Happy end of January/ beginning of February!

I’m very excited that it’s February because it is the month of my birthday and Valentine’s Day which happens to be one of my favorite holidays. Many people hate Valentine’s day but I LOVE it because I am sappy and I love LOVE. So, to get me into the February, Love-y Dove-y spirit, this post is about my most loved places in Colorado, my new state. In case you don’t already know, (but let’s be honest if you’re reading this you probably already know me) Austin and I are originally from Kentucky but moved to Colorado exactly three and a half years ago and so far we are seriously loving it. We have done a lot of exploring to get to know our new state and just within the state there is so much variation in landscape, climate, and even culture. There are snow-capped mountains, plains, red rocks, canyons, and even sand dunes. All within a few hours of each other. I think when we talk about travel people have a tendency to think of expensive trips for multiple weeks in far away places but travel can be a weekend in a new city in your state or even a new neighborhood of your own city. The point is travel can be local, not just international. This is especially true in the US. We have huge states that cover the same area as lots of countries in other parts of the world, so just because a destination might still be within your state or one region doesn’t mean it isn’t worth seeing!

We try to take every opportunity to go explore other parts of Colorado, whether that means visiting a new trail, town, or park, any time we have the chance. With lots of our friends and family getting ready to visit Colorado for our wedding this year, I thought this would also be a good opportunity to share some of our favorite places around the state that we’ve visited so far for your own planning inspiration. So without further ado, here are some of the places we have explored that we absolutely love:

Rocky Mountain National Park

Probably the most popular national park in the state, and one of the most popular in the country, this place is magical. Even with the weekend and summertime crowds, there are areas of the park that are quiet and serene even in the height of tourist season. It looks completely different during different times of year, which makes going back to it just as interesting every time. Only about an hour and a half from Denver, this makes for an easy day trip from the city and you can stop in Boulder, Lyons, or Estes Park along the way. If you choose to go in or out of the West entrance at Grand Lake, it’s about the same amount of time and will probably be much less crowded. The west side of the park is my favorite. The views of the mountains coming in from the east side are definitely spectacular, but the west side is quiet, uncrowded, and there tends to be more wildlife since there are less people. It’s one of our favorite spots in the state that we try to visit multiple times a year.

Dinosaur National Monument

Although many people probably thought as an anthropologist/archaeologist I studied Dinosaurs, I did not. I do, in fact, still love dinosaurs and think paleontology (the actual study of dinosaurs and prehistoric animals) is super cool. For this reason, we visited Dinosaur National Monument in the very northwest corner of Colorado, where Utah, Wyoming, and Colorado converge. You really have to mean to get there since it’s in the middle of nowhere, but once you’re there it is sooooo worth the drive. The park itself is beautiful with quiet campsites next to a calmly bubbling river that lulls you to sleep at night, but the main attraction is a giant multi-story high, hundreds of feet long wall of half-excavated dinosaur bones. There are bones from hundreds of different types of dinos and seeing the scale of their bones all piled together on this wall of dirt gives you a new appreciation for just how massive dinosaurs were. It’s an incredible sight to behold. With all the beautiful trails around the area as well, it’s a perfect weekend getaway.

Below is a photo of Austin next to one of the ‘smaller’ dinosaur bones for scale…

Durango/ Mesa Verde National Park

In the opposite corner of the state, Durango and Mesa Verde are right in the southwest corner, near the four corners AKA where Arizona, New Mexico, Colorado, and Utah meet. Durango is a quaint little old western town, where walking down main street makes you feel like you’ve walked into a John Wayne movie (shoutout to my dad). There are cute little restaurants, shops and breweries along the main street and the views of the surrounding landscape sneak in between western-style store fronts. A short drive from downtown Durango is Mesa Verde National Park. Famous for its ancient Puebloan cliff dwellings, there are archaeological stops all along the roads, and in summer park rangers give guided tours inside the cliff dwellings. You climb up wooden ladders onto the cliffs, and walk inside and around the ancient structures. It is seriously impressive to stand on a cliff’s edge and see another cliff dwelling across the gorge and imagine how the Puebloans built these structures and what made them leave (still a bit of a mystery)! Ok, my archaeology nerdiness is coming out. Just trust me, it’s beautiful and fascinating to see. You can also spot wild horses as well as lots of other animals throughout the park. The landscape is drastically different from Rocky Mountain National Park, or even Denver. It’s much more stereotypical southwestern and so worth the visit.

Mesa Verde National Park Colorado Puebloan

Aspen

Aspen is everything John Denver told you it would be (shout out to my mom). But really, Aspen is a magical, beautiful little town. The drive into town goes along winding one lane roads, tunneled with Aspen trees and views of snow capped mountains. Then out of nowhere, you turn around a bend and houses appear on either side of the road and suddenly you’re in downtown Aspen. With so many stunning campsites nearby, you don’t have to be a bougie movie star to visit. We have camped outside of town and stayed in the Limelight Hotel in downtown and both were wonderful experiences. You can walk around the old downtown area, take a gondola up on the mountain, visit Maroon Bells only about 20 minutes outside town, visit the Aspen Art museum, and last but not least, the John Denver Sanctuary. You may think it cheesy, but this was truly the most gorgeous spot in town. There are little streams winding through aspens and pines and evergreens with the occasional boulder etched with lyrics from a John Denver song. Visit in the fall and the colors are insanely beautiful. It’s almost like you can hear John faintly in the background singing “See the sunlight through the pine…”

Crested Butte

Last but not least, our favorite place we have visited so far, Crested Butte. Covered in several feet of fluffy white snow in winter, then blanketed with multicolored wildflowers in the summer, I honestly can’t decide which season I like it best. Their tiny and cute little main street has restaurants, outfitters, boutiques, and cozy little coffee shops. Crested Butte is separate from the ski village, Mt. Crested Butte, but there are free shuttles that take you to and from every few minutes. In the winter you can ski, snowboard, snowshoe, snowmobile, or just hot tub and enjoy the apres-ski. In the summer you can paddleboard on Lake Irwin, fish, camp, or hike one of the many trails nearby. If you really love this post and want to hit multiple places I’ve mentioned, you can hike from Aspen to Crested Butte in a day. It’s only about 11 or 12 miles to hike, and the hike begins at Maroon Bells, whereas driving from Aspen to Crested Butte takes around 3 hours.... because mountains. If I could visit Crested Butte every single weekend without having to drive 4.5 - 7 hours depending on traffic, snowy road conditions, etc, I would.

So there you have it. History, pretty landscapes, and dinosaurs are really all it takes to make me happy but I promise, even objectively these places are worth visiting. There are still several places I want to visit including Telluride, Hanging Lake, Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, and Zion National Park in Utah. I’m sure if you look there are cute little towns or beautiful landscapes and trails in your own state or region to love too. Take advantage and explore! Travel doesn’t have to be hours long plane rides or expensive hotels and resorts, so go be a tourist in your own neck of the woods and find places to love in your area.

Also, yes I did listen to John Denver while writing this for inspiration.

Happy February and happy travels!

Sami