If you’ve clicked through to this guide then there’s a decent chance you’re either planning to visit Colorado — or you’re already here — and you’re looking for some fun ways to spend your time. Well, the good news is that Colorado is packed with really great activities and experiences; the bad news is that it’ll be almost impossible to do everything worth doing on a short visit. But that’s where this guide comes in…
We can’t possibly cover everything worth doing in Colorado without writing an entire guidebook, so we’d like to offer a few of our local favorites here. We hope you leave this brief guide with one or two amazing ways to spend your time in Colorado!
Head Out on a Colorado Mountain Bike Tour
Given the vast size and diversity of Colorado’s Front Range, there are an almost endless combination of ro
We don’t know if you heard, but Colorado is pretty mountainous… With 55 mountain peaks exceeding 13,000 feet (and many that come close), Colorado is, without question, the most mountainous state in the US.
While hiking is also a great way to spend your time (more on this later), we’d like to throw our hat in the ring first by suggesting one of our Custom Colorado Bike Tours.
While we use the word ‘tours’, they are so much more than this, as we help visitors access the beautiful and vibrant wildernesses found in the Front Range Mountains, bringing you to places you could never find on your own.
Our mountain biking tours have been designed by experts to offer a range of different challenges depending on riders’ ability while taking you to parts of Colorado guaranteed to amaze. We have half-day and full-day options; if you have any questions for us, please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
Hiking in Colorado
We’re not sure we want to commit to where you ought to hike because there are endless options to choose between. But we do highly recommend getting out on your own two feet and hiking some of Colorado’s stunning landscapes.
You could hike through Colorado’s ever-popular Rocky Mountain National Park, or you could set yourself a trickier task of climbing one of our tallest mountain peaks.
Here’s a list of the top ten peaks in Colorado worth hiking:
1) Mount Elbert (14,440 ft) – Sawatch Range
2) Mount Massive (14,429 ft) – Sawatch Range
3) Mount Harvard (14,421 ft) – Sawatch Range
4) Blanca Peak (14,350 ft) – Sangre de Cristo Range
5) La Plata Peak (14,344 ft) – Sawatch Range
6) Uncompahgre Peak (14,321 ft) – San Juan Mountains
7) Crestone Peak (14,301 ft) – Sangre de Cristo Range
8) Mount Lincoln (14,293 ft) – Mosquito Range
9) Castle Peak (14,279 ft) – Elk Mountains10) Grays Peak (14,278 ft) – Front Range
Explore the Very Best of Denver
Denver is an amazing city with a lot to offer. Dubbed the Mile High City because it is at a higher altitude than any other US city, Denver has a lot to offer guests, from an excellent restaurant scene and great bars, to a collection of unique museums and some of the most impressive street art of any city in the world.
Our tip is to work up an appetite by heading off on a street art tour before hunkering down for some of the best food you’ve ever eaten. We won’t recommend specific restaurants today as we’d like to give this a lot more thought, but we will suggest that you look out for some of the city’s top Mexican restaurants. Afterward, wash down all the delicious food with a beer at one (or several) of the city’s craft breweries.
Visit Some of Colorado’s Ghost Towns
While the verdict is out on whether there are any actual ghosts, Colorado has a surprisingly high number of abandoned towns.
These towns began their lives as mining settlements, and when they hit severe struggles in the early 20th century, most of them were left completely abandoned. It’s fascinating — and eerie — to explore some of Colorado’s mining towns, but please look out for any dangers, such as unstable ceilings or hidden mineshafts.
In the summer, some of these towns are now run as tourist attractions as tour guides make sure certain buildings are safe and offer insight into the town’s history. This is US history at its most hands-on and we highly recommend you try it!
Head Out Rafting on the Poudre River or on the Arkansas River
With all these mountains come a lot of large rivers, and this makes Colorado one of the best places in the US for rafting trips. There are innumerous options to choose from and this isn’t a guide to the top ten rafting trips in Colorado, so we’ll just offer our two favorites for you to choose from:
You can go rafting on the Poudre River out of Fort Collins. This is a very popular route, and for good reason, so make sure you book in advance to avoid disappointment.
You can also go rafting out of Salida or Canon City, along the Arkansas River. This makes for a thrilling trip and we highly recommend it!
Try Your Hand at Sand Surfing in Great Sand Dunes National Park
No, you didn’t read that wrong — sand surfing is real and it’s a lot of fun. The aptly named Great Sand Dunes National Park is the perfect spot for some sand surfing as it is full of folding, falling, mesmerizing sand dunes that are just calling out to adventurous visitors to grab a specialist sandboard from the nearby rental service in San Luis Valley and to surf down the slopes.
Top tip: you can’t do this well on snowboards or surfboards, so make sure to get the right equipment first. However, armed with your sandboard and an afternoon in Great Sand Dunes National Park, you’re guaranteed to have an incredible time.
Start off with some of the smaller dunes before taking on the big boys! For a more in-depth introduction, we recommend this helpful guide from the official Alamosa website.
We hope this brief guide has given you one or two activities you’re looking forward to doing in Colorado. When you put all of these activities together, you can begin to see why Denver is becoming more and more popular as a destination for bachelor parties and corporate team-building experiences.
If you’re planning a bachelor party and you’d like to head out with Front Range Ride Guides, take a look at our Bachelor Party MTB Ride in Colorado and contact us if you have any questions. We can arrange the ideal experience for your group, so don’t be shy about telling us exactly what you’re looking for!
