There are lots of top-rated attractions & places to visit in Colorado and It is one of the most tourist-attracted places in the whole of America. This state is filled with rivers, stunning mountain ranges, waterfalls, lakes and desert areas that make this state a top tourist destination in America.
There are lots of mountain towns in this state that allows you to enjoy all kinds of outdoor activities like hiking, mountain climbing, mountain bike riding and enjoying the great beauty in the mountain ranges.
Also along the drive, you take in this state while you are visiting, you can enjoy the natural beauty of the surrounding area while travelling through highways and parks.
Also by visiting places like national parks and monument sites you can enjoy the cultural and historical exhibits displayed in those places ageing back to the dinosaur era.
These are the top-rated attractions & places to visit in Colorado
1. Rocky Mountain National Park
It is known that the Rocky Mountain National Park is one of the most famous national parks in the whole of America and it is one of the top-rated attractions & places to visit in Colorado.
This national park is filled with natural mountain peaks and forests with valuable wildlife on them. In this park, there are 100 peaks spread across 10,000 feet and the highest one has a height of 14,259 feet.
Trail Ridge Road which has an altitude of 12,000 feet is the main route inside the park that allows you the full view of the terrain of this park. You can enjoy the view while you drive your car or can stop for a little while and walk around to enjoy the view.
This park offers you a collection of hikes starting from little ones that have half a mile to a day to three-day hikes to enjoy the views around the park and if you are lucky you will see a big horn sheep, elk and deer along the way.
Normally the summertime is the busiest time for this national park because of the crowd gathering in this place to enjoy its wildlife viewing, camping, fishing, hiking, climbing, bouldering and horseback riding.
In addition to that, the winter season holds a special kind of attraction among tourists because of the snow falling around the parking area and the activities attached to it. Many roads in the park are open to the public but on some occasions, due to bad weather, some of these roads may be closed to the public.
In case you are planning to visit this place in the May to October period you need to obtain a timed entry pass. Normally the passes can be booked on the 1st day of the previous month through the website. In case, you are planning camping then you don’t need an entry pass.
According to the above details, this place is one of the top-rated attractions & places to visit in Colorado.
The official website of this place is: www.nps.gov/romo/index.htm
2. Vail and Nearby Mountain Towns
The ski resort town of Vail is one of the top tourists attracted places in Colorado state not only in the winter but also at other times of the year. This place is one of the best places in Colorado state for skiing and it offers a good experience for any level of skier.
The town located at the bottom of this hill is a spectacular place not only because of its beauty but also of its facilities for the visitors like shopping, high-end hotel facilities, designer stores and fine dining.
This place is not very budget friendly at all times of the year because of the higher crowds. But in case you are looking for a cheap stay in this area, the surrounding towns offer reasonable accommodation for a reasonable fee.
Frisco town is also one of the worth visiting places around this place. In case you are exploring the I-70 corridor around Beaver Creek and Vail this is the base for you. In addition to that, there are lots of restaurants, cafes and shops with a mountain vibe for you to enjoy in this place.
In addition, for that Breckenridge town which is located at 9600 feet altitude has a casual and fun downtown and it offers you a great skiing experience in its Breckenridge Ski Resort. This place also has good nightlife that you can enjoy.
Also to the west side of the Vail, there are two towns called Avon and Beaver Creek. The Avon is the best place for you if you are looking for more affordable accommodations and the Beaver Creek is a ski resort that you can enjoy. Beaver Creek has good hotels, restaurants and a skating rink in the winter times.
According to the above details, this place is one of the top-rated attractions & places to visit in Colorado.
3. Denver
Denver is one of the most popular tourist destinations in Colorado state with fast-growing history. And it is one of the top-rated attractions & places to visit in Colorado. This city has 300-day sunny weather with great outdoor experiences for its visitors.
The clear weather lets your kids and young ones play at the beginning of the city. Also in addition to that you can go skiing in the winter in this place, go hiking in the spring while enjoying the beautiful view of this place and in the summer you can go for a mountain bike ride.
In case you are not interested in outdoor activities you can enjoy the cultural display of Red Rocks Park & Amphitheater or you can have a good dining experience in one of the best restaurants in the Latimer Square area. Other than these ones there is a worth visiting downtown area and several parks around the city.
According to the above details, this place is one of the top-rated attractions & places to visit in Colorado.
4. Mesa Verde National Park
This is one of the top-rated attractions & places to visit in Colorado state with its great access for visitors to see and learn about the ruins of the cliff dwellings.
Cliff Palace in the Mesa Verde National Park is the most impressive dwelling ruin collection in the entire southwest. In the summertime ranger-led tours allow the visitors to climb up the ladders and go to the heart of the dwellings. In case you are planning to visit this cliff place’s dwelling site it is highly recommended that booking the tickets in advance. Because there is a limited number of tickets and the bookings can be done 14 days before the visiting date.
In case you are not interested in visiting the ruins site, you can always enjoy its view in the overlook area.
There are lots of archaeological sites around this national park among them the cliff dwelling are the top ones that are occupied by the Ancestral Pueblo from 600 AD to 1300 AD. Road A allows the visitors access to a lot of historical sites and also the hiking trails do not require a ranger for guidance but it leads you to some of the interesting sites this park has.
This Mesa Verde town is located next to the towns of Cortez and Mancos. From the highway, it takes 45 minutes of ride to reach this place.
Also, there is a visitor centre where the visitors can get information about this place. So in case you are visiting this place, you need to get the information about the park and the road condition before starting the drive up the hill.
