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Denver -

Denver, the capital city of Colorado, is also known as the Mile High City because its official elevation is exactly one mile (1,609.344 m or 5,280 ft) above sea level. Founded in 1858 and named for politician, soldier, and lawyer James W. Denver (1817–1892), Denver is a vibrant, visually appealing metropolis framed as it is by the spectacular Rocky Mountains. It's a city to absorb at leisure, and primes the senses for further exploration of the Centennial State.

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Denver Art Museum -

One of the largest museums of its kind between the West Coast and Chicago, the ultra modern Denver Art Museum is distinguished for its stunning exterior design, the work of various architects including Italy's Gio Ponti and Polish-American Daniel Libeskind. Inside, visitors can browse a vast collection of American Indian, African, European, Asian, and Oceanic Art.

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Denver Zoo -

Denver Zoo delivers at every level. Founded in 1896 with the donation of an orphaned American black bear, this wonderful facility houses 3,500 specimens representing 550 unique species contained within authentic habitats and environments. One of the more unusual residents is this frilled lizard. Look out for him in the Tropical Discovery building.

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Denver Museum of Nature & Science -

One of the city's top cultural attractions, Denver Museum of Nature & Science preserves under its roof a collection of world-class exhibits, including impressive dinosaur skeletons, a huge nugget of crystallized gold unearthed in Breckenridge in 1887, and a pair of ancient Egyptian mummies. The museum's appeal extends to a series of special temporary exhibitions, the themes of which can be anything from robotics to asteroids.

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United States Mint -

Denver is home to one of the nation's six United States Mint facilities. For a better idea of how America's currency is created, take the free guided tour and learn more about the process of making money. Reservations are essential, and can be made via the Denver Mint website.

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Coors Field -

Sports fans will surely want to catch a ball game at Coors Field, home of the Colorado Rockies baseball club. Opened in 1995, the stadium has a capacity of 50,144 people. Tours of the venue are conducted year-round and offer a behind-the-scenes glimpse of the facility.

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Rocky Mountain National Park -

Colorado is a state renowned nationwide for its dramatic, sweeping landscape. For an introduction to this truly stunning scenery, commence your outdoors adventure in Rocky Mountain National Park. Encompassing a spectacular range of mountain environments, Rocky Mountain is one of the most visited parks in the country. The Trail Ridge Road affords year-round access to an extensive system of hiking trails. During your walk, look out for elk and bighorn sheep, who call this compelling wilderness home. The park also affords a wealth of other adventure activities, such as climbing, fishing, bouldering, and horseback riding.

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Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness -

The totally Instagrammable Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness showcases some of Colorado's most breathtaking Rocky Mountain scenery. This is a truly wondrous location famed for its myriad of hiking trails and six of the state's "fourteeners"—mountain peaks with an elevation of at least 4,267 m (14,000 ft).

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Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve -

The tallest sand dunes in North America are waiting to greet visitors to this unique national park. Declared a national monument way back in 1932, the park preserves a number of important ecosystems and is home to a wonderful variety of flora and fauna. For the general public, however, the most compelling reason to come here is the sandboarding opportunities provided by these lofty mounds of sand, one of which, Star Dune, is 228 m (750 ft) in height.

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Mesa Verde National Park -

Deserving of its status as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Mesa Verde is home to 600 Ancestral Puebloan cliff dwellings. Among the best-preserved archaeological sites of their kind in the United States, the most famous dwelling in the park is the Cliff Palace (pictured). The caves were inhabited from around 650 up to 1300 CE and are quite extraordinary in their complex structure. The park is located near the towns of Cortez and Mancos.

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Pike National Forest -

Included in Pike National Forest is Pikes Peak, another iconic Southwest "fourteener." You can actually drive to the summit of Pikes Peak from Colorado Springs, though seasoned hikers will enjoy ascending the 4,302 m (14,115 ft) by foot. Alternatively, the cog railway—the world's highest—takes passengers on a leisurely and scenic climb.

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Garden of the Gods -

In places, the unique rock formations peppering the landscape known as the Garden of the Gods resemble giant rusty needles arrowing skywards from a green baize mantle. Set around these skinny spires are huge ocher-red sandstone fins jutting out of the ground. Giant balanced boulders and scattered rockpiles complete the picture.

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Mount Evans Scenic Byway -

Don't be surprised to be greeted by one of these guys, a Rocky Mountain goat, as you make your way along the Mount Evans Scenic Byway towards the summit of another one of Colorado's "fourteeners." The byway ascends to 4,140 m (14,140 ft) of elevation, making it the highest paved road in the United States. Note that the road is closed in winter.

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Colorado National Monument -

Set near the city of Grand Junction, Colorado National Monument comprises a collection of impressive sandstone and granite rock formations—massive cliff walls, canyons, spires, and pillars. The outstanding natural feature is Monument Canyon, which runs the width of the park and includes rock formations such as Independence Monument, the wonderfully named Kissing Couple, and the kiln-shaped Coke Ovens.

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Dinosaur National Monument -

Set on the border between Colorado and Utah, Dinosaur National Monument is where to gaze upon a series of dinosaur remains embedded in rock dating back to the Jurassic Period, some 150 million years ago. The most outstanding fossils are found in Dinosaur Quarry, along a site that these giants once roamed. Elsewhere in the park, visitors can admire an ancient portfolio of petroglyphs, patterns of humanlike figures, animal-like figures, and abstract designs, chipped into the rock that hint at the cultures and people that lived in the region long ago.

