LOCATION

Colorado, best known as the home of the highest peaks of the Rocky Mountains, is located in the western side of the US. While western Colorado is rocky, the eastern side is mostly High Plains or the prairie region and is sparsely populated. The state capital and largest city is Denver.

TOURIST ATTRACTIONS IN Colorado

ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK offers majestic mountain views, a variety of wildlife, climates and environments.

BLACK CANYON OF THE GUNNISON NATIONAL PARK's main attraction is the scenic drive along the southern rim of the canyon. There is also a campground and several miles of hiking and nature trails.

MESA VERDE NATIONAL PARK is best known for a large number of cliff dwellings, houses built in shallow caves along the canyon walls. The park's archeological museum has information about the ancient Puebloan civilization and displays findings and artwork.

GREAT SAND DUNES NATIONAL PARK AND PRESERVE is great for building sand castles and the creek inside the park is almost as popular as the dunes themselves.

NATIONAL FORESTS OF THE STATE INCLUDE:

Arapaho National Forest
Grand Mesa National Forest
Gunnison National Forest
Pike National Forest
Rio Grande National Forest
Roosevelt National Forest
Routt National Forest
San Isabel National Forest
San Juan National Forest
Uncompahgre National Forest
White River National Forest

NATIONAL MONUMENTS:

Dinosaur National Monument, located on the southeast flank of the Uinta Mountains, consists of a steeply tilted rock layer, which contains hundreds of dinosaur fossils.

Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument has huge petrified redwoods and fossils of ancient insects and plants, which are almost 35-million-years old.

Colorado National Monument: A semi-desert land filled with Pinyon pines and juniper trees, the main attraction here is the Monument Canyon, which runs through the length of the park, and includes rock formations such as Independence Monument, Window Rock, and Coke Ovens.

Hovenweep National Monument comprises of six clusters of Native American ruins. Four of these, Holly Canyon, Hackberry Canyon, Cutthroat Castle and Goodman Point, are in Colorado.

NATIONAL HISTORIC SITES

Bent's Old Fort National Historic Site: William and Charles Bent built the Fort in 1833 to trade with Indians and trappers. The fort provided explorers, adventurers, and the US Army a place to get needed supplies, wagon repairs, livestock, good food, water and company, rest and protection in this vast Great American Desert.

Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site commemorates the Sand Creek Massacre. Some human remains have been recovered at the site but it may be that the camp was much more widely spread.

THINGS TO DO IN COLORADO

There are lots to do in this huge state. Enjoy the World's highest suspension bridge, aerial tram; incline railway and the plaza theater. The Colorado Railroad Museum is recognized as one of the best privately supported rail museums in the US.
If you happen to visit the state in summer, make sure you take part in the Colorado music fest and the Shakespeare festival. One of the country's most renowned fests, it presents the Bard's comedies and tragedies each summer from July to mid-August. Most performances are held in the open-air Mary Rippon Theatre, where audiences sit on stone benches with the Flatirons as a backdrop.