We knew on our quest to visit all 63 US National Parks that we’d be making our way to Colorado, which we were really looking forward to. My friend Liz (she appears in my hiking recaps frequently) had moved to a suburb of Denver in 2019 and was nice enough to offer her house as an end destination on our trip. We plotted out a large loop around most of the state which would start and end in Denver, allowing us to spend some time visiting with her outside of our other adventures. We were so excited for a jam-packed vacation, but also to finally explore Colorado – we knew we’d both love it!
We left the East Coast early on a morning in May, so we could arrive in Colorado midday. Once we landed, we grabbed our rental car, gawked at all the surrounding mountains for a bit and then drove south to Pub Dog, a dog park and bar/restaurant in Colorado Springs where Liz and her pup Conrad would be meeting us for a late lunch. We had sandwiches and beers while we watched Conrad play with his friends. After lunch, we went to the Garden of the Gods to walk around. We weren’t dressed for hiking because we thought we’d just be aimlessly strolling around but we ended up doing 4 miles! It was a perfect afternoon though, warm and sunny but not too hot. It was nice getting to spend time with Liz too since I don’t get to see her often. She was amazing and gave us a TON of things to use on our road trip: blankets, towels, coolers, chairs, etc. It was so helpful since we couldn’t fly all of that with us. Since we’d be seeing her at the end of our vacation, we’d be able to bring back everything before our return flight. After saying our goodbyes, Jarrett and I went grocery shopping for the trip then checked into a cute hotel in Colorado Springs. They seemed to be in the process of renovating, so some aspects of the room weren’t ideal, but I’d stay there again if we were in the area.
On the morning of our second day, we left Colorado Springs with our sights set on Great Sand Dunes National Park. Our first stop was the Great Sand Dunes Oasis gas station, where we rented a sand board and wax for the day. They also gave you a brief overview of how to apply the wax and techniques for a successful sledding experience. It was $20 for a day of sledding. We only rented one since we figured we’d be taking turns riding it. The Park sign is right after you turn out of the gas station and back onto the road, so we stopped here for pictures. The views of the massive sand dunes with the snowcapped mountains in the backdrop are stunning!
We had good timing with our visit and got to see Medano Creek flowing through the park. While it wasn’t very deep, there were still a lot of kids “swimming” and playing in the water. We walked through it in our bare feet, and it was painfully cold. The day we went was warm, but it was also a little windy so while we had fun playing on the dunes and sledding, it felt like our skin was being sandblasted off our bodies. We wanted to go for a hike at the park but struggled to figure out where to park for the trailhead we wanted. We ended up leaving the park, returning the sand boards and driving a short way to a dirt road that would bring us to the trailhead for Zapata Falls. The hike to the falls was short, only a half mile, but we got nice views of the sand dunes in the distance. When we reached the creek, we were able to follow it into a rocky crevice and see the waterfall coming down from above. It was still partially frozen when we visited at the end of May!
After our short hike, we drove to downtown Alamosa to San Luis Valley Brewing Company for a post-hike beer. The brewery is in an old bank and you can see one of the old vaults behind the bar which was neat! We stayed the night in Del Norte, a cute small town about 50 minutes from the national park. We grabbed dinner at Colorado Grille & Tap House and I had some of the best tacos of my life! We really liked this restaurant, and I’d love to go back. The motel we stayed at was also such a gem. It was called Mellow Moon and is a woman owned small business. There were such cute little touches, like funky robes, cactus shaped pencils and a retro-style mini fridge.
The third morning, we left Del Norte early and headed to the town of Mancos to visit Mesa Verde National Park. Along the way we randomly saw hot air balloons and came across a large roadside waterfall (Treasure Falls). It was a beautiful drive. Mesa Verde is a visually striking park. When you take a picture with the park sign, there is a large mesa looming over you in the distance. The drive into the park is winding with gorgeous views. From one viewpoint you can see peaks in Utah on a clear day! After checking out some scenic views (and randomly seeing horses? Not sure if they were wild or roamed in from a farm), we hit the trails! We tackled the Petroglyph loop, which we both really enjoyed. However, during our hike, we came across an older man who had fallen. Two other hikers had gone to get help, and he ended up having to be airlifted out ☹ After eating lunch, we did a ranger led tour of the Cliff Palace, the largest cliff dwelling at the park. Learning the history of ancestral Puebloan people was so interesting and the feats of engineering they did building the dwellings is mind-blowing!
