List of protected areas in the U.S. State of Colorado
The location of the
State of Colorado in the
United States of America.
This is a list of
protected areas in the
U.S. State of
Colorado.
Federal lands
The
United States federal government owns 36.23% of Colorado's total land area.
National Park System
The
National Park System includes
23 areas in Colorado. The
National Park Service manages 18 of these 23 areas plus five
National Wildernesses.
National Parks
The four
National Parks within Colorado are:
National Monuments
The Great Kiva in
Chimney Rock National Monument.
Colorado National Monument.
Steamboat Rock in
Dinosaur National Monument.
The nine
National Monuments in Colorado are:
-
Browns Canyon National Monument
[a] near
Nathrop (February 19, 2015,
Obama)
-
Camp Hale-Continental Divide National Monument between
Red Cliff and
Leadville in the
Eagle River valley (October 12, 2022,
Biden)
-
Canyons of the Ancients National Monument
[b] near
Dolores (June 9, 2000,
Clinton)
-
Chimney Rock National Monument
[c] near
Pagosa Springs (September 21, 2012,
Obama)
-
Colorado National Monument near
Grand Junction and
Fruita (May 24, 1911,
Taft)
-
Dinosaur National Monument
[d] near
Dinosaur (80 acres October 4, 1915,
Wilson, additional 200,000 acres July 14, 1938,
F. Roosevelt)
-
Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument near
Florissant (August 20, 1969,
Nixon)
-
Hovenweep National Monument
[e] near
Cortez (March 2, 1923,
Harding)
-
Yucca House National Monument
[f] near
Cortez (December 19, 1919,
Wilson)
Two former National Monuments were elevated to
National Park:
Two former National Monuments were abolished due to their remoteness:
National Historic Sites
Bent's Old Fort National Historic Site on the
Santa Fe National Historic Trail.
The three
National Historic Sites within Colorado are:
National Recreation Areas
The Dillon Pinnacles in
Curecanti National Recreation Area.
The two
National Recreation Areas within Colorado are::
National Historic Trails
Spanish Peaks as seen from the
Santa Fe National Historic Trail.
The four
National Historic Trails that pass through Colorado are:
National Scenic Trail
Grays Peak is the highest point on the
Continental Divide National Scenic Trail and the
Continental Divide in
North America.
The
National Scenic Trail that passes through Colorado is:
National Forests
An enlargeable map of Colorado showing the 11
National Forests in red and the 2
National Grasslands in light green
Mount Elbert in the
San Isabel National Forest.
The
United States Forest Service manages the 11
National Forests within Colorado.
National Grasslands
Picketwire Canyon in
Comanche National Grassland.
The
United States Forest Service manages the two
National Grasslands within Colorado.
National Wildernesses
An enlargeable map of Colorado showing the 42
National Wildernesses in red
East Rim Arch in the
Black Ridge Canyons Wilderness.
Lake Isabelle in the
Indian Peaks Wilderness.
Mystic Island Lake in the
Holy Cross Wilderness.
The
Lost Creek Wilderness.
There are 44
National Wildernesses within Colorado. The
United States Forest Service manages 34, the
National Park Service manages four, the
Bureau of Land Management manages three, the United States Forest Service and the Bureau of Land Management jointly manage two, and the United States Forest Service and the National Park Service jointly manage one National Wilderness.
National Conservation Areas
The
Dominguez–Escalante NCA.
The
Bureau of Land Management manages the three
National Conservation Areas within Colorado.
National Wildlife Refuges
The
Two Ponds National Wildlife Refuge.
The
United States Fish and Wildlife Service manages the eight
National Wildlife Refuges within Colorado.
Federally designated areas
The following areas are designated by the
National Park Service, but reside on a variety of federal, state, county, city, town, and private lands.
National Heritage Areas
The
South Fork South Platte River in the
South Park National Heritage Area.
The three
National Heritage Areas in Colorado are:
National Historic Landmarks
The
Colorado Chautauqua Auditorium.
The
Cumbres and Toltec Scenic Railroad.
The Tabor Grand Hotel in the
Leadville Historic District.
The 26
National Historic Landmarks in Colorado are:
National Natural Landmarks
The
Garden of the Gods.
Hanging Lake .
The 16
National Natural Landmarks in Colorado are:
National Recreation Trails
Grays Peak National Recreation Trail approaching the summit
Mountain goats along the
Mount Evans National Recreation Trail.
Mule deer along one of the
Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Recreation Trails.
