Reconstructed barracks, guard and water towers at the newly designated Amache National Historic Site
Amache
Amache, also known as the Granada Relocation Center, near Granada, Colorado was one of ten incarceration sites established by the War Relocation Authority during World War II to unjustly incarcerate Japanese Americans. Over 10,000 people, most Americ
For much of its 16-year history, the fort was the only major permanent white settlement on the Santa Fe Trail between Missouri and the Mexican settlements.
Bent's Old Fort
In the 1840s the Arkansas River was the border between territory claimed by the United States and Mexico. Located on the river, Bent's Fort was an adobe trading post on the Santa Fe Trail, where traders, trappers, travelers, and the Cheyenne and Arap
Black Canyon near Tomichi Point
Black Canyon Of The Gunnison
Big enough to be overwhelming, still intimate enough to feel the pulse of time, Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park exposes you to some of the steepest cliffs, oldest rock, and craggiest spires in North America. With two million years to work,
Wagon at Register Rock in City of Rocks National Reserve
California
Follow in the footsteps of over 250,000 emigrants who traveled to the gold fields and rich farmlands of California during the 1840s and 1850s: the greatest mass migration in American history. The California National Historic Trail is over 5,000 miles
View of Independence Monument with Grand Valley in background. Taken from Rim Rock Rock Drive.
Colorado
Colorado National Monument preserves one of the grand landscapes of the American West. But this treasure is much more than a monument. Towering monoliths exist within a vast plateau and canyon panorama. You can experience sheer-walled, red rock canyo
Dillon Pinnacles in the morning sunlight.
Curecanti
Located on the Western slope of the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, Curecanti includes three reservoirs in the Upper Gunnison River Basin (Blue Mesa, Morrow Point, and Crystal). There are opportunities for hiking, boating, kayaking, camping, fishing, pa
Over 1500 fossilized bones of various dinosaurs are still embedded in the cliff face including a skull and several neck vertebrae of a camarasaurus
Dinosaur
Dinosaurs once roamed here. Their fantastic remains are still visibly embedded in the rocks. Today, the mountains, desert, and untamed rivers flowing in deep canyons support an array of life. Petroglyphs hint at earlier cultures. Later, homesteaders
Walk the Petrified Trail Loop to see fossil redwood stumps
Florissant Fossil Beds
Beneath a grassy mountain valley in central Colorado lies one of the richest and most diverse fossil deposits in the world. Petrified redwood stumps up to 14 feet wide and thousands of detailed fossils of insects and plants reveal the story of a very
The view at the park entrance contrasts giant dunes and snow-capped mountains.
Great Sand Dunes
Open 24/7 year round! There are no limitations, timed entries, or reservations to visit. The tallest dunes in North America are the centerpiece in a diverse landscape of grasslands, wetlands, forests, alpine lakes, and tundra. Stay on a moonless nigh
Hovenweep National Monument was designated an International Dark Sky Park in 2014.
Hovenweep
Once home to over 2,500 people, Hovenweep includes six prehistoric villages built between A.D. 1200 and 1300. Explore a variety of structures, including multistory towers perched on canyon rims and balanced on boulders. The construction and attention
Cliff Palace, Mesa Verde's Largest Cliff Dwelling
Mesa Verde
For over 700 years, the Ancestral Pueblo people built thriving communities on the mesas and in the cliffs of Mesa Verde. Today, the park protects the rich cultural heritage of 26 Pueblos and Tribes and offers visitors a spectacular window into the pa
Santa Rosa de Lima de Abiquiú provided a way station for travelers along the Old Spanish Trail in the 1800s. It is privately owned by the Archdiocese of Santa Fe.
Old Spanish
Follow the routes of mule pack trains across the Southwest on the Old Spanish National Historic Trail between Santa Fe, New Mexico, and Los Angeles, California. New Mexican traders moved locally produced merchandise across what are now six states to
A National Pony Express Association rider poses at Simpson Springs in Utah.
Pony Express
It is hard to believe that young men once rode horses to carry mail from Missouri to California in the unprecedented time of only 10 days. This relay system along the Pony Express National Historic Trail in eight states was the most direct and practi
Hiking in RMNP in April and early May
Rocky Mountain
Rocky Mountain National Park's 415 square miles (265,807 acres) encompasses a spectacular range of mountain environments. From meadows found in the montane life zone to glistening alpine lakes and up to the towering mountain peaks, there is something
Cheyenne and Arapaho Lodges erected in commemoration of the 150th Year of the Sand Creek Massacre
Sand Creek Massacre
On November 29th, 1864, Chiefs Black Kettle, White Antelope, Left Hand and others were encamped with around 750 Arapaho and Cheyenne people in a valley by the Big Sandy Creek. A hope for peace, brought forth by Black Kettle was in the balance. It was
Visit Cimarron National Grassland to experience the Santa Fe Trail.
Santa Fe
You can almost hear the whoops and cries of "All's set!" as trail hands hitched their oxen to freight wagons carrying cargo between western Missouri and Santa Fe, New Mexico. Follow the Santa Fe National Historic Trail through five states and you'll
Cattails define marshy locations watered by springs.
Yucca House
Yucca House National Monument preserves a large unexcavated pueblo with a stunning setting in Montezuma Valley, nestled between Mesa Verde and Ute Mountain. Since Yucca House was protected as a national monument in 1919, it has remained largely untou