Great town park. Clean bathrooms. Picnic tables in the shade. Basketball hoops. Playground. Spent 2…read morehours here picnicking and playing while my husband had work calls., we had the park to ourselves in a busy day in Pagosa Springs

Ramps and Alleys is a gem in Salida!…read more They offer tons of gear for local skateboarders and roller skaters alike! You can find what you need here. This is a great spot to meet up with friends that skate as they have indoor and outdoor ramps available for use and a meet-up room where you can hang out and keep your skate bags / gear handy. The service was absolutely wonderful / welcoming and the shop has such a vibrant aesthetic! We loved visiting and will be returning again in the future! PS - Thanks for the Ramps and Alleys stickers! I'll cherish them!

From the owner: Salida's only skate shop! We are located less than one minute from the new Grindline Skatepark…read morelocated in Centennial Park. Ramps and Alleys is dedicated to providing a professional retail environment for all your roller skate and skateboard needs as well as ice skate rentals and hockey accessories. We offer custom builds, repairs, maintenance and ice skate sharpening. We also offer an indoor mini park and an outdoor ramp as part of our non-profit clubhouse. All donations for skating on the ramps goes directly to the club. Private rentals of the clubhouse and ramps are available. Call for details and bookings.

This joyous roadside hike is perfect for people of all ages. It's short, and even amateur…read moreboot-strappers from the lowlands or sea level, who routinely struggle at altitude, should be able to make it up and down. Mountain lions do call the area home, as is the case across the high country. What was different here was the size of kitty potty found on the trail. It was 18 inches long. Translation: very big cat. With 4,000 puma statewide, for me, by way of trail signs, this has been a pretty active region. One of the best visuals came one winter while snowshoeing in a remote, deep snowscape. I followed the extended gait of a fellow traveler, in five to ten foot snow, thoroughly enjoying the easily identifiable stride set by a very large mountain lion, the top of the snow constantly disrupted by the sashay of its tail on the rising and falling terra of rolling hills and high alpine meadow.

Nice place with good views and a moderate hike. Ample parking and best of all, it's free!read more

Clean little Park, nice lawn, good maintenance, lunch tables and park benches…read more There is a lot of traffic from the main highway. The high point is the War memorial lovingly put in the park to remember fallen heroes.

Just a little piece of so called grass. No play structures at all. The pictures are out dated and I…read morewouldn't consider it a park. Good for dogs maybe....

As home to the tallest sand dunes in North America, this place is absolutely worth checking out. We…read morecame over Memorial Day weekend and we had been hearing rumblings in town that this is typically one of their busiest seasons of the year so we were really nervous we would have to wait in long lines, it would be crowded, and we wouldn't be able to enjoy our hike up the sand dunes. It was actually totally chill, it took maybe 15 minutes to get situated and pay for our park pass, drive to the dunes, and find parking but nothing outrageous. I will say the park rangers here are not friendly and fairly rude if I'm being honest. The dunes themselves were super fun, we had never been to anything with this much sand before so it was a blast sledding down the hills! All of the visitors were really nice and friendly to one another which is always great to see. We specifically rented a 4x4 jeep so we could go on the Medano Pass Primitive Road and probably only made it about 5 miles. THIS was actually crowded and unruly as it's one lane and you have to park on the side every now and then to let cars from the opposite direction come through. It was bumpy, not scenic at all, and rather annoying having to stop so frequently so we ended up ditching it and leaving to go to the visitor center instead. If I were to redo this part, I would have just rented a cheaper car that wasn't a 4x4 and saved loads of gas. Because the park is open 24/7, we were especially excited to come back at night though and see the dunes. We returned around 10:30pm and although there were some really annoying people blasting music in the dunes parking lot that ruined the ambiance, the stars were absolutely magnificent. Since it's a certified International Dark Sky Park,they were absolutely stunning and radiating from the night sky. We got so lucky it was a clear night so we could see them so well! That was the highlight of our trip for sure.

A truly remarkable landscape that must be experienced. These are the tallest sand dunes in North…read moreAmerica. Yes, in Colorful Colorado!!! My first trip to Great Sand Dunes National Park was in February of this year. It completely exceeded my expectations. No, it's not classic Colorado. Yes, I visited in the off season (more people should do this!) Minimal crowds meant having most of the park to myself. I rented a sandboard in Alamosa and sandboarded down the dunes. Only $20 at Kristi Mountain Sports! Talk about a thrilling experience! Totally recommend doing this if you're craving an adventure. All you have to be cautious of are the weather conditions, specifically wind. I watched the forecast like a hawk and tailored my visit accordingly. The two popular hikes to experience the dunes are High Dune and Star Dune, with the latter being the tallest. Now you know I'm a hiker and that I grew up near the ocean...but hiking on sand??? Not for the faint of heart! I made it up to High Dune and ran out of water and decided it was best to head back. Incredible views of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. At a few points I was completely surrounded by dunes and that was a feeling I never thought I'd experience! Visiting at sunrise the following morning was spectacular. I was the only one in the trailhead parking lot! The pink skies over the dunes and mountains was a special combination. I hiked the Dunes Overlook Trail afterwards and I'd recommend it since you get to see the park from a higher vantage point. I also saw 25 deer on trail, no I'm not exaggerating! This was the adventure of a lifetime. Go play in Colorado's sandbox, you'll be surprised how much you enjoy it! Can't wait to come back!

