Colorado suggestions

[JP Bruce]

I'm planning a trip to Denver area in mid July. Any suggestions for wildflowers or other scenics I shouldn't miss. Will be there close to a week. Thanks for any comments

[Steve Wheeler]

JP... I'm not that familiar with the area, but I have done some motorcycling up there many years ago. Rocky Mountain National Park isn't that far of a drive (a couple of hours maybe from Denver?) and it's a stunning place.

Steve

[gary rouleau]

I would suggest Mount Evans -the mountain goats and big horn sheep are having their babies and you can get really close. You can drive to the top 14,000ft and the view is great.
Have fun.

gary

[Roger Clark]

I live and photograph a lot in Colorado. Some questions: how far can you go from Denver? By this I mean only day trips, or only need to get back to Denver at the end of the week? How much hiking are your willing to do? What shape are you in? I ask because once someone asked about places to go and I gave several, including Mt Evans and they became altitude sick and the trip was ruined, their whole time here. If coming from a low elevation, like Tucson, it is best to spend at least a day at Denver's elevation (~5,300 feet) before going into the mountains.

In general mid July is peak wildflower season in the high country above about 9000 feet. Depending on hiking ability, and drive distance, I can recommend different places.

You can see some of my images of Colorado at:
http://www.clarkvision.com/galleries/gallery.colorado

Roger

[Roger Clark]

JP,
OK, I'll suggest a couple of locations. For wildflowers accessible close to a road, I would suggest:
1) Shrine pass. Take I-70 over Vail pass, and near the pass is a rest stop (an overpass allows access driving from either direction). Instead of going into the rest stop, go onto the dirt road which is on the right just before going into the rest area. All along the road are wildflowers (when near peak) with views of distant mountains. Less than 2 hours from Denver.
2) Mt Evans (usually lots of nice small wildflowers (alpine tundra country) plus wildlife. Less then 2 hours from Denver to the top (unless you stop a lot). The road goes to 14,000 feet. Best wildflowers are below the summit, from tree line to perhaps 13,000 feet. Example:
http://www.clarkvision.com/galleries/gallery.colorado/web/c071200_L4_01_600-mt_evans_goat.html

3) Pretty much any paved/dirt road where you get near tree line or above (10,000 feet and higher).

Note: a very large fraction of trees in the mountains are dead/dying due to a massive pine beetle infestation. So some areas will not be photogenic. You can probably find the latest ares with a wb search, so you'll know where to avoid.

Since you'll be visiting Divide, check out the Taryall meadows area. Lots of small fields, and distant mountains.
Example:
http://www.clarkvision.com/galleries/gallery.colorado/web/c071099_L4_10_1e_taryall.html
That is probably less than 30 minutes from Divide. However, how many wildflowers are in that area depends on the year. Somewhere I have an image taken at the same spot a couple of years later also in July and the field is basically dirt except for the pine trees and a few brown grass blades.

Rocky Mtn National Park and Trail Ridge Road: nice but crowded, and I believe the pine beetle problem is affecting some of the park. Example wildflowers:
http://www.clarkvision.com/galleries/gallery.colorado/web/c071698_L4a6_600.html

Good luck. With all the snow we had, and if we keep getting rain, it could be one of the best wildflower years in a while, but that's still an if (I just got back from Italy and have not been into the mountains for over a month),
Roger

[JP Bruce]

Thanks to all. Hopefully I'll have some photos to post when I return.

[Dave Hutchinson]

I agree with most of the folks that post here. You really can't go wrong on Mt. Evans. I just spent three days there a couple of weeks ago and saw lots of wildlife..mountain goats, sheep, ptarmagin, marmots...and some great macro opportunities in the Bristlecone pine forest on the mountain. Also, great mountain landscape opportunities all over the mountain. -Dave-