Everywhere you turn you can find something amazing to do in Colorado. Like these 9 hidden gems!
9. Last Dollar Road
If you are feeling adventures this should quench your thirst. This winding, one-lane dirt road leaves the pavement at the Dallas Divide and careens around the Mount Sneffles Wilderness before dropping into the San Miguel River valley, where lush ranchland, aspen groves alive with color, and spruce and pine forests make it a scene from a landscape painter’s dream.
8. Wheeler Geologic Area
This place is definitely a must if you have never been here. The area’s frozen-in-time sandstone spires inside the Rio Grande National Forest were formed by volcanic explosions millions of years ago. They resemble coral beds found on ocean floors, which this far from the sea, gives them an otherworldly mystique.
7. Bishop’s Castle
Bishop Castle started as a family construction project situated in the Wet Mountains of Southern Colorado in the San Isabel National Forest located North West of Rye, Colorado. The castle is named after its constructor, Jim Bishop. You can walk inside Bishop’s Castle and on several other spirally staircase like structures along the way. Jim started describing the Bishop Castle as “Built by One Man with the Help of God.” Truly something out of Willy Wonka or Dr. Suess, enjoy this local Colorado fairy tale.
6. Devil’s Causeway
Here is another amazing view that will blow you away. Colorado’s version of the Great Wall of China (though this one is nature made) is a narrow rock ridge that runs through the Flat Tops Wilderness. In some places, the trail slims down to only three feet wide and calling its dropoffs sheer is being generous.
5. Snowmass Lake
Here is another hidden Colorado gem. This lake is situated just below Snowmass Mountain (not to be confused with the ski area of the same title) and the massive snowfield from which it gets its name. The trail to the lake winds through thick aspen groves, beaver ponds and gurgling streams and is a favorite pre-climb camping site for hearty souls who plan to scale the steep peak.
4. Skyline Drive
Are you brave enough to drive this road? This precipitous historic road was built by prison inmates in 1906 as a scenic byway for tourists in horse-drawn carriages. Today, the route has been paved for autos, but it still traces an extremely narrow 800-foot-high ridge, which can at times be a bit of an adventure for passengers’ stomachs. Pullouts are provided for those who want to savor the foothill views.
3. The Manitou Springs Incline
Completed in 1907 the Manitou Incline was a 1 mile cable tram built to support the construction of a hydroelectric plant and it’s waterline. After performing this service the railway was then purchased by Dr. Brumbach and turned into a tourist attraction. The incline boasted a 16 minute ride to “scenic splendors”, 10 miles of hiking trails in Mount Manitou Park, and claimed to be the “longest and highest incline on the globe.”
2. Ute Mountain Tribal Park
You have to experience this place once in your lifetime. This park is only open to the public through a unique program in which Ute guides navigate visitors into the wilderness that abuts Mesa Verde National Park’s southern boundary. Thousands of years ago, Ancestral Puebloans built dwellings into the canyon walls, irrigated and farmed the land, and developed a highly sophisticated culture.
1. Lone Eagle Peak
Another view that will blow your mind. This unique peak is recognizable by its steep, almost dizzying granite spire, which towers above Crater Lake. Even though it tops out at 11,900 feet — much shorter than Colorado’s many 14,000-foot peaks — it’s considered one of the state’s most technical climbs.