Summit County Citizens Voice

Start the spring travel season with a visit to one Colorado’s 13 national parks, 22 national historic landmarks or 12 national natural landmarks

Colorado National Monument. PHOTO BY BOB BERWYN.

By Bob Berwyn

SUMMIT COUNTY — With the price of just about everything going up these days, it’s not east to plan a low-cost family getaway. But this coming week, the National Park Service will help make travel just a little bit more affordable with free admission to all national parks during National Park Week.

Jeffrey Bergeron enjoys views on the Chimney Rock trail in Capitol Reef National Park. PHOTO COURTESY ELLEN HOLLINSHEAD.

“America’s national parks have something for everyone,” said National Park Service Director Jonathan B. Jarvis. “Take a break and experience something new, enjoy some fresh air, get some exercise, and see where history happened. And, since admission is free to all 397 parks, all week long, National Park Week is a great time to get up, get out, and explore a park.”

Sand Creek massacre national historic site. PHOTO BY BOB BERWYN.

Colorado has more national park sites then you would think. Along with well-known landmarks like Rocky Mountain National Park and Mesa Verde (the state’s only World Heritage site), there are lesser known treasures, including one of the newer national park historic sites marking the spot of the infamous Sand Creek Massacre on the windswept high plains.

All in all, Colorado has 13 national parks,  three National Heritage Areas, 12 National Natural Landmarks, and 22 National Historic Landmarks. Those sites hosted almost 6 million visits last year.

Not too far from Vail, Dinosaur National Monument last year opened and impressive new visitor center, providing better viewing of the impressive collection of fossils, and the monument is also full of an impressive array of rock art along hiking trails that are already snow-free.

Heading the other direction, Great Sand Dunes is another terrific destination for early spring, just as runoff starts to swell Medano Creek, at the base of the impressive dunes.

Parks around the country will mark the annual celebration with special events and activities including Volunteer Day on April 21, Earth Day on April 22, and Junior Ranger Day on April 28.  More information is online at www.nationalparkweek.org.

“This is our annual celebration of America’s best idea – our national parks,” said Neil Mulholland, president and CEO of the National Park Foundation. “We are proud to stand with our partners at the National Park Service and encourage people everywhere to enjoy, learn from and support our nation’s greatest treasures.”

We also asked for some feedback on Facebook to see which parks people love, and here are the responses we got:

• Matthew Eric Lit
• Shhh! It’s a secret!
• 

  Ben Young
• Yosemite. Nothing beats the spirituality of the first-time view out of the Wawona Tunnel.
• 

  Dennis Van Berwyn
  
• http://www.nps.gov/drto/index.htm Dry Tortugas for Sure! Snorkeling!
• 

  Dry Tortugas National Park – Dry Tortugas National Parkwww.nps.gov

  Almost 70 miles (113 km) west of Key West is a group of seven islands formed by
• 

  Sylvia Lobato
• Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve. The variety of ecosystems, history and downright fun can’t be beat!
• 

  Stephanie Sadler
• Love Carlsbad Caverns. Just super cool.
• 

  Tom Castrigno
• It’s a toss up between Zion & Big Bend. Zion for the canyons and hike to Angel’s LAnding, Big Bend for the sheer diversity of zones from MTn pine down to desert (Agave are fascinating)
• • 

    Julio C Mora
  • Mesa Verde! It’s nice to see how people lived 1,500 ish years ago, the cliff dwellings are just amazing!

Filed under: Colorado, national parks, public lands, Travel Tagged: | Colorado, Colorado National Monument, Dinosaur National Monument, National Park Service, National Park Week, Rocky Mountain National Park, Travel