ROAD TRIP THROUGH COLORADO | USA
“Welcome To Colorful Colorado”, this board says it all. A lifetime is less to admire it’s beauty. Every turn on the road compels you to say WOW! Colorado is no less than nature’s paradise.
Not very many tourists consider visiting Colorado, as New York, Nevada, California, Florida, Minnesota usually takes the lead.
Consider visiting Colorado if you really wanna experience something great. I’m writing this blog so I could convince you to book your tickets to Colorado too, if you’re planning to take a visit to the United States of America, because it’s totally worth it.
Where do I start?
My sister Madhur, our friend Bryant and I took a road trip to Colorado in August 2016. As this was my first trip to Colorado, they both pre planned the entire trip and didn’t share with me at all, thinking I would google everything and that would kill the excitement of seeing a new place every day through our journey.
With a lot of anticipation in me, we started our road trip from Dallas, Texas. For a couple of days we explored Texas (Which I’m going to share with you in my next post) till we reached Colorado via Albuquerque, New Mexico.
We took Highway 12 from Trinidad and stayed on it till we reached Cuchara Pass and then drove to Cordova Pass Campground our first destination on the list.
Cordova Pass Campground is a long way up from Cuchara Pass and the drive is very exciting.
We camped at the Cordova Pass Campground over night, it’s a beautiful place in deep wilderness and the temperature can go really low.
Moreover, It’s a self pay camping ground, all you need to do is put the money in the envelope and insert it in the collecting box.
We made it to the campsite an hour before the sunset. It was quite cloudy and we were expecting rains during the night.
We parked our car and started to shift our luggage in the front so we could roll back the foam mattress and set up our bed in the rear of the car before the sunset.
After having done that, we all started to explore the place as there was still enough light to see nearby areas.
The temperature got really low that we literally had to fetch our down jackets from the bags. We ate dinner and planned to sleep early as come morning our plan was to climb the West Spanish Peak.
In the morning, we started at 5:15 am and it took us 8 hours to climb the West Spanish Peak and be back to the Cordova Campground.
The experience was inexplicable. I had no idea I could do that, and I did and now I feel so happy about it.
We were totally exhausted by the time we got back to the car.
Please If you plan to summit the Spanish Peak, Make sure you start early and end early, the weather can get really bad during the day, and chances are that you might get struck by a lighting bolt as you’ll be the highest point on the mountain.
We rested for a while, satisfied our hunger pangs and decided to head to our next destination – Fun Valley, South Fork, Colorado.
The drive was long so my sister and Bryant kept taking turns.
We were ahead of time as per our plan, so our friend took a detour and drove us to Great Sand Dunes National Park instead.
The Sand Dunes looked pretty tiny from where we were at that time, but we were told that these were the largest in North America.
Hence we kept anticipating of how huge they were.
The drive to the National Park was beautiful.
A picture in this backdrop is a must for all.
We entered the National Park and stopped at the visitor centre to gather information and to freshen up.
We couldn’t really wait to finally go see the Sand Dunes. We drove a little further and parked our car. Turned back and the view was mesmerising.
WOW! What a place!
Sister & I looked at each other and we smiled excitedly. We ran, jumped, rolled down the sand. It was totally amazing.
We couldn’t thank Bryant enough, as it was his decision to drive us to this awesome place.
Since we were already so tired after having climbed the West Spanish Peak, we just spent some time here and decided to head to Fun Valley, South Fork, our next destination on the list.
Fun Valley is a very beautiful camping place. Situated right in the middle of mountains, It is a town in itself. It has got some really amazing camping spots and is usually busy all the time. Karaoke Night, Dance Night, Guest DJ’s are some of the on going things that keeps happening here.
Book in advance to find a camping spot here. Our camping spot was river facing with a camping table, a fire place and some little guests.
The place gets cold by evening. The sounds of crackling wood and gushing water right in front of you, makes you feel amazing and the heat from the bonfire is the icing on the cake.
By night, everything looked so subtle and peaceful. Family camping, decorative lights, barbecues, river, blanket of bright stars right above you made it one of the perfect camping spots in Colorado.
Come morning, we regained our lost muscle and strength from day before’s climbing, sat for a while near the river, fed the geese and started to pack on.
Our next destination on the list – Pagosa Springs
On our way to Pagosa Springs, we stopped at this very intriguing place with a board stating ‘Treasure Falls’ and a lot of cars parked around it. We got out and all we could hear was the gushing sound of water and see nothing but the trees and mountains.
There was a trail leading up to the falls and we decided to walk on. Quite steep and narrow, the trail was beautiful yet scary. Took us around 20 minutes to reach the first bridge.
It was a sight to behold!
Another 5 minutes walk up from the first bridge will take you to the second bridge, much closer to the falls, where you can enjoy the mist falling on your face and a prettier view.
Another 5 minutes walk up from the first bridge will take you to the second bridge, much closer to the falls, where you can enjoy the mist falling on your face and a prettier view.
An hour drive from Fun Valley, South Fork on the US 160, Pagosa Springs is a small neat town named after the hot sulfur springs located there.
