Welcome to the State of Colorado
Dinosaur NP
Colorado NM
Black Canyon of the Gunnison NM
Crested Butte Great for Wild Flowers Mid July highways 82, 133, and 135 from Redstone to Crested Butte also up Gothic Road at Emerald Lake, Schofield Pass Road, Fridid and Hasley Pass
Kebler Pass from the Marble/Redstone area into Crested Butte great for flowers and fall colors
Yankee Boy Basin middle 2 weeks July for wildflowers.
Marble canyon
Crystal Mill Canyon and Crystal Mills you will need 4x4.
In San Jauns explore country roads 5, 7, 9 and last dollar all are off of highway 62 between Ridgeway and Placerville. Also Owl Creek Pass Great for fall colors
Ashcroft ghost town near Aspen and drive over Cottonwood Pass
Tin Cup has an interesting cemetery with separate Jewish, Catholic and Protestant sections. Also take Tin Cup Pass to St Elmo (great town) and Chalk Cliffs also take a soak in Princeton Hot Springs.
Hovenweep NM
Yucca House NM
Mesa Verda NP, Cliff palace, Spruce tree house, Sun temple, Step house, Long house ruin, Far view, Park point fire, Balcony house
Curecanti NRA
Florissant Fossil Beds NM
Bent’s Old Fort NHS
Rocky Mountain Wildlife Sanctuary
Paint Mines 30 miles East of Colorado Springs just outside of Calhan has hoodoos with the largerst group at sunrise or sunset.
Denver Area
Evergreen has a lake that is great to photograph and there is elk and deer all over in town. From Denver take highway 74. Right at the month of the canyon is red rocks loop road that is great at sunrise for pictures of red rock formations. Highway 74 follows Bear Creek where there are many places to stop and take pictures along the river.
Garden of the Gods has some very gorgeous red rock formations that are great to photograph sunrise and sunset. Garden of the Gods is actually in Colorado Springs. It is easy loop road to get around and there are lots of opportunities for interesting photos with many different views. At the upper parking area you can get great views of Pikes Peak. Early morning is best for that view, unless you want to capture it in silhouette at sunset.
Pikes Peak is in Manitou Springs and is definitely worth the trip. The train can be taken to the top or you can drive to the top. The tram trip up and back will take about 1/2 day, you are only at the top for about 1/2 hour or so. The trip itself is the most interesting part, and you can get nice shots from the train. Make sure you take a warm jacket, gloves and probably a hat for the. The drive up Pikes Peak is on a mountain road and can be a bit scary for some people, just drive slow and carefully. There are many stops on the way that provide for picnicking, hiking, wildlife and of course photograph.
Morrison and Red Rocks Amphitheater on the west side of Denver
Roxborough State Park
Manitou Springs is an older area and has some interesting Victorian buildings. Also some cliff dewllings.
Old Colorado is the old area of Colorado Springs and has some interesting old homes and other buildings. It would only take about an hour or two to cover this area and is not a "must see", but nice if you have some extra time.
Cave of the Winds, Balanced Rocks, and some ancient Indian cliff dwellings, all on the way to or around the Pikes Peak/Garden of the Gods area
Great Sand Dunes NM This is a 4 hour drive from Denver. The sun shining on the dunes with the blue mountains behind them make a great picture, but get there fairly early in the morning because the light can get pretty harsh in later morning. Zapata Falls is located in a box canyon and is about a half mile walk from the parking area, the trail is in pretty good shape. To photograph the falls itself, you will need to do some wading on stream cobble in water up to your knees to get to. The water is cold and probably varies in depth from season to season and after rainstorms upstream. There is some mist in the canyon, so take along something to cover your gear if you go. A tripod is important because it is fairly dark in the canyon and exposures will be fairly long. Zapata Falls can be one of the highlights of visiting GSDNP and I would recommend it. Sunset from the eastern boundary of the park towards the Sangre de Cristo Mountains make some great shots. Late afternoon is when thunderstorms normally occur in the mountains so that could cut your sunset light off as well, however many times those storms move out just in time for the sun to peak through on the western horizon giving great light with wonderful cloud formations above the dunes. The San Luis Valley also has nice photo’s to be had outside the park. Medano Primitive Road gives nice views along the base of the dunes. drive along the Medano primitive road taking pictures that you like.
Scenic route 12 between Trinidad and Walsenburg.
Road between La Veta and Cuchara, walls are nice in AM and in PM.. you get opposite sides of the wall lit up. Stonewall in AM you get one side of the wall with mountains behind.
Royal Gorge
Ouray – Silverton – Durango
This area is sometimes called the Swiss Alps of the United States. There is an old train that you can take from Durango to Silverton that is fantastic. There are many places to get the old steam trains picture along the river if you ride in the back of the train. If you like wildflowers, the area above Ouray and Silverton are spectacular for wild flowers around the end of July. Yankee Boy basin and American basin out of Silverton are great area’s to visit. They will require a 4x4 for these trips but if you don’t have one, you can rent them in Ouray. There are many old mines, with old building and left machinery that you can photograph.
Rocky Mountain NP
For scenic
photography, take falls road (one
way west), a gravel road up to where it meets the
main road, continue on that road to the west side and then return via
the main road. On the east side of
the park, there are several lakes near
the parking lot for Bear Lake. From
there, you can hike to the other
lakes. If you approach Rocky
Mountain from the west, Moose are
sometimes present around the Grand
Lake area. Elk will be present both
in the morning and evening in the
flats just inside the east
entrance. As you exit Rocky
Mountain from Estes to Loveland,
keep on eye on the cliffs on the
northeast side of the road for Big
Horn. Trail Ridge Road and Beaver Meadows is good for Elk. Try Moraine Meadow area for lots of elk. Alleuvial falls
Georgetown has old western buildings and a narrow gauge railroad
Cripple Creek has some nice wild flowers and landscape photography. Many 4WD roads provide access to the back country.
Buena Vista and surrounding area
Pawnee National Grasslands and on to Pawnee Buttes
Maroon Bells at sunrise
Castle Creek and Capital Creek Roads in the Aspen area
Ashcroft old mining town about 12 miles south of Aspen. There are about 10 buildings there. It is being preserved by
the town of Aspen. The charge is $3.00 and it is an easy drive that does
not require 4WD.
Independence Pass good for flowers in mid July
Ajax mountain good for flowers in mid July
American Basin good for flowers in mid July.
Seven Falls Area
U.S. Air Force Academy - Chapel makes a great shot.
Broadmoor Hotel
Check out the old mining towns above Colorado Springs of Goldfield and Victor
Dinosaur National Monument Check out the canyons of the Green and Yampa rivers.
Indain Peak Wilderness Try Mirror Lake with Lone Peak Reflected in the background
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