My first trip to Colorado was in 2nd grade with my grandparents and shortly after that, my family started making annual caravans each summer to Colorado. As the family vacations dwindled down, I started taking my own Colorado trips and even bought property there for a future retirement plan. Suffice it to say, I have visited Colorado dozens of times. This Colorado road trip guide hits the four national parks in Colorado and some additional highlights of this amazing state.
It’s a whirlwind trip, meant to whet your whistle so you can come back and linger in some of your favorite places. With so many beautiful places to see in Colorado, you could easily spend a month exploring the state, but let’s start with a seven-day itinerary. If you have an extra week, add Montana to your Rocky Mountain road trip and visit Glacier National Park for a week of hiking. Another add-on to this road trip itinerary is to swing through Utah and check out all the cool things to do in Moab.
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Day 1: Denver to Great Sand Dunes National Park (4 hours)
Upon arrival in Denver, pick up your rental car and get ready to hit the road. Our first destination on this Colorado road trip is Great Sand Dunes National Park. This is one of the lesser-visited national parks as it’s really off the beaten path, but it’s also super unique and worth the trip. The geology is really cool and you can see how the sand dunes just bump right up against the mountain range, only to get eroded away and blown back into the mountains all over again.
GSDNP also happens to be a dog-friendly park, but make sure you have some dog boots for hiking as the sand can get super hot. The great news is there is a stream running through the park that is great for playing and cooling off. You can hike any of the dunes, but bring lots of water and be prepared for a tough uphill slog. If you’re feeling really adventurous, you can also bring a snow saucer and take the fast route down!
Where to Stay Near Great Sand Dunes National Park
For your first night, if you stay near Great Sand Dunes National Park, you’ll have three options for accommodation.
- Camping – the National Park Service operates Pinon Flats Campground in the park from April to October.
- Alamosa – the nearest town to GSDNP is Alamosa, just 40 minutes outside the park. Services are limited, but you can browse 11 Alamosa hotels here.
- Salida – for a bit longer drive (90 minutes) you can stay overnight in the cute town of Salida, which has a lot more going on, including more hotels and dining options. Browse Salida hotels
Day 2: Great Sand Dunes to Pagosa Springs (2-3 hours)
Our next stop on this Colorado road trip is the adorable riverside town of Pagosa Springs. As you enter the town, you will cross the San Juan River as it flows through the center of town. I drove through here on my big Career break road trip in 2017 and was able to come back for a few days last year. The river and the hot springs are the big draws to Pagosa Springs. A fun thing to do is go tubing on the river, which you’ll see a ton of people doing on a hot summer day.
The Hot Springs Resort is a must while you’re in town. It’s a bit pricy, but for $28, you get access to 18 geothermal pools terraced above the river, all of varying degrees of hot. Your admission is good for 24 hours, so you can soak, go across the river to have dinner in downtown Pagosa Springs and then end your evening with another soak.
Check out other hot springs resorts in the United States!
Where to Stay in Pagosa Springs
I rented a cabin at Pagosa Riverside Campground, just outside of town. There are lots of lodging options in Pagosa Springs.
Browse Pagosa Springs hotels here.
Day 3: Pagosa Springs to Mesa Verde National Park (2.5 hours)
After a relaxing overnight stay in Pagosa Springs, it’s time to get up early and head to a unique UNESCO World Heritage Site and our second of four Colorado National Parks, Mesa Verde National Park. There are over 5,000 archeological sites in the park, including an estimated 600 cliff dwellings. The sites date back to ancestral Puebloan populations who lived in the Southwest. Some of the best cliff dwellings can only be reached on a guided tour, so as soon as you finalize your national park itinerary, make sure you go online and reserve the tours you want.
Where to Stay Near Mesa Verde National Park
I highly recommend staying in the park if you can. You can choose Far View Lodge or Morefield Campground, which is open April through October. We stayed at the lodge and were upgraded to a Kiva Room, which was super cool. The food at the lodge dining room is really good too, although we narrowly beat an entire busload of tourists or we might have had to wait a while for our meal. If you can’t get into the park lodging, the nearest town is Cortez, where there are tons of hotels and campgrounds to choose from.
Want to see other cliff dwellings in Arizona?
