Colorado Landscapes

The Maroon Bells are arguably the most famous and photographed peaks in Colorado. The twin peaks, Maroon Peak and North Maroon Peak, both 14ers, are located up Maroon Creek Road off Highway 82, 10 miles west of Aspen and 16 miles from Snowmass Colorado. The maroon stripes were formed by the weathering of hematite, an iron bearing material. Maroon Lake occupies the basin at the foot of the mountains. There are several hiking trails that are so heavily used that reservations are required. Photo by Anna Foderaro.

The Snowy Mountains are not actually in Colorado, they are in Wyoming. But they are so spectacular and so close to our northern border, that we can't resist including them in our landscape gallery. The range, located in the Medicine Bow-Routt National Forest runs east and west for 29 miles. The range is accessed by the Snowy Mountain Scenic Byway which climbs from 8,000 - 10,847' elevation along these gorgeous rocky mountains with beautiful lakes at their foot. Several excellent trails are found along the byway around the lakes and up into the mountains. Photo by Loraine Yeatts.

Michael Remke took this photo in the La Plata Mountains, a small subrange of the San Juan Mountains in southwestern Colorado, about 12 miles northwest of Durango. The La Plata Range contain 18 peaks over 12,000', the tallest being Hesperus Mountain at 13,237'. La Plata means "silver" in Spanish and the mountains were heavily mined for silver, gold, lead and copper in the past.

This photo was taken by Tom Lebsack from near the top of the Governor Basin OHV road southwest of Ouray. The peaks are, from the left, Stony Mountain (closest), Mt. Sneffels in the far background, Teakettle Mountain and Potosi Mountain in the shadow. The flowers are mostly Rosy Paintbrush. The Governor Basin Road is a 15.4 mile moderately trafficked out and back trail located near Ridgway, Colorado that features beautiful wild flowers and is rated as moderate.

West Bijou Ranch (at the time, in 2003, it was part of the Plains Conversation Center; now its a national natural landmark property managed by the Savory Institute on the eastern edges of Arapahoe and Elbert counties. This 7,500 acre ranch, dominated by shortgrass prairie, is home to a majestic herd of bison, and archeological and cultural assets, such as the famous K-T Boundary. (the K-T Boundary is the transition between the Cretaceous and Tertiary periods of geologic time characterized by a mass extinction of many forms of life, the boundary is only found in certain rocks exposed by erosion. Photo by Skot Latona

South Platte Park in Littleton, just north of C470 along the South Platte River. The South Platte River is one of two tributaries of the Platte River (the other being the North Platte River). It in turn has two tributaries, The Middle Fork which arises from Mt. Lincoln, a 14,293-foot fourteener in the Mosquito Range, and the South Fork which originates in South Park. Photo by Skot Latona

The Shrine Ridge Trail is located at exit 190 off of I-70 between Frisco and Copper Mountain. It is rated as a moderate hike, 4.3 miles out and back with an elevation gain of 900 feet to 11,905 feet. The trail is very popular, and is most known from its wonderful wildflowers and birds. Photo by Carol McGowan

Jura Knob is located near Coal Bank Pass on Route 550 in the San Juan Mountains. It is 14 miles south of Silverton and 35 miles north of Durango. Its elevation is 12,614 feet. Photo by John Bregar.

The Dillon Pinnacles, which tower above Blue Mesa Reservoir in Gunnison County were formed by volcanic eruptions into brecca rock towering spires, rising to 7,800 feet. Photo by Mo Ewing

Summit lake is a tarn (alpine lake), located 12,836 feet in a glacial cirque on the north face of Mt. Evans (14,271 ft. elevation). Part of the Pike and Arapaho National forest, it was incorporated into the Denver Mountain Parks System in 1924 and was designated a National Natural Landmark in 1965. Photo by Dina Baker