Our motel for the night was one that I’d had my eye on for a while. An author I follow on social media posted about it when she stayed there and after looking up the motel’s Instagram page, I fell in love! It was so quirky and fun with great décor. Mesa Verde Motel is independently owned by two local couples. It’s affordable but still has a boutique vibe to it. There is a bar and coffee shop on site. I had a great margarita there and we got breakfast sandwiches there the next morning. It’s the perfect homebase for exploring the national park and surrounding areas. Before going to bed, we went to Manco Brewing Co. down the street for beers and pizza. It was another unique spot that was very busy. They had live music outside with lots of space. I wish I had more time in town so I could explore some of the other restaurants and shops. Mancos is a cool little spot!
We left Mancos early on day four with Telluride as our next destination. It was another beautiful drive – the roads in Colorado are so gorgeous! We arrived in Telluride around 9am. On our way into town, we passed fields of elk. It was our first time seeing them so that was cool! The first stop was a hike to Bridal Veil Falls. The hike itself was fairly short and not too difficult, but we stopped a lot to take pictures. There were a few waterfalls along the trail, which was lovely. There was still a lot of snow on the upper part of the trail so the terrain did get a little treacherous, but we were still better equipped than most in our full hiking boots vs. sneakers. During the hike, it started out clear, then we got some rain, then it snowed, then finally cleared again to a sunny day. After the hike we went into town and grabbed lunch at Stronghouse Brew Pub, which gave off ski chalet vibes with the stone and wood interior. Then we headed to the free gondola for a ride for stunning views of the town and surrounding mountains.
After finishing the gondola ride, we headed north to our next national park – Black Canyon of the Gunnison. We were in awe the second we saw the first overlook. The canyon is gorgeous and the colors are unlike anything I’ve ever seen. We only explored the South Rim of the park, but we went to every viewpoint. We even saw big horned sheep here! Our motel wasn’t far from the park, about 25 minutes, so if you aren’t camping nearby, I’d recommend staying in Montrose!
The next morning, we headed back into the park and drove down a very steep, winding road to the bottom of the canyon to get a closer look at the Gunnison River. We walked around a bit, saw some men fishing and checked out the campground. Once we got back to the top of the canyon, we checked out a few of the viewpoints again to see how they looked different during the morning vs. afternoon. We also hiked Warner Point Nature Trail, which was short and easy but worth doing, the views were incredible! After we finished at the park, we continued our drive to Basalt, where we would be staying for the night.
After checking in early at the hotel, we headed to our next stop, which I was probably the most excited about – Hanging Lake. Our reservations weren’t until 5pm and the rangers said that we’d need to be on our way back down by 7pm, so the hike up was very fast paced. Once we got to the top, we slowed down and really lingered. The lake is absolutely stunning – the water is such an incredible blue-green color. Right above the lake is a large waterfall that feeds into multiple lower waterfalls, which feed into the lake. You can’t go in the water, but there is a large boardwalk so you can walk most of the way around. It looks like something from a fairytale – like a place that unicorns would live. I was SO happy after that hike!
We had an early start the following day to explore Maroon Bells. We had heard great things about it and were told it was a must do in Colorado. While it was beautiful, I don’t think it lived up to the hype when we were there between seasons. There was still a lot of snow and the trees were bare. I think we would enjoy it more in the summer or autumn. But we did see some deer, moose and marmots here. I think I caught a fleeting glimpse of a pika too, but I’m not positive! After our short hike here, we drove to Breckenridge. Our first stop was to see Thomas Dambo’s troll “Isak Heartsone”. I always love finding his trolls in our travels – they are so whimsical! After, we went to Breckenridge Brewery for beers and lunch, followed by some window shopping, but by early afternoon we were exhausted from our many jam-packed days of activities! We called it a day really early to try to get some rest.