Day 4: Mesa Verde National Park to Telluride (2.5 hours)
You’ll want more time in the park for additional tours in the morning before continuing your Colorado road trip, so this is a short driving day to the ski resort town of Telluride. Nestled in a valley of the San Juan Mountains, Telluride is simply stunning. There’s a reason the rich and famous choose to build their vacation homes here. If you’re lucky, you might catch one of Telluride’s legendary music festivals. The Telluride Bluegrass Festival is the most popular, and I was able to catch Willie Nelson at the Blues and Brews Festival one year. Telluride can be pricy, but if you plan ahead for the splurge, you’ll have a great night out on the town.
A good alternative or add-on in this area is to take the Million Dollar Highway from Silverton to Ouray. It’s one of the most scenic drives in Colorado!
Day 5: Telluride to Glenwood Springs (4 hours)
Today is a longer drive, but the scenery and a National Park detour make it worth the long day, with hot springs awaiting you upon arrival. Your first stop is Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, a canyon with some of the steepest cliffs in the country. The remote location means you just might have these views all to yourself. At the very least, you won’t have Grand Canyon-esque crowds to deal with!
From here, it’s just over two hours to Glenwood Springs, and you’ll be driving through my favorite part of Colorado. Chances are, you’ll pull over for at least a couple of photo opportunities along the way. If you are visiting Colorado in the fall, you’ll be passing through Kebler Pass, one of the best spots for fall color in Colorado.
Once you arrive in Glenwood Springs, you’ll want to hit the hot pools after a long day in the car. If you can, stay at the Glenwood Hot Springs Resort for easy access to the springs during your stay. Otherwise, there are lots of hotels in Glenwood Springs to choose from.
Browse Glenwood Springs hotels
Day 6: Glenwood Springs to Rocky Mountain National Park (2.5 hours)
It’s time to start heading back east but not without one more Colorado National Park to visit. Rocky Mountain National Park is located in Estes Park, just north of Denver. This is a must-see park, with stunning scenery. If you love hiking, there are plenty of trails in RMNP. Trail Ridge Road reaches an elevation of over 12,000 feet above sea level and is buried in snow for much of the year. If you visit Colorado in summer, make sure you take a drive on Trail Ridge Road.
Day 7: Rocky Mountain National Park to Denver (1.5 hours)
All good things must come to an end and this Colorado road trip is no exception. Hopefully, you have booked a later flight out of Denver that will allow you to spend some time hiking in the morning, or perhaps you can stop in Boulder on the way and explore the shops and restaurants along Pearl Street.
If you have an extra day or two, head down to Colorado Springs. This Air Force town also has some fun things to do, including Pikes Peak and the Royal Gorge.
Best Time to Visit Colorado
Fall is my favorite time to visit Colorado as the days are warm with crisp, cool nights. It can be hard to time your vacation with peak fall colors in Colorado, but they generally start in mid-September and peak in October. Summer is my second choice, although summers in Colorado are short and if you are hiking, you can expect to deal with monsoon thunderstorms in the afternoons.
Remember that elevation has a big impact on weather, so it can be warm and sunny in Denver while a major snowstorm rages in Leadville at 10,000 feet. Spring can be hit or miss in terms of snowmelt and roads being open. In 2019, Trail Ridge Road did not open until June, meaning many Memorial Day travelers had to re-think their Colorado road trip plans. April is one of the best months for skiing in Colorado. The photo below was taken in Vail in April! Winter in Colorado is amazing, but I personally would not plan a road trip that time of year as it’s just too iffy to be driving around. You’re better off picking a ski resort and staying there for your whole vacation. Vail, Breckenridge, Steamboat Springs, Telluride, and Aspen are some of the most popular ski resorts in Colorado.
Other Colorado Itinerary Ideas
I’ve been to Colorado so many times that it’s really hard to boil it down to a one-week itinerary. Here are some of my favorite Colorado destinations that I’ve left out of this list.
- Leadville
- Mount Princeton Hot Springs
- Ouray
- Breckenridge
- Vail
- Crested Butte / Maroon Bells Wilderness
These views are so beautiful! It looks like you had an epic adventure!!
What a fun trip! I’ve only been to Colorado once, while I was in college. Colorado is on my dog-friendly bucket list, hopefully in 2021. I also boot Dexter when the terrain is hot or tough. Thanks for sharing that tip with others.