Colorado sits at the heart of the American Southwest. It is noted for its stunning landscapes that encompass breath-taking mountains, vivid forests, arid deserts, awe-inspiring canyons andinviting rivers.
The state was named after the Colorado River, which early Spanish explorers named ‘red coloured’ or ‘colorado’ due to the colouration of the waters bythesilt carried down from the mountains.
The Rocky Mountains are just a part of Colorado’s natural beauty that continues to colour our perception of the state today. Tourists with a love of skiing, mountain biking, hiking and other outdoor sports, or the outdoor life in general, make up the bulk of the state’s many visitors. Here are the five main reasons you may wish to check for flights to Colorado Springs and join them right now.
Mountains
Mountains abound in Colorado and provide stunning scenery of great natural beauty, tranquil day walks through their foothill forests and challenging hikes to their high altitudes. From the state’s capital, Denver, you will be able to see the surrounding mountains but drive out to Vail and you will really be in the thick of it.
Thrill seekers could try the drive to the top of Trail Ridge Road, which meanders along for more than 11 miles at 11,500 feet – giving you an eagle-eye view of the trees on the mountains below.
Those who’d rather let their feet do the walking can hike up any one of their choice of Colorado’s 54 mountains, whose peaks top 14,000 feet. The rest of us can just sigh at the beauty of it all and start clicking away with our cameras.
Skis
Despite being graced by more than its fair share of sunshine at ground level the mountainous nature of the state makes it a skier’s paradise that receives more than 300 inches of snow each year. This helps keep its 26 ski resortsbusy with skiers who range from the rich and famous at Aspen or Vail to the dedicated downhillers at the more down-to-earth resorts at Winter Park, Steamboat or Purgatory.
Things change in summer when skis are swapped for wheels and many resorts invite mountain bikers to test their nerve careening down the slopes.
Spectators
The state’s capital, Denver, offers you a different adrenaline buzz: that of being part of a crowd at an exciting sporting event. This sporting town boasts seven professional teams including the Colorado Rockies and Denver Broncos (football), Denver Nuggets (basketball), Colorado Avalanche (ice hockey), Denver Outlaws and the Colorado Mammoth (lacrosse) and Colorado Rapids (soccer).
If sport isn’t your thing there is still plenty to see and do in the museums, historic homes, beautiful parks and attractive shopping centres of Denver.
Lakes
Whether you fly in to Denver or catch one of the many flights to Colorado Springs a beautiful lake will never be far away. Here you can enjoy the serenity of life around a lake on a gentle day hike. Two of the best day hikes are in the Rocky Mountain National Park: the Mills Lake Trail and the Bierstadt Lake Trail.
Variety
From the mountains to the lakes there is much variety in between to marvel at. The seemingly misplaced Great Sand Dunes National Park is not far from the Cog railway that will carry you through the forested and snow-capped summit of Pikes Peak.
The historic downtown of Denver nestles close to modern sports stadiums. The isolated mesas are a drive from bustling city streets. Colourful Colorado contains them all.
So with so much to choose from, there has never been a better time to visit Colorado, so why not check out the range of flights available on fly.co.uk, where you will be able to find a great deal on a variety of airlines.
