MY REVIEW OF COLORADO'S NATIONAL PARKS
rocky mountain, great sand dunes, mesa verde, and black canyon of the gunnison. i'm giving my personal take on each of them!
in this post i want to give you my personal opinion of each national park in the state of colorado! we’ve been to them all and they all have their pros and cons. i’ll be telling you my thoughts while also going through the top trails, giving you the location and directions to each park, best times of year to visit, and dog friendliness because spoiler, most national parks are NOT dog friendly! hopefully this helps you plan ahead for your next national park trip!
ROCKY MOUNTAIN
LOCATION: estes park
GOOGLE MAPS LINK: https://maps.app.goo.gl/Vh2nfE2WMBBou1P97
ALL TRAILS GUIDE TO TOP HIKES: alltrails.pxf.io/Xm2ABa
DOG FRIENDLINESS: NOT AT ALL. dogs are only allowed on roadways and in parking lots and you cannot leave your dog unattended in the car. so basically you can only drive through the park with them and then take turns with someone your with, exploring one at a time while someone stays with the doggos.
MY OPINION: it’s rocky mountain….. it’s fucking beautiful. it’s a wonderful park, there are SO MANY incredible trails and views and features. this place really has it all and is the quintessential Colorado experience. that being said - its hella crowded. it saw almost NINE times as many visitors as the next highest visited national park in CO. it’s consistently in the top 5 most visited national parks in the US. it is a tourist’s GO TO. so. while it’s amazing - you don’t really go here for peace and solitude, you go here for incredible views and just know that you’re going to be with a lot of other people.
FEATURES: everything! lakes, waterfalls, rivers, wildflowers, mountains, pine trees, aspen trees, expansive views, wildlife…
BUSYNESS: 4,103,000 visitors in 2023
SEASONAL INFO: summer is my favorite time to visit because all of the lakes are melted! there are so many beautiful lakes throughout the park, wildflowers are abundant, streams are flowing, and all of the roads are open! you really get the full experience in july-september. fall is beautiful, but expect random bouts of snow and roads starting to close. winter is lovely here because the trees and mountains are covered in snow, the lakes are frozen over and you can walk out onto them, and it feels like a winter wonderland! But with that comes danger. the park gets heavy amounts of snow and some roads in the park do close from around october-may. certain destinations won’t be accessible in the winter.
GREAT SAND DUNES
*** i have an entire post on planning your visit to the great sand dunes - how to prepare, what to bring, activities, and more! i’ll link it below ***
LOCATION: alamosa aka the middle of nowhere hahahaha
GOOGLE MAPS LINK: https://maps.app.goo.gl/fqAcS4ckSBvoMYBDA
ALL TRAILS GUIDE TO TOP HIKES: alltrails.pxf.io/kOJ36N
DOG FRIENDLINESS: wery dog friendly! pets are allowed in most areas of the dunes, aside from a few specific spots. if you’re looking to play around in the main area of the dunes, you’re safe to bring the pooch! here’s a link to the site that explains the areas they are prohibited. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE beware that the sand can get too hot and burn your doggos feet! see more info below in seasonal info.
MY OPINION: okay. the sand dunes are SO COOL. i was in AWE the first time i went. It’s kind of incomprehensible how large and vast they are. it truly feels like you’re on another planet or in egypt. it’s a must visit at least once in your life! Iiwill warn you, it AIN’T easy walking around in the dunes lol. i was ambitious my first time and thought we could make it to the top high dune and i got maybe a quarter of the way there. walking uphill in sand is NO JOKE, so prepare yourself for that lol.
FEATURES: sand. sand. sand. that’s the point of this place lol. yhat said, there’s not much else to see here. there is a creek that flows through the bottom of the dunes during the spring which is fun if you can catch it! you can also get a really nice view of the mountains once you get higher up in the dunes. that’s about it!
BUSYNESS: 603,000 visitors in 2023.
SEASONAL INFO: BEWARE of summer time here! the dunes are fully exposed and there is no shade whatsoever. you are in the straight sun at all times. this can be really dangerous in the summer and the sand can get extremely hot to the point where it literally burns if you touch it too long. that being said, i would avoid bringing your doggos here in the summer. i know some people will put booties on them, but still, be cautious. i would advise visiting in the fall, summer, or early spring for the most pleasant experience here!
MESA VERDE
LOCATION: cortez
GOOGLE MAPS LINK: https://maps.app.goo.gl/VuLGJYPLCKt8BaTi7
ALL TRAILS GUIDE TO TOP HIKES: alltrails.pxf.io/yq43M2
DOG FRIENDLINESS: hardly. pets are allowed on a few designated trails, but not most trails. leave them at home if you want to truly experience the park and it’s best features. see the restrictions here:https://www.nps.gov/meve/planyourvisit/pets.htm
MY OPINION: such a unique national park! it’s very educational and incredibly interesting to see and experience so much history with your own eyes! it’s very desert-y in this part of the state and the drive through the park is beeeautiful! nut again, the coolest part is learning about the pueblo and the tribes that once lived here.
FEATURES: cliff dwellings, archeological sites, petroglyphs, beautiful mesas, and desert landscape.
BUSYNESS: 548,000 in 2023
SEASONAL INFO: to tour the cliff dwellings, you have to book a tour, and tours are not available in the winter. if you want to get a proper cliff dwelling experience, go outside of the winter, otherwise, you can only view from the overlook!
BLACK CANYON OF THE GUNNISON
LOCATION: gunnison
GOOGLE MAPS LINK: https://maps.app.goo.gl/6gV3u9FtAhf12qpS7
ALLTRAILS GUIDE TO TOP HIKES: alltrails.pxf.io/DyRgod
DOG FRIENDLINESS: decent! dogs are allowed on most paths to viewpoints and on a few specific trails in the park! read the specific rules here.
MY OPINION: SO. FUCKING. COOL. this place is kind of unfathomable. the tallest cliff there is the high of almost 2 empire state buildings!!!!! we stood near the edge of it and looked into the canyon and river below and you just can’t comprehend how deep it is. this place is scary in the best way hahahaha. the canyon walls are so beautiful and massive. we have not been down in the canyon, only ever up above, but we can’t wait to go back and get down!
BUSYNESS: 308,000 - the quietest national park in CO!
SEASONAL INFO: certain roads in the park are closed in the winter and the visitor center closes a lot of the winter. i would recommend going spring-fall to get the full experience!
hopefully you learned something that will help you better plan your next trip to a national park in colorado! remember, always plan ahead! it’s best to check the national park service months before you go to ensure you have the most up to date information. parks will have closures certain times of year, some require timed entry permits that you have to buy in advance, and it’s good to freshen up on the rules about pets!
visit the national park service website here to plan ahead for your next trip!
xx, hayley