Colorado Vacations
Vacation Planning Guide for Visiting Colorado with the Kids
Best Colorado Attractions for Families
Colorado's
Family Attractions?
How about:
Spectacular mountains, breath-taking canyons, historic mining camps, scenic railroads, ancient ruins, world-class museums, fabulous shopping, hiking trails, ski runs,
(We're running out of breath...)
Whatever you are interested in, Colorado has family attractions that will keep your kids coming back for more.
Photo: Colorado's state flower, the blue columbine, is found growing in sub-alpine meadows, open woods, and near streams in the mountains.
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Did You Know? Ruthie's Run, on Aspen Mountain, is over 55 years old. It remains one of the most demanding downhill race courses in North America. Such greats as Buddy Werner, Franz Klammer, and Pirmin Zurbriggen schussed to World Cup victory there. Kids with good intermediate skills can easily navigate the upper part and say they have skied Ruthie's Run!  Photo: Ruthie's Run is served by Ruthie's chairlift at Aspen Mountain ski area. |
Photo: An icon of ancient structures, Cliff Palace at Mesa Verde National Park
allows visitors to experience the sophistication and mystery of the people who built it.
allows visitors to experience the sophistication and mystery of the people who built it.
And while mountains in general draw families for skiing or hiking, certain highpoints stand out as attractions in their own right.
Pikes Peak, inspiration for the song, “America the Beautiful”, pulls over 250,000 visitors to its summit each year, and many more to viewpoints in Colorado Springs, at its foot.
Meanwhile, the Colorado state quarter features Longs Peak in Rocky Mountain National Park. View junkies get their fix at any of a number of the Prettiest Places in Colorado, or plan a great American road trip on one of Colorado's Scenic Byways.
In the Southwestern Corner
Other must-see attractions include Mesa Verde National Park (a World Heritage Site) and the Historic Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad, a recommended ride for families.
Best Sandbox (Includes Running Water) in Colorado
Don’t miss the tallest sand dunes in North America and a first-rate sand box for kids at the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve.
If dinosaurs are the passion of the day for your youngster, Dinosaur National Monument in the northwest corner of the state might be just what you are looking for.
A Capital Capitol
Families can start exploring Colorado right in Denver. Attractions include the completely unique and spectacularly pretty Red Rocks Amphitheater. This world-class concert venue owes its incredible acoustics to huge slabs of sandstone surging from the surrounding hillside. It’s a great place for kids to yell and sing and have their voices soar over a make believe crowd.
Sight-seeing families won’t waste their time visiting the Buffalo Bill Museum on Lookout Mountain or the Denver Museum of Nature and Science in Denver’s scenic City Park.
As a special treat for your preschoolers, visit Tiny Town, tucked just inside the foothills southwest of Denver. This Victorian village is built on a 1/6 scale and is encircled by a miniature steam driven locomotive. Enjoy lunch in a beautiful setting, where little kids get to feel like giants.
Great Plains
Even Colorado’s vast High Prairies offer traveling families local flavor in its small towns, like La Junta, that line the Santa Fe National Historic Trail, and at Bent’s Fort National Historic Site, a pivotal spot on the route.
All in all, kids and their parents can find entertaining and educational attractions just about anywhere they travel in Colorado.
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