National Parks of Colorado that are not Rocky Mountain or Mesa Verde
Rocky Mountain National Park is one of the most visited National Parks, but there are many other spectacular National Parks in Colorado that are worth a visit.
Starting from the western side of the state, Colorado National Monument is easily accessible from Grand Junction and I-70. The main activity is the 23 mile rim drive to view the canyon and many rock formations, which we drove in the late afternoon.
There are also a variety of hiking trails and the following morning, we went back to hike the Devil’s Kitchen trail on the eastern side of the park.
Approximately a 2 hour drive from Grand Junction, is Black Canyon of the Gunnison, which often comes up on the least visited National Parks list. The main activity at Black Canyon is also a rim drive, there are drives on both the south and north, but the south rim is more extensive and a little easier to get to with many places to pull off and hike short trails for views into the sheer, rocky canyon.
Another hour to the east is Curecanti National Recreation Area. I’m guessing this is a popular place in the summer for boating and other recreation, but there was not much happening in late September. We camped at Elk Creek Campground, which is a massive campground. It was windy and cold the night we camped, but the moonrise and sunrise were beautiful.
About 150 miles SE from Curecanti is Great Sand Dune National Park & Preserve. The dunes are tucked up right against the mountains. There are no designated trails in the dunes, and you can walk any direction and as far as you want to go, but walking in sand is not easy.
Heading towards the eastern border of Colorado, Bent’s Old Fort National Historic Site, near La Junta is a departure from all the nature and scenery of the other parks. There is a short loop trail through the grounds, but the main site is the reconstructed adobe fort, that was a main trading site in the mid-1800’s. Each room is furnished and it’s easy to wander from room to room to see what each is used for.
And last is Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Site, just a bit to the NE. This site is relatively new and not yet fully developed, so we didn’t end up stopping there on this trip, we’ll have to go back another time.
