Often overlooked by European tourists in favor of the more flamboyant states of the American West, Colorado is nonetheless overflowing with natural treasures and boasts a rich cultural and historical heritage. Relatively off the beaten track and thus spared from mass tourism, this state, which covers an area of 269,620 km² (almost half the size of France), is a nature destination where, whatever the season, you can enjoy wild adventures to the rhythm of its rivers, ranches, snow-capped peaks and protected areas with landscapes that are sometimes desert, sometimes verdant.. Colorado is spoiled for choice, with four national parks offering an impressive variety of scenery. If it's impossible to remain insensible in the face of Colorado's wild and singular nature, its capital, Denver, is also one of the country's most pleasant cities. It's also one of the country's most pleasant big cities, with a lifestyle that's both close to nature and increasingly focused on culture. Not to mention its smaller towns, with their astonishing charm, often surrounded by mountains and never far from geological wonders to be discovered on memorable hikes. On both sides of the state, you can discover the legacy of the Amerindian nations who inhabited the region long before the arrival of Europeans, and follow in the footsteps of the pioneers who set out to conquer this vast territory during the conquest of the West. And as you wander along, you're often reminded that the scenery around you is fabulously worthy of a Western. All the more reason to take off for Colorado, a sunny state that's easy to get to know..
Denver, a vibrant, cultural state capital
Your base for a stay in Colorado will be Denver, the state capital with its 713,000 inhabitants, a pleasant stopover before heading off to the more remote regions of the state, where picture-postcard landscapes await you.
Sunny, lively and resolutely cool, Colorado's capital is nicknamed the "Mile High City" for its altitude of 1,609 m (one mile). Colorado as a whole is considered the highest state in the country, as it is the only one to be entirely above 1,000 m (it enjoys an average altitude of 2,074 m). So don't be surprised if, after a cocktail in one of Five Points' trendy bars, your head starts to spin faster than usual! The city's tourist office website has a few tips to help visitors cope with the high altitude, although most won't feel the effects in the capital. In any case, this might be a good opportunity to leave the hard liquor behind and try one of the local specialties: beer. Denver alone boasts over 70 breweries, while Colorado boasts some 440. The trendy River North Art District (RiNo to its friends) is home to a number of breweries where you can sample local beers between visits to art galleries and coffee breaks. However, Auraria is home to Denver's oldest surviving brewery, the Tivoli Brewing Company, founded in 1859 by a German immigrant. This impressive beer culture is set against the backdrop of the Gold Rush and the arrival in the region in the late 1850s of European immigrants attracted by the discovery of a gold deposit in a site close to present-day Denver. Beer, the drink of choice for these workers after a hard day's work, didn't keep well during the long journey to get here, so they had to adapt and create it locally!
Denver, the future capital of a state that would be officially founded in 1876, grew out of the camps created at the time to house the massive influx of miners. Today, the former stronghold of the gold miners is more than just a kingdom of beer: it's a lively, cultural city with much to offer visitors. We recommend the Denver Art Museum and its fine collection of Native American art. For an insight into the state's history, the History Colorado Center is an essential stop-off point, particularly for its exhibition on the Sand Creek Massacre, perpetrated by the Colorado militia against Native Americans during the American Civil War. For a bucolic interlude, the Denver Botanic Gardens are a must, with their magnificent Japanese garden and summer concerts. Denver is also a city where the food is good and varied. Just take a look at Union Station, the city's main train station, which is well worth a visit for its beautiful Beaux-Arts façade and Great Hall, home to numerous cafés, bars and restaurants, from the cosy to the chic.
After this stopover in one of the country's most pleasant state capitals, it's time to set off on the discovery of Colorado's jewels, without forgetting to stop off at a boutique in LoDo (the district surrounding Union Station) to pick up a cowboy hat and a matching pair of boots, just to be in the theme!
