Parks

Encompasses the north San Juan Mountains and provides recreation of all types around Ouray, Ridgway and Telluride Colorado. It includes 3 wilderness areas, several peaks over 14.000 ft. and is very accessible by numerous hiking trails and backcountry roads that were once the routes to many mine sites of the late 1800’s. Rivers and streams are also abundant and provide excellent fishing and kayaking.

Located between Ridgway and Montrose. The newest Colorado State Park – offering excellent recreation and activities facilities around the 1,000 acre lake. Active adventures includes:  great fishing, large swim beach with picnic areas and playground, good hiking or biking trails, boat ramp and dock for skiing, wake boarding, and water sports. The southern entrance is only 2 miles north of Ridgway and can be accessed by the Uncompahgre Riverway Trail beginning in Ridgway’s Town Park – great for family bike ride or River raft down the Uncompagre from town.

These cliff dwellings and other works of early people are the most notable and best preserved in the United States. The entrance to the Park is approximately a 2 1/2 hr. drive from Ridgway and it takes another 1/2 hr. to reach the cliff dwellings, but because of the great significance of Mesa Verde you may decide it is worth the trip – it is a very scenic drive. Perhaps the best time to visit is during the spring and fall when the summer crowds are not present.

Preserves one of the grand landscapes of the American West. Bold, big, and brilliantly colored, the Monument includes thirty-two square miles of canyons, plateaus, and massive towers of naturally sculpted rock. Rim Rock Drive is an awesome road bike ride or a great scenic drive with numerous pullouts and some hiking options. Web site has a great map. Just under a 2-hour drive to the entrance – west of Grand Junction Colorado.

Canyonlands National Park preserves a colorful landscape of sedimentary sandstones eroded into countless canyons, mesas and buttes by the Colorado River and its tributaries. The Colorado and Green rivers divide the park into four districts: the Island in the Sky, the Needles, the Maze and the rivers themselves. While the districts share a primitive desert atmosphere, each retains its own character and offers different opportunities for exploration and learning.

No other canyon in North America combines the narrow opening, sheer walls, and startling depths of the Black Canyon. Park entrance on south rim is about 12 miles east of Montrose (37 miles from Ridgway). The South Rim Drive is 7 miles long with 12 overlooks, access to 2 short hikes (1 1/2 to 2 miles each) and a visitor center.

Arches National Park preserves over two thousand natural sandstone arches, including the world-famous Delicate Arch, in addition to a variety of unique geological resources and formations. In some areas, faulting has exposed millions of years of geologic history.The extraordinary features of the park, including balanced rocks, fins and pinnacles, are highlighted by a striking environment of contrasting colors, landforms and textures.