The morning of day seven started with an easy hike to see Minnie Mine. I had wanted to do a full loop to see another mine, but unfortunately, they were doing trail maintenance and we couldn’t access it. We had a beautiful scenic drive, which included some quick stops at Sapphire Point Overlook and Loveland Pass. We got to the Estes Park entrance of Rocky Mountain National Park around noon and had to wait in line for a while, as expected. We drove up to Rainbow Curve Overlook on Trail Ridge Road. Originally, we had wanted to enter the park on the west side and drive Trail Ridge Road through to the east side, but it was still closed to vehicles at the halfway point due the snow. We saw lots of elk and some moose on our drive! Seeing wildlife is the best! We stayed in Estes Park and not far from the hotel was a sporting goods store. We rented micro spikes and poles for our hike the following day since there was still a lot of snow on the trails at higher elevations
Our first hike of our first full day at Rocky Mountain National Park was probably one of the most popular in the park. We hiked to Nymph, Emerald and Dream Lakes. There was still so much snow and I was so happy we had rented spikes and poles. We saw other people without them slipping and sliding all over the trails! We wanted to see Lake Haiyaha as well, but the trail up got really sketchy. Because the temperatures were warm, like in the mid-60s, the snow was getting soft and slushie, which made traversing the narrow trails of packed snow slippery and a little risky. We ended up turning around before making it there. I would love to go back in the summer or fall to do the whole hike! We also checked out Bear Lake, but because of how flat and accessible it is, it was packed with people. We took a quick picture there and then left. After the hike, we were driving to a picnic area for lunch when we saw a bunch of people on the side of road looking at something. It was a mama moose and two babies!! The babies were so cute. I was so happy to have a telephoto lens for my camera. It was one of the best wildlife moments I ever had! After lunch we did a short, easy hike to Alberta Falls, which was very pretty and worth doing.
The following day, we did a hike on the edge of Rocky Mountain National Park to see Gem Lake. The hike itself was really nice and enjoyable. It has a well-known, scenic pit toilet (seriously 😂) near the lake with views of the mountains that I was excited to use, but sadly it had been damaged over the winter and was closed for repairs. The lake itself seemed more like a pond to me, but it was a pretty spot, with cool rock features! After completing the hike, we said goodbye to the park and drove towards Denver. We were going to be staying with Liz for a few days but before we headed to her place, we stopped in the RiNo neighborhood of Denver for lunch and beers at Black Shirt Brewing Co. The rest of the day was pretty low-key, but we went with Liz and her dog Conrad to the best dog park I have ever seen!
We had a slow start to day 10, which was nice after being so busy. Jarrett and I left Liz’s and headed west to Mt. Blue Sky so we could do the scenic drive up to the summit. This is one of the tallest mountains in Colorado and is the highest paved road in North America! During the drive, the temperature dropped about 20ºF from the base of the drive to the summit! The road was harrowing, with steep drop offs, no guardrails, hair pin turns and large frost heaves. It was a very cool experience though. Once we left, we headed to Dinosaur Ridge to go see some fossils. This stop had a few cool sights but it wasn’t as great as I thought it would be. Afterwards, we got to experience a bucket list item – seeing a concert at Red Rocks Amphitheatre! One of our favorite bands, Ripe, was opening for another artist so we were able to see them play there. It was amazing and the venue is incredible! I’d love to go back to see another show there.
Our flight home on day eleven wasn’t until the evening so we still had a full day to do laundry, pack and then do a little more exploration! We went with Liz and Conrad to Staunton State Park in Pine, Colorado for a few hours to do a short hike. It was nice to get outside and stretch our legs before the long flight home. We were also treated to a beautiful sunset before we left Liz’s house, which is always a great way to end a trip!
We had such a great time in Colorado but there was still so much we didn’t get to see. I’d love to go back again in another season to see and do more – either to check out new areas or to revisit some of the spots where we ran into a lot of snow. Overall, I’m really pleased with how the trip went and the number of things we were able to do in 11 days!
📍I acknowledge the lands mentioned in this post are the ancestral lands of the Lipan Apache, Ute, Cheyenne, Diné Bikéyah, Pueblos and Arapaho people.
The Adventures of Suze 
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