Hidden Gems
18 places · Spots most visitors never find
Colorado Springs, CO
Palmer Park
A 737-acre park featuring sandstone formations, mesa overlooks, and ponderosa pine forests on the east side of Colorado Springs. The park offers views of Pikes Peak to the west and the Great Plains to the east. Numerous rock formations throughout the park create natural frames and foreground interest.
Morrison, CO
South Valley Park
A Jefferson County Open Space park featuring dramatic red sandstone hogback formations similar to but less visited than nearby Red Rocks. The Coyote Song Trail passes through a gap in the hogback offering views of both the foothills and the plains. Deer Creek flows through the park, attracting wildlife including mule deer and raptors.
Cortez, CO
Lowry Pueblo
Lowry Pueblo is a partially excavated Ancestral Puebloan great house containing about 40 rooms and 8 kivas, dating from approximately 1060 to 1150 CE. The site includes one of the best-preserved great kivas in the region with original painted plaster still visible on the walls. It is managed by the Bureau of Land Management and sits on an open sagebrush plain west of Pleasant View.
Grand Lake, CO
Holzwarth Historic Site
A preserved 1920s dude ranch on the west side of Rocky Mountain National Park in the Kawuneeche Valley. The weathered log cabins sit in a meadow along the Colorado River with the Never Summer Mountains as a backdrop. The half-mile trail to the site passes through meadows where moose and elk are regularly spotted.
Frisco, CO
Officers Gulch Pond
A small beaver pond visible from Interstate 70 between Copper Mountain and Frisco, surrounded by dense spruce forest and framed by the Tenmile Range. The pond offers near-perfect reflections on calm mornings and is a well-known but compact photography location. Fall brings golden aspen accents to the surrounding hillsides.
Delta, CO
Escalante Canyon
Escalante Canyon is a quiet agricultural canyon south of Delta where the Escalante Creek has carved through layers of red and brown sandstone. Historic Captain Smith's Cabin, a one-room log structure from 1910, sits in the canyon along a dirt road. Spring brings wildflowers and flowing water to the seasonal creek.
Cortez, CO
Canyon of the Ancients National Monument
Canyon of the Ancients contains one of the highest known densities of archaeological sites in the United States, with over 6,000 recorded sites across its desert landscape. The monument encompasses sagebrush mesas, shallow canyons with sandstone outcrops, and scattered ruins dating from 750 to 1300 CE. Sand Canyon and East Rock Creek trails provide access to well-preserved pueblo and tower sites.
Morrison, CO
Dinosaur Ridge
A section of the Dakota Hogback containing over 300 dinosaur footprints and Jurassic-era fossils exposed along a tilted rock ridge. The site features visible dinosaur tracks, bones, and trace fossils embedded in the rock surface. The ridge provides views of the Denver Basin to the east and the foothills to the west.
Creede, CO
Wheeler Geologic Area
Wheeler Geologic Area features dramatic volcanic tuff formations eroded into spires, pinnacles, and hoodoos over millions of years. Once nominated as a national monument, it is one of the most remote and least-visited geologic landmarks in Colorado. The formations range in color from white to pale pink against a dark forest backdrop.
Fruita, CO
Black Ridge Canyons Wilderness - Rattlesnake Canyon
Rattlesnake Canyon contains the second-largest concentration of natural arches in the United States after Arches National Park. The area features at least nine natural arches carved from Entrada sandstone. The remote wilderness setting means most arches can be photographed without other visitors present.
Delta, CO
Dominguez-Escalante National Conservation Area
The Dominguez-Escalante NCA encompasses red sandstone canyons carved by Dominguez and Escalante Creeks as they flow toward the Gunnison River. The area features Entrada and Wingate sandstone walls, seasonal waterfalls, and Ancestral Puebloan rock art. Big Dominguez Canyon is the primary photographic destination.
Grand Junction, CO
McInnis Canyons - Knowles Canyon
Knowles Canyon is a deep, narrow slot canyon within the McInnis Canyons National Conservation Area, featuring towering Wingate sandstone walls and seasonal pools. The canyon offers intimate desert canyon photography with natural light beams in its narrowest sections. Access requires route-finding through a remote desert landscape.
Estes Park, CO
Sky Pond
A remote alpine lake at 10,900 feet at the base of the Sharkstooth, a prominent granite spire along the Continental Divide. Access requires a 4.5-mile hike from Glacier Gorge Trailhead, including a scramble up Timberline Falls. The lake is surrounded by the dramatic walls of the Cathedral Spires.
Ward, CO
Blue Lake (Indian Peaks)
A remote cirque lake at 11,320 feet beneath Mount Toll in the Indian Peaks Wilderness. The 2.6-mile trail from the Mitchell Lake Trailhead climbs steeply through krummholz forest to the deep blue lake cupped in a granite amphitheater. Snow cornices often persist on the surrounding ridges into late summer.
Silverton, CO
Ophir Pass
Ophir Pass is a 11,789-foot alpine pass between Silverton and Telluride that follows a historic toll road built in 1881. The Silverton side features expansive views of the mineral-stained peaks of the Red Mountain mining district. Near the summit, the road traverses above timberline with vast open tundra and scattered wildflowers.
Durango, CO
Purgatory Flats via Cascade Creek Trail
Purgatory Flats is a secluded high-mountain meadow nestled along the Animas River in the Weminuche Wilderness, accessible from the Cascade Creek trailhead near Purgatory Resort. The trail passes through old-growth spruce and fir forests before opening to a wide flat valley surrounded by towering peaks. The meadow offers excellent foreground for wildflower and mountain compositions.
Breckenridge, CO
Blue Lakes Trail
A moderate 6-mile round trip trail leading to an alpine lake at 11,700 feet nestled in a glacial cirque below Quandary Peak. The vivid blue-green water reflects surrounding rocky peaks and is framed by alpine tundra. The trail passes through spruce-fir forest before opening to expansive above-treeline terrain.
Aspen, CO
Aspen Highlands Bowl
A dramatic high-alpine bowl accessible by hiking a ridge from the top of the Loge Peak lift at Aspen Highlands resort. The bowl provides direct views across to the Maroon Bells and Pyramid Peak, framed by steep avalanche paths. In winter, the boot-pack line of skiers traversing the ridge creates a striking compositional element.