Colorado’s national parks and monuments – travel planning guide for families

March 17, 2:28 PMDenver Family Travel ExaminerCarolyn Sutton

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Dinosaur National Monument offers families a taste of Colorado's great national parklands.

Colorado’s national parks, national monuments, national historic sites, and national recreation areas offer families who travel in Colorado the opportunity to experience the state’s many personalities. From the broad prairies, with their history of travelers and conflict, to the rugged mountain corridor, with its fascinating landscape, geology, and wildlife, to the spookily beautiful canyons and redrock spires of western Colorado, the state’s variety is reflected in its national parklands.

Within the National Park Service in Colorado, several designations exist.

National Parks are large, natural areas with a wide variety of attributes, and which prohibit mining, hunting, and other activities that would consume the resources of the place. It takes an act of Congress to designate a National Park.  In Colorado there are currently four National Parks: Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park, Mesa Verde National Park, Great Sand Dunes National Park, and Rocky Mountain National Park.

National Monuments can be declared by the President without the involvement of congress, and include structures and other objects of historic or scientific interest on lands owned or controlled by the government. In Colorado, National Monuments include Colorado National Monument, Dinosaur, Florissant Fossil Beds, and Yucca House. Canyons of the Ancients is a national monument managed by the Bureau of Land Management.

National Preserves are similar to National Parks, but which permit public hunting, trapping, and oil and gas exploration and extraction. Currently Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve is the only National Preserve in Colorado.

National Historic Sites usually contain a single historical feature. Bent’s Old Fort and the Sand Creek Massacre National Historic Sites are in Colorado.

National Recreation Areas are large reservoirs that emphasize water-based recreation. They combine open space with natural and historic resource preservation and recreation. Colorado has Curecanti National Recreation Area and Arapahoe National Recreation Area. The National Forest Service currently administrates Arapaho National Recreation Area, while the National Park Service administers Curecanti.

Planning a Family Vacation in Colorado

If a family traveling in Colorado visits nothing but the state’s national parklands, that family is set up for a great trip. First of all, the National Park Service places are managed to be family-friendly. With amenities like changing stations in many of the restrooms and Junior Ranger Programs, the national parks have a great focus on kids. And secondly, by experiencing the different kinds of Colorado sites, families can taste the full array of flavors that makes the state so interesting and fun.