Cañon City

It's unlikely you'll visit the Royal Gorge Bridge without a stop in nearby Cañon City. And although the gorge sports the nation's highest suspension bridge, dangling more than 1,000 feet above the crashing Arkansas River below, that's not the only reason to visit this city in south-central Colorado. River rafting is a huge attraction here, and it doesn't get any more exciting than a trip through the Royal Gorge.

You also can ride the revived Royal Gorge Route Railroad passenger train through the gorge, seeing it from the bottom up instead of the top down. The train leaves on a regular schedule from the depot in Cañon City and offers more plush accommodations than most of Colorado's historic trains.

While in town, be sure to stop at the Dinosaur Depot, where you can see terrific exhibits of local archeological finds as well as get directions to a self-guided dinosaur hike not far from town.

If you're interested in criminal history, try a visit to the Museum of Colorado Prisons, appropriate because Cañon City is also home to several state and federal penitentiaries.

If you happen through in the spring, you might catch the annual Music and Blossom Festival, celebrating the cherry and apple crops to come.