Protected and incredibly varied landscapes
Among its countless assets, the state attracts visitors first and foremost for its grandiose, wild and varied nature. In Colorado, we come face to face with the incredible forms that nature has unfolded over the millennia. Its four national parks, nine national monuments and eleven national forests aim to protect the state's unique ecosystems, which are home to an incredible wealth of flora and fauna, as well as numerous traces of its history. Untouched, unexploited landscapes that give travellers the opportunity to discover America as it was known to the first explorers. For a concentration of sublime panoramas, head for the north of the state and the majestic Rocky Mountain National Park, which covers 1,078 km² of lakes, peaks, tundra, valleys and forests, home to coyotes, elk, brown bears, bighorn sheep and marmots. With 575 km of trails, it's a hiker's and camper's paradise, but the park also lends itself to climbing, fishing, wildlife observation, horseback riding in summer and snowshoeing in winter! By car, don't miss the incredible panoramas of the Trail Ridge Road, which crosses the park and is the highest road in the United States. As you drive towards the Colorado River Plateau to discover the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, the scenery changes completely. As you head west, the landscape becomes more desert-like, the climate drier and hotter. Black Canyon is a deep gorge at the bottom of which flows the Gunnison River. In places, it is so narrow that sunlight can barely penetrate (hence its name). Within the park, a number of spectacular vantage points can be reached via hiking trails, but to descend to the very bottom, into the depths of the canyon, you need to be an experienced hiker. Further north lies one of the state's landmarks: Colorado National Monument, reached by taking the scenic Rim Rock Drive to the top of the Colorado Plateau. It's an impressive place, with its rock sculptures, steep-sided canyons and grandiose scenery that perfectly encapsulate our idea of the American West.
In the south, Colorado is home to the surreal landscapes of Great Sand Dunes National Park, which protects the highest sand dunes in the country, as well as areas of tundra, forests, waterfalls, mountain lakes and peaks. The dunes were formed by sand and sediment from the surrounding mountains. At the reception desk, the rangers are on hand to tell you all about their formation over the millennia. This park also lends itself to hiking, but it can be quite strenuous, as you have to walk in the sand and deal with the heat (in summer) and the wind. To reach Star Dune, the highest dune at 229 m, it takes around 9 hours round trip. Fortunately, if you don't feel up to it, you can always rent a sandboard and surf the dunes!
A destination for all seasons
While Colorado is ideal for a multitude of outdoor activities, hiking is almost a religion here! When the weather's fine, locals and visitors alike happily hike the thousands of trails that criss-cross the state. One figure gives an idea of the importance of this activity: Colorado is home to over 60,000 km of hiking trails. By taking them, the hiker is granted the privilege of accessing all kinds of landscapes and ecosystems. The longest of all, and also the most legendary, is the Colorado Trail. It runs from Denver to Durango, a little over 800 km through the Colorado Rockies, along well-marked and well-maintained trails. To complete the trail, you'll need to allow between 4 and 6 weeks, depending on your pace. It's a good idea to consult the official Colorado Trail website to plan your trip.
In winter, the state's most popular activity is skiing, although prices can be exorbitant at the most popular resorts. In fact, the country's most expensive ski resort is in Colorado: the slopes of Aspen, a 3.5-hour drive from Denver, attract visitors with their breathtaking scenery and remote location. However, not all resorts in the state charge such prices: you can also ski at Echo Mountain, just 50 minutes from Denver, at Purgatory Resort, north of Durango, or at Sunlight Mountain Resort, nestled between Vail and Aspen. Outside the winter season, Aspen proves to be a charming little town to explore, offering the chance to enjoy its magnificent scenery.
And if all that weren't enough, Colorado is also renowned for its mineral-laden hot springs, which are great to splash around in both summer and winter. There's an almost 1,300 km-long Colorado Historic Hot Springs Loop that you can take to see the state's finest springs, including Steamboat Springs, Pagosa Springs and Glenwood Springs. Colorado Springs is not part of this tour, which is limited to the western part of Colorado, but there are hot springs close to the state's second most populous city. What's more, a trip to Colorado Springs gives you the chance to visit the magnificent Garden of the Gods, a site protected for its astonishing red rock formations, just outside town.
