Colorado Springs · $$$$$ — Donald Ross / classic
Road trips · Colorado
Colorado road trips & hidden gems.
Colorado runs on altitude — 14,000-foot peaks, alpine lakes, hot springs, and old mining towns strung along jaw-dropping mountain passes. Summer and fall (the aspens!) are prime, and mountain weather turns on a dime. Big air, big country.
Happening in Colorado
Sundance Film Festival 2027
Barely two dozen marquee events hit the whole country in a year — and Colorado has one this January. Roamward builds the trip around it: the scenic route in, the detours worth a slack day, and when rooms sell out.
Book now — rates climbingPlan the trip around it →
Best time to visitSummer & fall (golden aspens)
Don’t missA soak in a mountain hot spring
Gem Hunt nominees10 candidates
Hikes14 curated
Scenic drives5
Gem Hunt nominees
What locals say you shouldn’t miss.
Community-nominated candidates. Add yours and vote to help choose the first published finalists.
Bishop Castle
A towering, hand-built stone-and-iron castle one man has been constructing for decades in the San Isabel National Forest southwest of Pueblo, complete with a fire-breathing dragon.
Strawberry Park Hot SpringsStone-lined natural pools set in the forest just outside Steamboat Springs, reached by a rough dirt road — rustic, scenic, and clothing-optional after dark.
Independence PassA white-knuckle paved climb over 12,000 feet between Twin Lakes and Aspen, threading alpine tundra and old mining ruins, open only in the warmer months.
Paint Mines Interpretive ParkA surreal little canyon of banded, candy-colored clay spires near Calhan east of Colorado Springs, where people quarried pigment for centuries — easy trails, big payoff.
Great Sand Dunes National ParkNorth America's tallest dunes piled against the Sangre de Cristos in the San Luis Valley, where you can sandboard the slopes and wade Medano Creek in spring.
St. ElmoColorado's best-preserved ghost town near Buena Vista, with a wooden main street of false-front storefronts and chipmunks that'll eat from your hand — a dusty, atmospheric end-of-the-road stop.
Worth traveling for
Events that put Colorado on the calendar.
The big ones
National parks in Colorado.
The bucket-list landscapes — when to go and what not to miss.
Explore by interest
Everything else worth a stop in Colorado.
Start with a few highlights, choose one interest, or explicitly open the full state guide.
Showing General guide and Scenic routes highlights. Choose a category or Show all for the full state guide.
Scenic drives
Scenic routes through Colorado.
Million Dollar HighwayDurango → Ouray, CO · ~70 milesRoute →Trail Ridge RoadEstes Park → Grand Lake, CO · ~48 milesRoute →San Juan SkywayDurango → Silverton → Ouray → Telluride loop, CO · ~233-mile loopRoute →Pikes Peak HighwayCascade, CO → Pikes Peak summit · ~19 miles to the summitRoute →Mount Blue Sky Scenic Byway (formerly Mount Evans)Idaho Springs → Mount Blue Sky summit, CO · ~28 miles to the summitRoute →
More worth the detour
The general guide to Colorado.
Museums, monuments, historic sites, and local-only stops from Roamward's shared place map.
Eldorado Canyon State Park
Golden sandstone walls rise above South Boulder Creek, drawing climbers to hundreds of routes while hikers and picnickers share the narrow canyon below.
Roxborough State ParkTilted red sandstone fins, foothill grasslands, and wildlife create a dramatic natural amphitheater just southwest of Denver.
Boots on
Best hikes in Colorado.
From family-easy to bucket-list — trails worth the detour, great for the RV & camping crew.
Booth Falls (Vail)
a waterfall in the Gore Range
Chasm Lake (RMNP)right beneath the sheer face of Longs Peak
Conundrum Hot Springsa long hike to alpine soaking pools
Devil’s Head Lookouta fire-lookout climb with sweeping views
Emerald Lake (RMNP)three alpine lakes strung below the peaks
Garden of the Gods Loopred-rock formations on a paved loop — family/RV
Beyond the parks
Wild lands in Colorado.
National forests, wilderness, and monuments — the big scenic public land between the parks and the gems.
Bucket-list wonders
Scenic landmarks in Colorado.
The iconic slot canyons, overlooks, and rock formations — and how you actually get to visit each one.
Where to wake up
Camping in Colorado.
The most scenic places to pitch a tent or park the rig — each with how to reserve and how RV-friendly it is.
Moraine Park
Elk meadows in Rocky Mountain National Park.
Maroon BellsCamp below the most-photographed peaks in the US.
Hartman RocksFree high-desert camping & singletrack near Gunnison.
Last Dollar RoadFree aspen camping under the Sneffels Range.
Medano / Sand DunesFree creekside camping below North America’s tallest dunes.
