Scenic Beauty

Two people embrace on a boat doc with mountains behind them

Few locations in Colorado will put you more than a few minutes’ drive from a quintessentially beautiful Colorado scene and the dozens of ways to experience them year-round — a scenic overlook on one of the state’s 26 scenic and historic byways, wildlife watching in one of 13 Colorado national parks and monuments, mountain biking or hiking thousands of acres of national forest, or a snowshoe trek through one of 43 Colorado State Parks.

From the highest sand dunes in North America at Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve to 54 Rocky Mountain peaks that rise over 14,000 feet to red-rock formations that seem to rip from the earth to the rolling grasslands of the eastern plains, Colorado has one of the most unique and varied natural landscapes in the world — and it’s a playground for discovery year-round.

In spring and summer, you’ll find it impossible to resist the call of Colorado’s emerald-green national forests, fields of vibrant wildflowers and shores of crystalline lakes.

Colorado’s fall beauty begs to be explored, as well, when autumn-color pilgrims seek hillsides blanketed with aspens and rivers lined with cottonwoods in shimmering hues of gold and red.

In winter, there’s no more peaceful scene than snowflakes falling silently on the branches of evergreen trees as you pass by on crisp morning stroll.

From the heights of the purple mountains majesty of Rocky Mountain National Park to deep canyons carved by the Colorado River, it’s impossible to catalog all the locations in Colorado where you’ll meet Mother Nature face to face and find few words to describe her magnificence.

Luckily for you, photos of your Colorado vacation can describe it for you — wherever you go in Colorado, have your camera ready for postcard-perfect shots time after time. Read the articles below for more Colorado vacation ideas.