On Colorado's Native American lands
A stay in Colorado is also an opportunity to familiarize yourself with the way of life of the Amerindians, the first occupants of the territory for whom European colonization had catastrophic consequences. Before being forced to cede their lands to the settlers, several Amerindian tribes occupied what is now Colorado: the Apaches, Arapahos, Cheyennes, Pueblos, Utes and Shoshones. To follow in the footsteps of Colorado's native peoples, head for Mesa Verde National Park, in the southwest of the state, which protects several thousand ancestral archaeological sites and was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1978.
It is the largest archaeological reserve in the United States, and has the distinction of housing a high concentration of Native American habitats built between 650 and 1,300 CE. The main attraction of the national park is the cliff dwellings built by the Anasazi, ancestors of the Pueblos, from the 1150's. Some of these rock dwellings are particularly remarkable for their size, such as Cliff Palace, the largest on the North American continent with around 150 rooms.
In addition to the spectacular troglodytic villages of Mesa Verde, the town of Montrose has a small, highly informative museum dedicated to the history of the Utes, a tribe of which only some 7,000 members remain today, scattered across three tribal reservations in Colorado and Utah. Although Native Americans now occupy only a tiny fraction of their former homelands, they have not disappeared. Throughout the United States, from 1851 onwards, Native American populations were relocated to reservations, where many still live today.
Between April and October, you can visit the tribal reservation where the Mountain Utes live. It's located in the southwest of the state, forty minutes from Mesa Verde National Park. To gain access, you must be accompanied by a guide from the tribe (contact the Ute Mountain Tribal Park Visitor Center). This is undoubtedly the best way to learn more about the history and culture of this people from a Native American perspective. The visit also provides access to remarkable landscapes, rock dwellings and petroglyphs recounting ancestral legends. The remains are less well preserved than at Mesa Verde, but the whole experience is punctuated by fascinating explanations and anecdotes.
The ghosts of the gold rush
Native American civilizations began their long and tragic decline as Europeans and Americans extended their hold on the continent. From the 16th century onwards, close and complex relations were forged between the colonists and the Native American populations, against a backdrop of pacts, deadly conflicts and the desire for domination. The push westward continued, and explorers ventured further and further into this vast territory. When Napoleon sold the Louisiana territory to the United States in 1803 to finance his wars, the eastern part of the Colorado River became American. The other half, west of the Rocky Mountains, was ceded by the Mexicans in 1848 and acquired by the Republic of Texas in 1850.
The Pikes Peak Gold Rush, which began in 1858, is one of the major events in modern Colorado history. Triggered by rumors of gold in the Rocky Mountains, the rush for gold - and later for other precious minerals - was responsible for a massive influx of immigrants to the region and the creation of settlements to house them, some of which grew to become major cities. Others, on the other hand, were emptied of their inhabitants when the gold fever subsided, becoming veritable ghost towns. To bring the past to life, stop off at one of them.
St. Elmo, founded in the late 1870s following the discovery of gold and silver deposits, is one of Colorado's best-preserved ghost towns. In its heyday, it had a population of around 2,000. Its saloon, jail, store and houses are frozen in time. In the state of Colorado alone, there are some 1,500 of these ghost towns, particularly numerous in the Rocky Mountain region where most of the mining activity took place.
Another not-to-be-missed stop for a trip back in time is the town of Silverton, in southern Colorado, whose foundation is obviously linked to mining activity, more specifically to the silver deposits discovered in the San Juan Mountains. For even more realism, take the train that has been running between Silverton and Durango since 1881, along the historic Durango and Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad. Back then, the track was used to transport silver and gold ores. Now a tourist attraction, the train is pulled by a coal-fired locomotive and winds its way through spectacular scenery. The journey to Durango and on to Ouray is also easily accomplished by car, along the sublime 40 km Million Dollar Highway.