Raise a glass
Breweries, distilleries & wineries in Colorado.
The trip-worthy taprooms, distilleries, and wine country.
Avery Brewing
a Boulder mainstay with a big tap house and deep barrel-aged lineup.
Great Divide Brewinga downtown Denver anchor, home of the Yeti stout.
Left Hand Brewinghome of the silky Milk Stout Nitro, on the St. Vrain River.
Leopold Brosa craft distillery with its own floor maltings, known for whiskey and gin.
New Belgium Brewingthe Fat Tire pioneer and a famously fun tour in a craft-beer town.
Odell Brewinga Fort Collins staple with a great taproom patio.
Where to eat
Road-trip dining in Colorado.
Restaurants, diners, and food halls that fit the drive — curated by town, not scraped from a phone book.
Calvillo's Mexican Restaurant
San Luis Valley institution famous for its sprawling Mexican buffet and smothered plates — the calorie reload you want after climbing High Dune. Portions built for sandboarders.
LocavoresFast-casual San Luis Valley sourcing — bowls, tacos, salads, and local ingredients that feel good after a sand-dune hike.
Milagros Coffee HouseNonprofit coffeehouse on Main Street where every dollar supports La Puente's homelessness work in the valley. Good espresso, pastries, and a feel-good caffeine stop before the park.
San Luis Valley Brewing CompanyCraft brewery in a converted downtown bank, 35 minutes from the dunes — the valley's default dinner-and-a-beer stop. The green chile ale is the local calling card.
The Friar's ForkScratch Italian and wine in downtown Alamosa, the grown-up dinner for travelers basing at the San Luis Valley gateway.
The Rubi SlipperCozy, quirky breakfast joint that fills up with locals on weekends. Fuel up here before the 35-minute drive out to the dunes — mornings on the sand beat afternoons.
Snow season
Best ski resorts in Colorado.
Big-mountain steeps, all-mountain variety, and family hills.
Vail
a behemoth of terrain crowned by the legendary Back Bowls.
Breckenridgehigh, historic, and huge above a Victorian mining town.
Aspen Snowmassfour mountains of legendary steeps and a world-class scene.
Telluridea dramatic box-canyon resort with serious steeps and views.
Steamboatfamous Champagne Powder and the best tree skiing anywhere.
Winter ParkMary Jane’s legendary bumps, the closest big resort to Denver.
On two wheels (road)
Best cycling in Colorado.
Scenic road rides, iconic climbs, and car-free rail-trails.
Knobby tires
Best mountain biking in Colorado.
Trail systems, bike parks, and gravel routes.
Trail 401
singletrack through wildflower meadows in the birthplace of MTB.
18 Road (Bookcliffs)desert flow trails like Joe’s Ridge and PBR near the Utah line.
Monarch Cresta legendary high-alpine point-to-point along the Continental Divide.
Trestle Bike ParkColorado’s biggest lift-served downhill park.
Horse Gulcha big trail network right out of downtown Durango.
Buffalo Creekfast, sandy, fire-scarred flow in the pines near Denver.
Soak it in
Best hot springs in Colorado.
Resorts, historic bathhouses, and wild primitive soaks.
Glenwood Hot Springs
the world’s largest hot-springs pool, a Colorado institution since 1888.
Iron Mountain Hot Springs16 mineral soaking pools terraced right along the Colorado River.
Strawberry Park Hot Springsrustic stone pools in the forest, clothing-optional after dark.
Old Town Hot Springsa family-friendly pool complex with waterslides in town.
Ouray Hot Springsa big public pool ringed by the peaks of the "Switzerland of America".
Orvis Hot Springsserene natural-bottom pools with San Juan views, clothing-optional.
Chasing water
Best waterfalls in Colorado.
From roadside stops to bucket-list hikes — easy ones flagged for the RV & family crew.
Bridal Veil Falls (Telluride)
Colorado’s tallest free-falling fall, with a historic power station at its lip.
Box Canyon Fallsa roaring fall thundering inside a narrow slot in Ouray.
Fish Creek Fallsa powerful fall just outside Steamboat, roaring at snowmelt.
Seven Fallsa stair-step series in a narrow box canyon near the Springs.
Treasure Fallsa wind-blown plume right beside the highway over Wolf Creek Pass.
Cascade Falls (Ouray)a fall tumbling right into the edge of town in the "Switzerland of America".
Tee it up
Public golf you can book in Colorado.
Wolcott · $$$$ — High-country golf near Vail
Littleton · $$$ — Most scenic
Breckenridge · $$$
Keystone · $$$
Castle Rock · $$$
Take me out
MLB ballparks in Colorado.
Plan the Colorado trip
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Where to stay
Find a place to stay near Colorado.
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