Things to do / Travel Guide
If you want a break from the skiing frenzy or if you simply can't imagine strapping on a pair of skis in the first place, the Colorado Rockies region offers a wide range of tours for you. Trek across the slopes in snowshoes, dig for dinosaurs, pan for gold, bound over back roads, and ogle the architecture - in the Colorado Rockies region you will find the gamut of tours ranging from a tame walk or journey, to a wild and hair-raising daylong jaunt. Organized tours help you make the most of the mountains, work the waterways, and get hands-on experience with the area's rich geological and paleontological history.
Outdoor Adventure Tours in the Colorado Rockies
Want a little guidance to get out in that great wide open? For every type of outdoor recreation activity that interests you there is a tour to help you get started. Snowshoeing, snowmobiling, mountain biking, canoeing and kayaking, sightseeing, rafting, fishing, climbing, and hiking, among other tours, are available and allow you to venture into the variegated landscape of Colorado Rockies' magnificent mountains and waterways. Tours of all kinds are available for travelers of all abilities and fitness levels; they generally last from half a day to a full day, and can be found in nearly every Colorado Rockies community.
Four-Wheel-Drive, Jeep, and Hummer Tours in the Colorado Rockies
Explore the region's treacherous mountain passes, rugged back roads, and off-the-beaten-path attractions with the help of one of the local tour companies. Taking you on some of the most pleasant or harrowing, backcountry adventures that the region offers, four-wheel-drive (4WD), Jeep and Hummer tours abound in the Northwest Colorado towns of Aspen, Breckenridge, and Glenwood Springs, the South-Central Colorado community of Buena Vista, and the Southwest Colorado towns of Ouray, Durango, and Telluride, among others. You can find tours to out-of-the-way hot springs, waterfalls, gold mines, quarries, and ghost and mining towns. Some popular tours take you to the Last Dollar Road near Telluride to see Whipple Mountain, Wilson Mountain, and the Uncompaghre Plateau, or climb the second-highest 4WD road in the United States, the Imogene Pass near Ouray. The half-day and full-day options are limitless, so buckle up and get ready for the ride of your life!
Dinosaur Tours in the Colorado Rockies
Learn about the Colorado Rockies' oldest, largest, and most famous and feared residents - dinosaurs. Diplodocus, Apatosaurus, and Brachiosaurus skeletons were all found in the area, and excavations are ongoing. Dinosaur tours near Grand Junction in Northwest Colorado and Delta in Southwest Colorado will take you on an actual paleontolgical field expedition in which you can assist scientists in uncovering fossils and dinosaur bones. Tour fossil dig sites and learn about the history of paleontology in the area. Tours can last anywhere from two to eight hours and costs start around $75 per person.
Gold and Silver Mine Tours in the Colorado Rockies
If you want to get your hands on some silver or gold (literally and figuratively), the best way is to take one of the area's gold mine tours. Tours in Northwest Colorado are available to Country Boy Mine (gold) and Washington Gold Mine near Breckenridge, and Compromise and Smuggler Mine (silver) in Aspen. In Southwest Colorado, gold mine tours are available to Bachelor-Syracuse Mine in Ouray and Old Hundred Gold Mine in Silverton, among others. Though each tour itinerary is different, you will generally descend deep into the underground mine, learn about its history, learn about the process of metal extraction, and learn how to gold pan in local streams or creek. Then you can actually begin the hunt for gold (finder's keepers)! Tours generally last several hours.
Quarry Tours in the Colorado Rockies
In the mood to mine for Colorado's other geological riches? Tours are available of Wellsville Fold Travertine Quarry, which was active during the 1890s and 1920s, near the Southwest Colorado community of Salida, and the Yule Marble Quarry, near Northwest Colorado's beloved ski resort of Aspen. Both quarries once supplied some of the world's finest marble for some of the nation's most famous monuments (e.g., Washington DC's Lincoln Memorial, the Denver capitol building). You will see the veins of calcite crystals and manganese ore, learn about the ways in which it was mined and refined, and explore some of the old, abandoned mining pits. Tours generally last several hours.
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