According to the above details, this place is one of the top-rated attractions & places to visit in Colorado.
The official website of this place is: https://www.nps.gov/meve/index.htm
5. Pikes Peak in Pike National Forest
Pikes Peak in Pike National Forest at 14,115 feet in height is one of the most famous “fourteeners” in the southwest of America. This is one of the top-rated attractions & places to visit in Colorado. The nickname “Fourteener” was given to the mountains which have a height of more than 14,000 feet. Also, you can recognize this snow-capped mountain from the nearby town called Colorado Springs.
After Fuji mountain, this is the most visited mountain in the whole world. Not like the other mountains you can drive up to the summit of Pike Peak mountain using the off-highway 24 or Pike Peak highway. Normal drive time to the peak of the mountain takes about 1.5 hours and other than that you can use the Pikes Peak Cog Railway.
A newly constructed visitor centre is in the top part of the Pike’s Peak Summit. The construction of this place was started in 2018 and now it is completed almost, it has built using wood and glass and it offers visitors an amazing view and dining options. In addition, for that visitors also like the famous fluffy doughnuts available in this place.
Other than enjoying the beautiful view of the surrounding this place offers you several options to enjoy, like hiking while enjoying the view, fishing in nearby reservoirs and mountain biking.
According to the above details, this place is one of the top-rated attractions & places to visit in Colorado.
The official website of this place is: http://www.fs.usda.gov/psicc
6. Garden of the Gods
The Garden of the Gods is also one of the top-rated attractions & places to visit in Colorado. This place is a registered national landmark place with up to 300 feet of high stone towers. Also, the rock formations in this place block the surrounding mountain view and allow you to watch only this area.
This place has more than 15 miles of walking trails some are long and some are short and allows you to enjoy the dramatic rock formations.
Rock climbing is one of the popular things the visitors do in this place and other than that bike riding in allowed bike lanes, mountain biking, and horseback riding and in the foothill of the mountains through Garden of the Gods there are jeep tours that you can enjoy.
With 20 minutes video on the geology of the park and exhibits the Garden of the Gods Park Visitor & Nature Center acts as a museum. This place also offers guided nature walks for its visitors and this place has good cafes with huge windows so that you can enjoy the view while enjoying a snack.
According to the above details, this place is one of the top-rated attractions & places to visit in Colorado.
The official website of this place is: http://www.gardenofgods.com
7. Durango and the Silverton Narrow Gauge Railway
Because of the surrounding mountains, Durango town has a good view for visitors to enjoy which is situated in southern Colorado. The downtown area has lots of historic old buildings that now operate as restaurants and hotels with an outside finish of the old west.
Durango & Silverton Narrow Gage Railway is one of the main tourists attracted places in the summertime. The train runs from the Durango valley to the Silverton mining town on the uphill side. Normally in the winter, the train doesn’t run every day but only on specific days only up to Cascade Canyon even if it is a different experience than the summertime it is good to check this ride.
Colorado trail is a 500-mile-long backcountry trail that runs from Denver to Durango. In this, you can do the hike on foot or use a bike ride by going up and coming back on the same day. The trail follows Junction Creek and Gudy’s Rest the place people are using to have lunch and turn back around.
You can find several hiking and mountain bike trails in both surrounding mountains and Durango town.
Normally Durango town is a skiing town in the winter season supported by the Purgatory Ski Resort located a quarter-hour away from the town. This resort attracts skiers from the local areas and other southwest areas. Some of these skiers temporarily try to live in the Durango area which has reasonably priced hotels and they are going skiing in Telluride which is a place located 2 hours away from Durango city.
According to the above details, this place is one of the top-rated attractions & places to visit in Colorado.
8. Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park
This Black Canyon is a rugged-looking canyon that is also a top-rated tourist-attracted place in Colorado. This place shows a dramatic canyon view with its cliff walls rising from te river called Gunnison river. The depth of the canyon is recorded as 2000 feet.
The main thing you can do here is to enjoy the view of the canyon and feel the natural environment while you are walking around the walking path or a flat and easy hiking trail. Also in case, if you are looking for an adventure you can hike into the canyon but the trails are not marked like in the other trails and you need to be careful because of its difficult and dangerous nature.
Also other than those things there are three camping grounds in this park and in the north and the south Rim camping areas you can camp using both tents and RV’s but in the East Portal you can only use the tents.
This Black Canyon of the Gunnison National park is situated 75 miles in the southeast direction from the Grand Junction. In case you live in Fruita or Grand Junction you can visit the Colorado National Monument and the Black Canyon in one day.
According to the above details, this place is one of the top-rated attractions & places to visit in Colorado.
The official website of this place is: http://www.nps.gov/blca/index.htm
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the no 1 attraction in Colorado?
According to the tourist’s feedback, the most famous tourist attraction place in Colorado state is the Rocky Mountain National Park. Not any tour in this state is complete without visiting this place.
What is the best time to visit Colorado?
Normally the summertime is the best time to visit Colorado. The perfect time is from mid-June to September in the summertime because of the clear weather and the availability of outdoor activities. But for ski lovers, the best time to visit is from December to march in the wintertime.
Is Colorado very expensive?
The living cost in Colorado state is 12% higher when compared to the national average. But the cost of living depends on the place you decide to stay and there are small rural towns from big cities in this state.
Is Colorado safe?
Colorado state has the highest property crime rate in the USA, 62% higher than the national average. Also in the other sectors it is the same. But you can always ask the hotel or neighbours before visiting any place.