The perfect itinerary for a great summer road trip through Colorado.
We have spent the last two summers on a road trip through Colorado. Everyone in our family loved the road trip and exploring Colorado so much! My daughter even asked if we could visit Colorado again this summer.
In case you would like to take your own road trip through Colorado, I am sharing below our itinerary and route. Since this itinerary is almost one big circle, you could start at any point depending on which direction you are arriving from. You could add more sites and destinations as your road trip allow.
Rocky Mountain National Park
Rocky Mountain National Park is one of my favorites! There is so much to see within the park – we spent 5 days exploring and did not see everything that we wanted to. I highly recommend staying in Estes Park during your trip. You can read all about the top things to do in Rocky Mountain National Park here. And you can find 6 easy hikes at Rocky Mountain National park here.
Manitou Springs/Colorado Springs
Manitou Springs is a cozy town between the Garden of the Gods and Pikes Peak just minutes from Colorado Spring. Exploring the Garden of the Gods is one of my favorite memories from when I was a child and the top thing to do during a visit. You can read the best things to do here.
Great Sand Dunes National Park
Located in southern Colorado along the Sangre de Cristo Mountains are the tallest dunes in North America at Great Sand Dunes National Park. One of the top things to do in the park is sand sledding or sandboarding – make sure to rent your boards before visiting the park. You can read all about everything you need to know about visiting Great Sand Dunes National Park here.
If time: I highly recommend visiting Zapata Falls (a 20-foot high waterfall) – located 3 miles south of Great Sand Dunes National Park. You can read more info here.
Mesa Verde National Park
Mesa Verde National Park gives you the opportunity to learn about the Ancestral Pueblo people and explore their well-preserved cliff dwellings. Since I was in third grade and first learned about Ancestral Pueblo people while living in Colorado I had wanted to visit Mesa Verde National Park to see their stunning cliff dwellings and was so excited to finally get to do that. You can read my complete travel guide to visiting Mesa Verde National Park here.
Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park
The views of the Black Canyon of the Gunnison are stunning and rivaled those of the Grand Canyon in my opinion. There are two sections at the park including the north rim and south rim. You can read everything you need to know about visiting Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park – North Rim in Colorado here.
Vail
While most people think of Vail as a winter destination it is also a stunning summer vacation spot. Nestled in the mountains, Vail is beautiful and looks like it could have been plopped out of Austria. You can read all about what to do in Vail in the summer here.
If time: Stop at either Copper Mountain or Breckenridge to take a ride on their alpine coasters.
Have you visited Colorado? What is your favorite spot?
