Bent’s Old Fort in Southeast Colorado was built in 1833 for the trade of buffalo robes. For 16 years, the fort was the only major permanent white settlement in the region. It was destroyed in 1849 and a replica stands in its place today. The Santa Fe Trail, along which the fort is situated, tells the history of the Old West — wagon ruts and all — from trappers, traders and settlers.
Set in the Rocky Mountain foothills of Boulder, The Dushanbe Teahouse was made by hand in Dushanbe, Tajikistan and gifted to Boulder, its sister city. A symbol of friendship and cultural exploration, the teahouse was reassembled in Boulder and now serves afternoon tea along with other fresh baked treats.
Also known as the Granada Relocation Center, Camp Amache was a World War II internment camp and home to more than 7,000 Japanese Americans forcibly imprisoned there from 1942 through 1945. Today, it is preserved by the Amache Preservation Society. Visitors can learn about the history of the site and view the well-maintained camp.
Set in central Colorado, the Florissant Fossil Beds are one of the most diverse fossil deposits in the world. The National Monument features petrified redwood stumps that are up to 14 feet wide, along with thousands of fossilized insects, plants and other creatures. Children can explore with the junior ranger program led by the park’s rangers, and earn junior ranger badges.
One of the fewer than 150 wooden carousels still in existence, the Kit Carson Carousel is on the county fairgrounds in Burlington. It is the only antique carousel in the country with its original paint and the only surviving menagerie carousel made by the Philadelphia Toboggan Company.
Weld County is home to Missile Site Park where visitors can get a glimpse into the Cold War era’s national defense. The missile site, constructed in 1961 and deactivated in 1965, was the location of one of four Atlas E sites equipped with nuclear warheads. Visitors can tour the site and see the missile maintenance room, the command control centers and the living quarters.
The National Earthquake Information Center (NEIC) in Golden has the mission of quickly reporting the location and size of earthquakes occurring anywhere in the world. The NEIC gathers and keeps a global seismic database on earthquakes and their effects on the Earth. Visitors can explore the center to learn more about this process and see the tools that accomplish the job.
Situated near La Junta in Southeastern Colorado, Picketwire Canyon is home to the longest set of dinosaur tracks discovered to date. The tracks were made in mud, buried and are now turned to stone. Today, there are more than 1,300 footprints visible at the site, as well as Native American rock art dating back 375-to-4,500 years.
Bearing little resemblance to the animated TV show, the real South Park in Colorado is home to the towns of Fairplay and Alma along with a variety of heritage areas and scenic sights. The area boasts 14,000-foot peaks, a river valley, abundant wildlife, a rich history of mining and ancient trees. Gold prospectors flocked there in the 1860s and $1.5-million-worth of gold was extracted in Park County in three years — about $42 million by today’s standards.
Take the Cosmic Highway just outside Alamosa to the UFO Watchtower. For real. The attraction provides 360-degree views of the San Luis Valley with no light pollution, making for the perfect location to scope out the sky for UFOs. The area is known for strange occurrences and visitors regularly spot unusual lights and objects in the sky from the observation deck.
