only peak in the park that reaches 14,000 feet). If you are looking to stay awhile, there are several designated camp areas throughout the park, many with nearby access to some of the hiking trails and lakes.
There's plenty to do within Rocky Mountain National Park, including rock climbing, cross-country skiing, snow-shoeing, and fishing.
Rocky Mountain National Park is full of the scenery that most people associate with Colorado. One of the best mountain drives in America is Trail Ridge Road. Trail Ridge takes you through the park from Estes Park on the east to Grand Lake on the west.
There are great pull-offs with spectacular views of the mountains and valleys. The elevation rises from 8000 to 12,000 feet along the 48-mile route.
You can see mountain wildflowers, elk, mule deer, moose, bighorn sheep, black bears, coyotes, cougars, eagles, and hawks along the route. Take your camera. Trail Ridge Road is closed in the winter.
Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site
Sand Creek Massacre NHS is located in eastern Colorado approximately 125 miles east of Colorado Springs. The park is open year-round and offers the opportunity to take a ranger-guided program, and wander a self-guided historical trail.
On November 28, 1864, Colonel John Chivington led his troops to attack an encampment of Cheyenne and Arapaho who were in their winter camp. Chief Black Kettle had established the camp and flown an American Flag to signal their hope for peace.
There were approximately 700 Cheyenne and Arapaho members in the village most of whom were women, children, and young men not old enough to hunt. Despite the white flag being raised for peace the troops attacked and killed between 150 and 200 Cheyenne and Arapaho.
The park was created in 2007 to help tell this story and hopefully assist in minimizing the potential of similar incidents in the future.
Yucca House National Monument
Yucca House NM is located in southwest Colorado approximately 11 miles from Cortez. The park is not developed and is surrounded by private land.
Yucca House is known as an important center for the Ancestral Pueblo people from 1150 to 1300.
There are no facilities or informational signs, so you may want to download and print the Yucca House Visitor Guide before you go.
On the map, Colorado may look like nothing more than a rectangular state. However, encompassed by those four borders are some of this country's most breathtaking National Parks, monuments, and wildlife preserves.
More than one-third of the state's land is federally owned. Below is a list of all the protected federal lands that are considered part of the National Parks of Colorado.
List of National Parks in Colorado
- Amache National Historic Site (New Park established 2022)
- Bent’s Old Fort National Historic Site
- Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park
- Colorado National Monument
- Curecanti National Recreation Area
- Dinosaur National Monument (also Utah)
- Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument
- Great Sand Dunes National Park
- Great Sand Dunes National Preserve
- Hovenweep National Monument
- Mesa Verde National Park
- Rocky Mountain National Park
- Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site
- Yucca House National Monument
Affiliated Sites
- California National Historic Trail (CA, CO, ID, KS, MO, NE, NV, OR, UT, WY)
- Old Spanish National Historic Trail ( AZ, CA, CO, NV, NM, UT)
- Pony Express National Historic Trail ( CA, CO, KS, MO, NE, NV, UT, WY)
- Sante Fe National Historic Trail (CO, KS, MO, NM, OK)
There are 13 Colorado National Parks with over 7.6 million visitors each year. The National Park Service estimates that the Colorado National Parks produces over $742 million in economic benefits.
The National Parks in Colorado include 3 National Heritage Areas, 1 wild and scenic river managed by the National Park Service, 4 national trails, 24 national historic landmarks, and 1,558 national registers of historic place listings.
The Colorado National Parks also include 15 National Natural Landmarks and 1 World Heritage Site (Mesa Verde National Park). The Colorado National Parks protect 9 threatened and endangered species within the parks.
Have you dreamed of becoming a Park Ranger and working in our gorgeous national parks? Check out How to Become a Park Ranger for information on what you need to do to become a park ranger.
National Parks in the Neighboring States
Do you know how many National Parks you have visited? Check out our printable list of all 424 National Park properties so you can check them off as you visit.
If you are focused on the 61 US National Parks check out this printable alphabetical list of the US National Parks.
