This popular USFS campground at the foot of Mt Evans is up at 10,600ft, so bring a hat and warm sleeping bag. It has both tent and RV sites along with water and toilets. Reserve.
Echo Lake Campground
Central Colorado
Lonely Planet's must-see attractions
20.8 MILES
When the setting sun brings out a rich, orange glow from the rock formations and the band on stage launches into just the right tune, Red Rocks…
28.93 MILES
This historic landmark park is the gateway to Boulder’s most magnificent slab of open space adjoining the iconic Flatirons; its wide, lush lawn attracts…
Colorado School of Mines' Geology Museum
20.79 MILES
With a collection of 50,000 minerals, fossils and gemstones, the School of Mines' Geology Museum is worth a stop, even if rocks aren't really your thing…
Morrison Natural History Museum
21.4 MILES
This small but excellent museum has displays on Morrison during the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods. There are huge dinosaur skulls as well as a full…
20.87 MILES
Explore the life of a homesteader by walking through this re-created pioneer settlement. Here, original and replica 19th-century buildings – a cabin, two…
26.91 MILES
Barney Ford was an escaped slave who became a prominent entrepreneur and Colorado civil-rights pioneer, and made two stops in Breckenridge (where he ran a…
21.68 MILES
Two interpretive trails as well as a self-guided tour showcase the impressive footprints and sandstone-encased fossils that make up Dinosaur Ridge. If…
American Mountaineering Museum
21.02 MILES
If you’ve come to Colorado to climb, this museum will give you tingles of inspiration. There’s a pile of stunning photos, historic climbing gear (some of…
Nearby Central Colorado attractions
5.37 MILES
The pinnacle of many visitors’ trips to Colorado is a drive to the alpine summit of Mt Evans, less than an hour west of Denver’s skyscrapers. It was…
6.45 MILES
Originally built in 1867, this residence was renovated as a mountain estate in the late 1870s by William Hamill, who made his fortune in silver mining…
12.05 MILES
Wildflowers and windswept trails, boulders and snowfields – these are the disproportionately big rewards for the easy hike up to St Mary’s Glacier. It’s a…
4. Golden Gate Canyon State Park
15.53 MILES
Located halfway between Golden and Nederland, this massive 12,000-acre state park has plenty of hiking trails and climbing opportunities. Camping is…
15.84 MILES
Colorado's newest state park sits on a historic ranch site 40 miles west of Denver. Ranging in elevation from 8100ft to 10,000ft, it has a rich variety of…
6. Buffalo Bill Museum & Grave
19.72 MILES
This museum celebrates the life and legend of William F ‘Buffalo Bill’ Cody, an icon of the American West. At his request he was buried at this site…
7. Colorado School of Mines' Geology Museum
20.79 MILES
With a collection of 50,000 minerals, fossils and gemstones, the School of Mines' Geology Museum is worth a stop, even if rocks aren't really your thing…
8. Red Rocks Park & Amphitheatre
20.8 MILES
When the setting sun brings out a rich, orange glow from the rock formations and the band on stage launches into just the right tune, Red Rocks…