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Silverton Narrow Gauge Railway -

The small city of Durango exudes an authentic Old West atmosphere and is known nationwide for the Durango & Silverton Narrow Gauge Railroad, a heritage railroad that operates on the branch line to the historic mining town of Silverton.

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Million Dollar Highway -

Offering breathtaking mountain, valley and, gorge views, the Million Dollar Highway is so called because it cost a reputed million dollars a mile to build. This two-lane blacktop snakes out of Silverton to meet the town of Ouray—a 46-km (28-mi) meander that constitutes one of the most amazing mountain drives in Colorado.

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Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park -

Remote and imposing, the deep, steep, and narrow Black Canyon of the Gunnison exposes some of the oldest rock in America, around two million years old. The canyon plunges 609 m (2,000 ft) to meet the rippling Gunnison River below. The park offers up few walking paths, and hiking trails are short: this is a not a place to be too adventurous in!

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Glenwood Springs -

The resort city of Glenwood Springs is famous for its geothermal crowd-pleasers, including the largest mineral host springs pool in the world. The resort is the perfect family destination, with plenty of leisure amenities to keep youngsters and grown-ups alike occupied for hours. Meanwhile, hiking trails and whitewater rafting opportunities on the Roaring Fork and Colorado Rivers will appeal to the more adventurous.

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Barr Lake State Park -

Ornithologists flock to Barr Lake State Park, and no wonder. Numerous bald eagles spend the winter at Barr Lake, and one pair nests every year. The majestic raptors number just one of the over 350 different species of birdlife observed in the park, which is also the headquarters of the Bird Conservancy of the Rockies.

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Eldorado Canyon State Park -

Rock climbing is taken to new heights in Eldorado Canyon State Park. Located near Boulder, this day-use park is internationally known for its 500-plus rock climbing routes, some very technically challenging. Numerous picturesque hiking and mountain bike trails crisscross the park to make Eldorado Canyon one of Colorado's most popular outdoor adventure destinations.

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The Paint Mines Interpretive Park -

Lesser known on the tourist trail is this wondrous destination blanketed by weird geological formations made of sand and colorful clay. A series of sandstone-capped spires and hoodoos distinguish the park, set in a region where Native Americans were once drawn to collect clay to be used as war paint or to decorate pottery.

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Royal Gorge Bridge & Park -

If you have a head for heights, amble across the highest bridge in the United States, the Royal Gorge. The bridge crosses the gorge 291 m (955 ft) above the Arkansas River. Visitors can also traverse the canyon by gondola, or via a heart-stopping zip line.

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Flatirons -

An iconic symbol of Boulder, the Flatirons—slanted, reddish-brown sandstone formations that make up a portion of Boulder's foothills on the west side of town—are best explored by hiking out of the Chautauqua Trailhead and following any one of the footpaths that snake up to the ancient landmark.

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Crested Butte -

A ski town that's equally appealing during the summer months, Crested Butte, founded in 1880, was born out of coal and silver mining and, later, ranching. The town is a popular mountain biking destination. It's also known as the state's wildflower capital for the colorful blooms that fleck the countryside in spring.

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Telluride -

Built on the site of a former silver mining camp, Telluride is all things to all people. In winter it's crammed with skiers, while in summer the town's entertainment program includes a hot air balloon festival. The Telluride Film Festival takes place in September, when Hollywood A-listers like Ethan Hawke and Kenneth Branagh roll into town.

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Grand Lake -

Grand Lake is the largest and deepest natural body of water in Colorado and takes its name from the town hugging its shores. Besides its obvious appeal to watersport enthusiasts, the destination also serves as a gateway to the western entrance to Rocky Mountain National Park.

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Fish Creek Falls -

Colorado has a thing about waterfalls. The state boasts hundreds of these cascading water features, and fabulous hikes to reach them into the bargain. One of the most impressive is Bridal Veil Falls near Telluride, the tallest free-falling waterfall in Colorado. One of the most picturesque, however, is Fish Creek Falls (pictured) in the Yampa Valley near Steamboat Springs.

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Vail -

Famed as a premier ski resort, Vail is a favorite getaway for fans of winter sports. But it's also a summertime destination for golfing, hiking, fishing, and cultural festivals. The town hosts an annual independent film festival which, like Telluride, often attracts the Hollywood A-list fraternity. In fact Vail, together with nearby Beaver Creek, serves a wealthy and fashionable clientele, and offers requisite top-tier accommodation and fine dining options.

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Aspen -

Aspen, like Vail, is generally perceived as an upscale skiing resort and, indeed, it is one of the most famous ski destinations in the country. Aspen, however, makes for a pleasant year-round destination, with plenty of excellent overnight options available, and a host of good bars and restaurants to choose from. The town nestles in a remote area of the Rocky Mountains' Sawatch Range and Elk Mountains, along the Roaring Fork River.  

Sources: (Condé Nast Traveler) (Bird Conservancy of the Rockies) (World Atlas) 

See also: Which breathtaking natural wonder is in your state?

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