Colorado National Parks

• Rocky Mountain National Park, located in the northern part of Colorado, is world renowned for the beauty of its ancient mountains and the diversity of its plant and animal life. The park was established on January 26, 1915 and contains 60 peaks rising above 12,000 feet.
  
  
• Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, located in the western part of the state, is unique. The spectacular landscape was formed slowly by the action of water and rock scouring down through hard Proterozoic crystalline rock.
  
  
• Mesa Verde National Park is located near the New Mexico border. Spanish for “green table,” Mesa Verde is rich in cultural heritage. The well-preserved site presents an archeological glimpse of the lives of the Ancestral Pueblo people.
  
  
• Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve, located along the edge of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains in southern Colorado, is a pile of sand over 700 feet tall and covering over 54 square miles. This geologic wonderland became a national monument in 1932.

Colorado National Monuments

Dinosaur National Monument

This monument, located in Colorado and Utah, was designated as a national monument in 1915. It was discovered by paleontologist Earl Douglass on August 17, 1909. The 200,000 acre area was layered with prehistoric plant and animal fossils and contained 350 tons of fossils, including full skeletons and remains of some dinosaur species that previously were unknown.

Colorado National Monument
The Colorado National Monument, located in Fruita, Colorado, covers about 20,000 acres. The sheer walls and deep canyons are considered one of the grand landscapes of the American West.

Florissant Fossil Bed National Monument
Volcanic eruptions formed fossil beds when they sent lava and mud into the Florissant Basin millions of years ago. The monument is known for more than 80,000 identified animal and plant specimens and is located just west of Pikes Peak.

Hovenweep National Monument
Hovenweep National Monument was established in 1923 and is found in Colorado and Utah. Located on 784 acres, the monument includes six unique prehistoric villages that date back to the mid-thirteenth century.

Yucca House National Monument
This historic site is located in southwest Colorado and contains the unexcavated ruins of Ancestral Puebloan villages.

Mesa Verde National Park

Mesa Verde National Park is located in southwestern Colorado. The name, Mesa Verde, is Spanish for “green table.” The park is best known for its archeological sites, which contain over 600 cliff dwellings. A park regulation requires that a Park Ranger accompany all visitors who wish to enter one of the dwellings.

Congress passed the Preservation of American Antiquities Act in 1906, which made it a Federal crime to collect or destroy any historic or prehistoric object or building on federally owned land. Then President Theodore Roosevelt signed a Congressional bill to make Mesa Verde a national park in June, 1906.

Park Service Information Office:
Mesa Verde National Park
P. O. Box 6208
Mesa Verde, CO 81330

E-mail: Mesa Verde National Park

Rocky Mountain National Park

Rocky Mountain National Park is more than 415 square miles and has 114 named peaks over 10,000 feet. One of the more popular hiking trails is the Keyhole Route on Longs’ Peak. At 14,255 feet, Longs’ Peak is the highest peak in the Rocky Mountain National Park and the fifteenth tallest in Colorado.

The park contains three distinct ecosystems which correspond to elevation: the montane, which is 7,000 to 9,000 feet above sea level; the subalpine ecosystem which is 9,000 to 11,500 feet and spans the tree line; and the alpine tundra, at the top, which is over 11,500 feet.

Birds and animals add color and interest to the landscape. The park contains 65 species of mammals, 260 species of birds, and 900 species of plants. Black bears, mountain lions, and bobcats live in the park, but seldom are seen. Moose and mule deer are more visible. In autumn, herds of American elk roam the park and frequently are visible, even at the lower elevations.

The park is open 24 hours a day year round.

Park Service Information Office:
Rocky Mountain National Park
1000 Highway 36
Estes Park, CO 80517-8397

E-mail: Rocky Mountain National Park

Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park

The Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park contains 2,000 foot narrow canyon walls, which drop almost vertically to the Gunnison River. Two campgrounds are located in the park – one on the south rim and one on the north rim. The visitor’s center is located on South Rim Drive and provides a video theater with two orientation programs.

Located in the southwest section of Colorado, some of the park’s more popular recreational activities are camping, backpacking, bird and wildlife viewing, fishing, and rafting. In the winter months, visitors enjoy cross-country skiing and snowshoeing. The park is open year round, but access to the south rim is limited in the winter.

Park Service Information Office:
Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park
Park Headquarters
102 Elk Creek
Gunnison, CO 81230-8397

E-mail: Black Canyon of the Gunnison

Great Sand Dunes National Park Preserve

One of the nation’s newest national parks, Great Sand Dunes was upgraded from a national monument and preserve in the year 2000. Located at the foot of the Sangre de Cristo mountain range, the dunes appear to stretch to infinity. The dunes cover approximately 39 square miles and are the tallest in
North America – over 750 feet. The park is open all year, 24 hours a day.

Park Service Information Office:
Great Sand Dunes National Park
Park Headquarters
11999 Highway 150
Mosca, CO 81146

E-mail: Great Sand Dunes