he Elephant Rocks are part of the Fish Canyon Tuff; volcanic ash welded together over time and has…read morebeen determined to be at least 28 million years old. While the origin of the Wagon tracks is still greatly debated, it is believed that these tracks were cut into the soft volcanic tuff by the action of conastoga wagon wheels. Our Geology-based Earthwatch Expedition spent a lot a time in this area, including parts of the Masonic Park Tuff that revealed itself as we traveled farther in. We had a great time drilling holes (with permit), orienting, using a Schmit Hammer to measure rebound (rock hardness), and collecting samples. This also involved a great deal of hiking at high altitude, which by the end of the trip, put me in really good physical shape. The high desert scenery was also stunning and introspective. I may never pass this way again, but I'll never forget my experience.

The Rio Grande National Forest spans over 1.83 million acres in southern Colorado. You can enjoy…read moremuch of its beauty by hopping on and off your drive along Route 160. We were headed from Great Sand Dunes National Park to Mesa Verde and completely underestimated this stunning drive. It seems as though much of this area is untouched and not visited by many as we were the only ones one the road for miles and miles. Some fun facts: -The Rio Grande which obviously runs through this forest with the same name starts its 1800 mile journey down to to the Gulf of Mexico high up in the San Juan Mountains in the western most part of this forest. -The Continental Divide runs for 236 miles along most of the border on the west side of the Forest and the jagged tops of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains on the eastern border. -In between the two mountain ranges, Sangre dr Cristo and San Juan sits the San Luis Valley which is said to be the largest agricultural alpine valley in the US! -The Forest is 7600 ft above sea level and peaks at 14,300 feet Warnings: -The elevation is NO JOKE! I definitely felt it here. The kids didn't mention anything however. Come prepared with a electrolyte fluids and/or electrolyte bands. (I get mine on Amazon) -The roads are curvy and much of them remain without a guard rail. That in combination with the potential weather and slippery roads, and the wildlife...I don't suggest driving on here at night. Plan according to be off the roads before complete sunset, but try to stay on for the beginning of it! Beautiful! -Get gas before entering down this stretch of 160! Not a station is around! -You will have little to no cell reception. The sights are beautiful! Make sure you stop and wander a bit, but don't get lost as it's fairly remote and desolate and you will most likely not have cell reception. There's definitely wildlife as we stumbled upon what I believe was a deer carcass, rib cage and pelt just at the base of the Rio Grande. (There's no school class quite like self exploration for the wee ones) Oh, and if you're an avid hiker and have your filtration water bottle on hand, take some sips of the Rio Grande! How many can say they have? Cool! My kiddos very much enjoyed snowball fights mid April! It seems from the weather reports on their site there's usually snow here even in the summer, just higher up the peaks. So fun! I would come back again to explore and backcountry camp OTG (off the grid) a bit next time. We recommend exploring on your drive through this section of the highway.

After the disappointment of the auto trail at the Monte Vista National Wildlife Refuge, the Alder…read moreTrail at the Rio Grande National Forest provided a much needed dose of nature. The route to the trail was a little difficult to find, but the Alder Creek Guard Station made it easy to see that we were on the right track. The trail itself was fairly steep, but it provided a pleasant glimpse at the forest, mountains, and the flat lands below. We didn't see much in the way of wildlife (with the exception of a few species of birds), but we were put at ease by the beautiful trees and babbling brook. A very peaceful experience for anyone looking for a moderate hiking trail with a great view.

In the traditional sense. But definitely historic as in something that you should see. It's about…read morean hour south of denver. And well worth the drive. If you go in Winter make sure you have snow tires or chains. Be smart about this. This is colorado. Was much more advanced and creative than I had been told. I would go back again to see what kind of advancement has been made. Appears to be pretty much structurally sound. Although if you weigh over 130 lb I would be cautious in going on the scaffolding. What's that being said the majority of the structure is very stable and very secure. While you were there, please be respectful. Respectful of others. Respectful of the property and respectful of the effort that has gone into this work of art. This is one man's dream that has come to fruition. There is a donation box. It is advisable I would leave a donation. I left $20 which I thought was more than worth it to see this marvel.

Bishop's castle is one of the coolest things in Colorado. It is a drive in the middle of nowhere…read more Constructed by a man who just wanted a castle. All hand made. Very scarey when you get up to higher points but you just have to trust his engineering. He has since passed away he was the coolest guy ever. He didnt build this place for profit it isnt a place of business. The only way they keep this place going is donation based. Can be dangerous at parts so be careful.