Stop for a while, enjoy the water, drink some beer and relax!
An hour or two is enough in Pagosa springs to revive your senses from the travel fatigue.
Next Stop on the list Durango.
60 miles from Pagosa Springs, Durango is another neat town in southwestern Colorado. In many ways, this town still retains it’s old world charm.
Take a stroll down the Main Avenue to admire the simplicity of this beautiful town. Packed with decorated stores, Durango is quite famous among tourists. Parking is a problem, but a little wait can fetch you one.
Some souvenir shopping is a must. The stores in the town offers a variety of souvenirs and gifts that you must check out.
Moreover, the Main Avenue is packed with good eateries and offers a variety of delicacies, just incase your hunger pangs need some attention.
After exploring Durango to your heart’s content, it’s time to drive to the next stop on the list – Silverton.
You can also take the Durango Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad Train to Silverton and back.
Built to transport Gold & Silver ores back in time and now a passenger train, the ride is worth if you’re getting back to Durango.
The ride from Durango to Silverton is one of the most beautiful rides on this road trip, keep your camera handy.
48 miles on US 550, it takes almost an hour to reach Silverton from Durango.
Nestled in a valley, Silverton is yet another small town in southwestern Colorado.
The walk in this mining town will take you back in time.
A brief visit to the Silverton Memorial Park is a must.
We then drove back on US 550 and stopped at the National Forest Campsite to camp over night.
It’s a free camping site.
We found our spot, collected some wood, started a bonfire and made some s’mores over it. The temperature went really low. We slept through the night, and come morning started off early to our next destination on the list – Ouray
Ouray is yet another neat town in Colorado. Famous for it’s numerous hot springs and mountain passes.
We took a little stop in this town and walked the main street. The drive from Silverton to Ouray is super exciting and beautiful, it gives a feel of Switzerland in Colorado.
We then head to Telluride, another famous town in Colorado and our next destination on the list.
We crossed Ridgway, continued on CO 62 and then on CO 145 till we reached Telluride.
One of the most beautiful and colourful towns in Colorado, Telluride is definitely my favourite town by far.
Quite famous among celebrities and tourists, Telluride is definitely a must visit town in Colorado.
It is packed with expensive stores and great eateries. The ambience of this town is very energetic, and people are super fun.
Thrift stores in Telluride are really good, do check them out.
Apart from shopping, Telluride also offers the famous Gandola Ride and it’s FREE!
Take the Gondola ride from Telluride to Mountain Village. It’s fun and offers amazing views from above.
Take a quick stop in the Mountain Village, it’s a beautiful touristy place. Use the free Gandola service to explore the area.
We then further drove to the beautiful “Lizard Head Pass”. The drive to Lizard Head Pass is amazing. We didn’t hike the trail as we were running short of time. You must hike the trail, it is supposed to be one of the most beautiful hikes in Colorado.
We decided to camp overnight, so we drove to Ridgway via CO 145 & CO 62.
And there was a surprise for me!
Where Are We? I asked inquisitively.
Hot Springs, they answered excitedly.
Orvis Hot Springs
I couldn’t really wait to jump in. We checked in. The kind lady at the welcome desk gave us a tour of the place. Community Kitchen, Bath Area, Indoor Hot Tubs, Lockers, and we moved out to see the rest of the place.
And, as soon as we stepped out, there were naked people all over the place. Seriously?!?!? #FirstExtremeCulturalShock #LOL
The place was amazing. There were 5 hot pools of varied temperature. The smallest being the hottest. The large outdoor pool was decently hot and most crowded. There were 2 more outdoor pools, little warm, smaller than the large outdoor pool and an indoor big pool.
Moreover, the place was full of greenery and flowers, that made the entire experience all the more refreshing.
We all took a dip in the large outdoor pool, and were the only people in the pool with clothes on. By evening, everything looked very pretty. Dim lights, vapours rising from the water surface, sky full of bright lit stars and if you happened to be lucky you could witness falling stars while relaxing in that comforting water. This has been the best experience by far on my entire Colorado Road Trip.
The Large Outdoor Pool
Apart from the very relaxing Hot Bath, Orvis Hot Springs also offers decent camping spots.
We camped over night at the Orvis Hot Springs Camping Area.
We wanted to take a dip in the Hot Springs early in the morning, so we decided to get up early. It was super cold but the experience was out of the world. Stayed in the hot water for good 2 hours, Showered and got ready for our next destination on the list and our last day in Colorado.
Grand Junction / Colorado National Monument
Drive till Grand Junction was long but beautiful. Took us around 2 hours.
We stopped at Grand Junction for a quick refreshment and later drove to the Colorado National Monument.
Colorado National Monuments is very beautiful and is one of the must visit places in Colorado.
This place really makes you wonder the power of Time & Water.
Just follow the board signs along the way. Some signs might even ask you to stop and take a view. Do as directed.
Some of the very famous sights around the monument are:
- The Kissing Couple
- The Balancing Rocks
- The Independent Monument
- Coke Ovens
- The Fallen Rock
- Grand View
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