Colorado Landscapes

Square Top Lakes Trail is one of several trails at the top of Guanella Pass which is an easy drive from Georgetown from the north or Bailey from the south on Route 62. The 4.5 mile round trip trail starts at 11,600' and has a 700' elevation gain, but it gives you sweeping valley views of South Park and spectacular views of Mt. Bierstadt, a well known 14er with its trailhead also on Guanella Pass. The red flowers in the foreground are Indian Paintbrush (Castilleja). Photo by Daniel Bon.

The Rogers Pass Trail, located near Winter Park is a 5.0 mile out and back trail above timberline. It is not heavily used and is accessed by County Road 80 (Forest Road 149) from Winter Park. High clearance vehicle is recommended for the 11 mile trip. It is open to hiking, mountain biking, and running. The trail passes the lovely Rollins Pass Lake. The yellow flowers in the foreground are Old Man of the Mountain (Hymenoxys grandiflora). Photo by Leslie Madsen.

Black Powder Pass is located between Bald and Boreas mountains. The Black Powder Pass hiking trail's trailhead is right off Route 10 between Como and Breckenridge. The 3.4 mile out and back trail is above timberline with spectacular views of the 10-mile Range and has meadows filled with wildflowers. Photo by Anna Wilson.

Heil Valley Ranch is located in Boulder County and is run by Boulder County Open Space. There are a series of trails which loop together to form the Heil Valley Ranch Trail. This trail is 9.2 miles long and has an elevation gain of 1,272". This photo was taken near the Wapiti Trail in the summer 2021 following the Cal-Wood Fire. The photographer, David Hirt said that not one of the Foothills Arnica (Arnica Fulgens), pictured in the foreground, was to be seen when he returned in 2022.

Hoosier Pass, elevation 11,542 is located on State Highway 9 between Alma and Breckinridge straddling the Continental Divide in Park and Summit Counties. It serves as the dividing line between the Mosquito and Tenmile mountain ranges. There is a very popular 2.8 mile hiking trail at the summit of the pass with an elevation gain of 688 feet. In the foreground of this photo is the rare plant, Hoosier Pass Ipomopsis. Photo by Bernie Nagy.

The Columbine Lake Trail in Silverton, CO is located in the San Juan National Forest, about 4.8 miles north of Silverton on Highway 550, off Ophir Pass Road. The trail is popular, but considered strenuous, climbing 2,195 vertical feet in about 7.9 miles (out and back) through 16 discernible switchbacks. It goes through spruce-fir forests to alpine meadows (pictured here) and spectacular flowers, ending up in a basin at the glacial Columbine Lake.

Ernie Marx took this photo at Walden Reservoir in Jackson County. Walden Reservoir, located just outside of Walden CO, is better known for birding with dabblers, divers, shorebirds, gulls, terns, and waders found there. Golden eagles, prairie falcons, pelicans, gulls, and raptors are known to frequent the area. The Bureau of Land Management allows disbursed camping around the reservoir. The masses of pink flowers are Water Smartweed, (Persicaria amphibia").

The Great Sand Dunes National Park, located on the San Luis Valley, and next to the Sangre de Christo Range, was designated as a national monument in 1932, and a national park in 2000. It contains 750 foot sand dunes in its 30 square mile dune field, which are the tallest sand dunes in the North America. Medano Creek flows by the base of the dunes creating a wonderful beach that children love. There are also trails which lead to forests, wetlands and alpine lakes like Medano Lake,

The Flatirons are the city of Boulder's iconic rock formations that lie on the east side of Green Mountain. There are five flatirons, so named one through five that have a maximum elevation of 8,138'. The Flatirons are a part of the Fountain Formatiion of sedimentary rocks formed 280 million years ago. The flowers in the foreground are Foothills Arnica (Arnica fulgens). Photo by Anthony Massaro.

Purgatoire River, known locally as the Purgatory River (Purgatoire means purgatory in French), was named by French trappers to commemorate Spanish explorers killed in a Native American attack. The river is located in southeast Colorado and flows through the Comanche National Grasslands in Otero County to its confluence with the Arkansas River at John Martin Reservoir. The cactus in the foreground is Tree Cholla (Cylindropuntia imbricata). Photo by Sue Keiffer