It is easy to forget that, as Coloradoans, we live in one of the most envied states in the nation. A lack of saltwater notwithstanding, our state abounds in natural beauty and fascinating Western history. We get to live in one of America’s prime destinations, where the roof of the Rocky Mountains harbors world-class ski mountains and many of America’s most iconic and beautiful mountain towns. People from many eastern states dream for a lifetime of getting the chance to spend just a few days in the wonderland that is our backyard.

With such a scenic bounty at our doorstep, it’s easy to take it for granted. We’ve seen the Flatirons and the Maroon Bells; driven Trail Ridge Road and the Pikes Peak Highway; and visited most of the famous mountain ski towns. Now what? Well, we just need to look a little closer because, in the obscurity behind the hype of these iconic locations are layers upon layers of incredible “staycation” opportunities that even many long-time residents of Colorado may not be familiar with or have thought about as destinations.

Here are just a handful of those less obvious staycation ideas that might remind you of all the discoveries still to be made in our big and beautiful state if we’re willing to look a little closer.

Cortez and the Canyons of the Ancients

Colorado’s written history covers only a tiny blip of time in the long march of ancient human habitation. Around the time of the Chinese Song Dynasty, about a thousand years ago, Puebloan peoples were building extraordinary stone structures by hand among sandstone cliffs in the southwestern part of Colorado. Mesa Verde National Park represents some of the best preserved of these dwellings, but I’m focused on an area on the other side of Cortez from the famous national park. In a seemingly empty high desert expanse to the northwest of Cortez, extending to the Utah state line, there is a vast and contorted canyonscape called Canyons of the Ancients. It is here, and not the much more compact Mesa Verde, where there exists the greatest concentration of archeological sites in all of North America.

You read that correctly. Colorado’s Canyons of the Ancients National Monument is one of the nation’s newest national park system units. This gold mine of ancient native history and desert scenery went remarkably unrecognized and unprotected until the year 2000 when President Clinton used the Antiquities Act and designated it as a very large 176,000 acre national monument.

According to the National Park Service there are over 8,000 documented archeological sites here. But, remarkably, they believe there are over 22,000 additional undocumented sites within the monument, from stone granaries, to lookouts, to dwellings, to still undiscovered petroglyphs. They are not easy to find or get to, and it should remain that way. If you have an adventurous nature and some outdoor exploration skills, a sense of true discovery still awaits here. Be sure to respect what you find and leave it undisturbed, as these are not only historic, but also sacred.

St. Elmo and Tincup – Ghosts of the High Road

In 2018, there was somewhat of an uproar about people calling Tincup a “ghost town.” It seems the three year-round residents wanted to correct the record. There is a similar mystery on the other side of the high Sawatch Mountains to the east of Tincup in the historic mining town of St. Elmo.

Do people live there year-round or not?

It’s hard to confirm one way or another. Regardless, these two high country places were once both thriving mining centers of approximately 1,500 to 2,000 residents at their near simultaneous peaks in the late 1800s.

This history is common across Colorado’s mountains—of booming mining towns sprang up overnight to thousands of residents only to collapse into oblivion within a generation. Many of them disappeared into true “ghost towns,” their existence betrayed only by a few deteriorating old cabins and mine leavings. Some of them were rejuvenated into ski resorts or county seats. And still others, like St. Elmo and Tincup, hung onto a delicate thread of existence on the edge of oblivion, preserved only by the tenacity of a few stubborn old timers and then later a few wandering new-age hermits looking for a place to hide from a crazy world.

One thing cannot be denied: these old relics of the gold and silver mining eras are fascinating and set in stunningly beautiful locations. You need to own or rent a high-clearance four-by-four vehicle to link St. Elmo to Tincup over the tundra of Tincup Pass. At over 12,100 feet, the pass is one of Colorado’s highest and most beautiful.

On the east end is St. Elmo, a long drive up a back road from the Buena Vista area, reachable by a standard car. This gorgeous approach will take you right between two of Colorado’s fourteeners—Mounts Princeton and Antero. In St. Elmo, you’ll find a very well-preserved set of old cabins and storefronts and a couple of operating businesses in the summer, one of which will sell you a little bag of seeds for a couple of bucks.

The seeds are for a gang of overweight ground squirrels and chipmunks who live in a woodpile across the street and will eat out of your hand. Normally, feeding wildlife is a bad idea, but these particular critters are too corrupted for that to matter anymore. They waddle around scarfing seeds from the hands of giggling kids (and some adults) every day in summer and sleep off their extra fat in winter. Not a bad life.

From St. Elmo with your 4X4 you are likely to find yourself among a convoy of other off-roaders. You continue up and over the Sawatch Mountains on this rough road that, in the early 1900s, was considered a state highway. You’ll drop down the other side of the Continental Divide eventually to St. Elmo’s ghost twin, Tincup.

The town was originally incorporated as Virginia City, but that name was already taken elsewhere, which confused the postal service. It was then renamed Tincup because the first prospector to discover gold in the area was an 18-year-old kid who brought back his loot in a tin cup.

Despite its quaint name, Tincup was very much the outlaw town in its day. The Marshall was shot dead in 1882, and his replacement was shot down the next year in 1883. Back then the town was similar in population to present-day Buena Vista, complete with hotels, schools, many saloons and all the other trappings of a late nineteenth-century western mining town at over 10,000 feet in the Rockies.

Today, Tincup is much quieter, nicer, and likely prettier as the forest continues to regenerate along the formerly stripped hillsides, and much of the mountainous territory around Tincup (and St. Elmo) is now protected wilderness and national forest land. Indeed, these twin pseudo ghost towns are set in one of Colorado’s most beautiful corners

 Colfax Tourist Marathon

Colfax has quite a reputation. Its nickname is “the longest, wickedest street in America.” Longest is a fact. Colfax avenue is indeed the longest continuous city street in America at 26.5 miles, just beating the distance of a marathon.

Now, here’s an idea for a staycation that may really seem “out there.” But let’s turn away for a moment from those beautiful mountains to the west and look into the gritty underworld of Denver’s urban core. Colfax Avenue is Denver’s original Main Street. It cuts a swath across the entire city, from Aurora, in the east, to the edge of Golden in the west. Along much of this line a battle is taking place between Colfax’s seedy and gritty past, and more recent attempts at “upscaling” and rejuvenation. But as they say “Colfax is gonna Colfax.”

Despite its scary reputation, some of it very much deserved, there are gems to be found along these historic 26.5 miles if you’re the immersive urban tourist type, or just want to perhaps get out of your comfort zone. But, be prepared, you will see some “stuff” along the way.

The idea here is an urban slow marathon—an irregular multi-day journey along the entire length of America’s longest street and its nearby hoods. Keep your head on a swivel, seek discomfort, keep an open mind, and you might just have a blast.

The potential haunts and sights are way too numerous to list here, so we’ll stick with just a handful, rapid-fire style (and not necessarily in geographic order): Check out some vinyl at Twist and Shout, an old school record store. Catch a band at the Bluebird Theater and then follow it up with some punk at Lion’s Lair. Take a four-block side-trip north on the west side of the city to Sloans Lake Park. Find weird and cool outdoor art along the green line of 40 West Arts. Roll some strikes at the old school Holiday Bowling and Billiards. And, of course, love it or hate it, you can’t consider a Colfax tour complete without a dinner (or at least a famous sopapilla) at Casa Bonita.

Whether you are new to Colorado and looking to find a unique place to “staycation,” or a long-time resident searching for some new haunts, Colorado truly has many options close to home. The three examples here are just a sample of the wonderful secrets our state still harbors. So, get out there and explore your own beautiful back yard!

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