The 28 federally designated
National Recreation Trails in Colorado are:
National Register of Historic Places
The
Royal Gorge Bridge.
There are more than 1,500 Colorado sites on the
National Register of Historic Places.
Wild and Scenic River
The
Cache la Poudre Wild and Scenic River.
The
Wild and Scenic River in Colorado is:
Areas of Critical Environmental Concern
The
Blanca Wetlands ACEC.
The
Bureau of Land Management has designated 88
Areas of Critical Environmental Concern in western Colorado.
State lands
Colorado State Parks
Eldorado Canyon State Park.
Fishers Peak State Park.
A yurt in
Mancos State Park.
Roxborough State Park.
State Forest State Park.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife manages the 43
Colorado State Parks.
Colorado Wildlife Areas
DeWeese Reservoir State Wildlife Area.
Colorado Parks and Wildlife manages the 307
Colorado State Wildlife Areas.
State designated areas
Colorado Natural Areas
The
Arikaree River Natural Area.
Dinosaur tracks in the
Dakota Hogback Natural Area.
The
Garden Park Fossil Locality.
The
Lake San Cristobal Natural Area.
The
Mount Goliath Natural Area.
The
Rabbit Valley Natural Area.
The
Redcloud Peak Natural Area.
The
Roxborough Natural Area.
The
Slumgullion Earthflow Natural Area.
The
Staunton Natural Area.
Exposed
Cretaceous–Paleogene boundary at the
Trinidad K-T Boundary Natural Area.
The
Wheeler Geologic Natural Area.
The
Colorado Department of Natural Resources has designated 95
Colorado Natural Areas.
[1]
Regional trails
A cyclist on the
Kokopelli Trail in
McInnis Canyons National Conservation Area.
The following transcontinental hiking trail was established by the
American Discovery Trail Society.
The following hiking trail across the
Southern Rocky Mountains is maintained by the
Colorado Trail Foundation.
The following three
single-track
mountain bike trails are maintained by the
Colorado Plateau Mountain Bike Trail Association and the
Bureau of Land Management.
Bicycle routes
Hoosier Pass on the
TransAmerica Trail Bicycle Route.
The following four
bicycle touring routes through Colorado are regularly scouted by the
Adventure Cycling Association.
See also
Notes
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a
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c Jointly managed by the
United States Department of the Interior,
Bureau of Land Management and the
United States Department of Agriculture,
United States Forest Service.
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a
b
c Managed by the
United States Department of the Interior,
Bureau of Land Management.
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bf Managed by the
United States Department of Agriculture,
United States Forest Service.
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^
Dinosaur National Monument extends into the
State of Utah.
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^
Hovenweep National Monument extends into the
State of Utah.
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^
Yucca House National Monument remains undeveloped.
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^ The
California National Historic Trail traverses ten
U.S. states:
Missouri,
Kansas,
Nebraska,
Colorado,
Wyoming,
Idaho,
Utah,
Nevada,
Oregon, and
California.
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^ The
Old Spanish National Historic Trail traverses six
U.S. states:
New Mexico,
Colorado,
Utah,
Arizona,
Nevada, and
California.
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^ The
Pony Express National Historic Trail traverses eight
U.S. states:
Missouri,
Kansas,
Nebraska,
Colorado,
Wyoming,
Utah,
Nevada, and
California.
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^ The
Santa Fe National Historic Trail traverses five
U.S. states:
Missouri,
Kansas,
Colorado,
Oklahoma, and
New Mexico.
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^ The
Continental Divide National Scenic Trail traverses five
U.S. states:
Montana,
Idaho,
Wyoming,
Colorado, and
New Mexico.
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a
b
c
d
e
f
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h Managed by the
United States Department of the Interior,
National Park Service.
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^ Jointly managed by the
United States Department of the Interior,
National Park Service and the
United States Department of Agriculture,
National Forest Service.
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^ Managed by the
United States Air Force.
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a
b Managed by
Colorado Parks and Wildlife.
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^ Managed by the
Jefferson County Open Space Program.
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^ Managed by the
City of Westminster, Colorado.
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a
b Managed by
Colorado State Parks.
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^ Managed by
Lake County, Colorado.
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^ Managed by the Poudre River Trail Corridor, Inc.
- ^
a
b Managed by the
United States Department of the Interior,
United States Fish and Wildlife Service.
-
^ Managed by the
Colorado Springs Parks and Recreation Department.
References
External links
38°59′50″N 105°32′52″W / 38.9972°N 105.5478°W / 38.9972; -105.5478 (State of Colorado)