The major attraction for visitors in the Denver area is Rocky Mountain National Park to the northwest. Though on the map the distances involved may not look that great, it would be a mistake to attempt to see the whole park on a day-trip from Denver. Segments of the loop drive along the way can be very slow and laborious, and in a single day it's more realistic just to dip a few miles into the park's eastern fringes.

The lively foothill town of Boulder can be used as a base, though the smaller mountain towns give you more time in the wilds: Grand Lake, near the western entrance, makes a more attractive stopover than overblown Estes Park on the east, while Winter Park is an affordable, enjoyable ski resort.

Further west, midway across the state on either side of the I-70 freeway, you'll find the famous Rocky Mountain ski resorts of Vail, Aspen and the rest, and the evocative mining town of Leadville . Continuing towards the Utah border, the landscape dips and rises in a patchwork of granite peaks, raging rivers and red-sandstone canyons, winding up at Grand Junction and the memorable scenery of Colorado National Monument and Dinosaur National Monument.

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Colorado Nat'l Monument


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