The gateway to the Wild West
Not all that remains of the era so often depicted on the silver screen are ghosts: today, Colorado is still full of ranches where real cowboys on horseback watch over their cattle in the middle of endless pastures. If you take the scenic West Elk Loop road around the West Elk Mountains in the western part of the state, you'll find yourself projected into landscapes evocative of the Wild West: cute little towns worthy of a western movie, mines still in operation, bucolic landscapes where high peaks peek out behind expanses of wildflowers... Crested Butte can be the starting or finishing point of this 330 km loop.
Far from having fallen by the wayside, this charming village at the foot of the mountains is very much alive today, with its shops, restaurants, Sunday morning market (in fine weather) and Wildflower Festival, which brightens up the region every July, when the mountainsides are covered with yellow, purple, red and white flowers... As for architecture, the town center offers an interesting mix of styles, with its Main Street lined with Victorian houses and colonial buildings that take us back to the days of the gold rush. Crested Butte is also a popular winter destination thanks to its ski resort, and the village looks particularly beautiful in the snow. Please note, however, that this road trip along West Elk Loop is best undertaken in fine weather, as certain sections of the road are impassable in winter (Kebler Pass is only accessible to cars between late May and early November).
In response to the growing demand from travellers seeking simplicity and disconnection, many Colorado ranches have been converted into hotels. Dude ranches or guest ranches, as they're known, offer all sorts of similar services: horseback riding, fly-fishing, rafting, fireside storytelling after dark, all in an extremely privileged natural setting. Some ranches are still in operation, caring for livestock and farm animals, while others offer much more luxurious facilities (spa, yoga classes, massages, hot tubs, etc.), so it's a far cry from the image you might have of a cowboy sleeping under the stars with his nag for sole companion, but the experience is still a change of scenery!
To find out more, visit the tourist office's website, which lists the state's ranches. With this formidable epic, Colorado once again enchants the traveler, conquered as much by the beauty of its landscapes as by the richness of the Western tradition that continues to this day. The good news is, you'll fit right in with your cowboy hat and boots!
TIPS
Getting there
By air. Price of a flight from Paris to Denver: €500 to €1,200 depending on the season. Air France offers direct flights from Paris CDG from May to October. The non-stop flight takes 9.5 hours.
By train. In the United States, distances are great and trains are slow (and expensive)... Americans themselves travel almost exclusively by car or, to go from one state to another, by plane. Nevertheless, two trains crossing several states pass through Colorado: the California Zephyr, which runs from Chicago to Oakland via Denver, Glenwood Springs and Grand Junction; and the Rocky Mountaineer, linking Denver to Moab, via Glenwood Springs.
By car. For those who are already in the USA, Colorado is often an essential stopover on a cross-country road trip, as it lies more or less in the center of the country, at the gateway to the American West!
When to visit?
All year round! And the experience can be radically different depending on the season, as Colorado enjoys a diverse climate. Mountainous regions can be difficult to access in winter, while some parts of the state are very hot in summer, with 300 days of sunshine a year. The climate is very dry, hot in summer but never scorching. You'll need to adapt your stay according to the time of year, as well as the altitude.
Duration
Allow at least two weeks, especially if you want to discover Colorado's most remote regions.
Public
Colorado is ideal for solo travelers, couples and families. The state is vast and rich enough to appeal to everyone. Travelers in search of authenticity and wide-open spaces will be particularly won over.
Budget
The United States is a relatively expensive destination, where the cost of living is a little higher than in France, and Colorado is no exception. However, the budget will depend on the type of stay and the choice of accommodation: while hotels in the cities are not cheap, the state is full of campsites, not to mention the fact that you can also pitch your tent in the wilderness and indulge in bivouac camping. What's more, rates for nature activities are reasonable.
Benefits
- Come face-to-face with an incredibly varied wilderness.
- Discover a rich history, from Native American culture to Western heritage.
- Fly to Colorado in any season, depending on the experience you're looking for.
The minuses
- Colorado is not a destination for night owls, because even in Denver, bars and nightclubs close at 2 a.m.
Useful
COLORADO TOURIST OFFICE - More information on the site
Time difference
The time difference with France is 8 hours.
