Welcome to the Colorado backcountry

The vast acreage of wilderness and backcountry beauty in Colorado make it one of the more popular locations for camping, backpacking, and day-hiking.

In addition to a eight National Parks and Monuments, Colorado boasts an equal number of Wilderness Areas, millions of acres of National Forest and BLM land, and over three dozen state parks.

From mountains to deserts, and grasslands to canyons, one could spend a lifetime hiking the trails of Colorado and not cover all of them.

winter expands the wilderness

colorado, mountain, pond, winter
McKee Pond and the Raggeds
Though the official boundaries remain unchanged, the practical boundaries of the wilderness areas expand in the winter, as the areas accessible by vehicle contract.  Even venturing out by foot -- snowshoeing is one of my favorite winter activities -- you don't have to go far to feel like you're far out there, and you don't have to go far to get in trouble, either.