Colorado What To Do›Free Things To Do
One of America's great outdoor states is also one of its cheapest, if you know which four places to skip. Fifteen things that cost nothing — including one that is free by deed, forever.
What is free to do in Colorado?
Start with the places that never charge: Garden of the Gods; the Red Rocks park when no show is on; the exhibit floor at NCAR in Boulder; the public road past Dinosaur Ridge's tracks; Bishop Castle; Bent's Old Fort; the Paint Mines near Calhan; the great hall at Denver Union Station; the fall elk rut around Estes Park; dark-sky stargazing in the San Luis Valley; and trails across Colorado's eleven national forests.
Here is the structural fact that makes Colorado cheap, and almost nobody explains it.
Eleven national forests cover an enormous share of Colorado's mountains, and hiking on national forest land does not cost anything. No gate, no pass, no reservation. Meanwhile, the fees you keep reading about are concentrated in a handful of famous places with parking problems.
Skip those four or five bottlenecks and most of this state has no admission at all.
Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs deserves its own paragraph. The land was donated to the city in 1909 on the explicit condition that it remain free to the public forever. No entrance fee, no parking fee, no reservation, permanently — because the deed says so.
Red rock fins tilted on end by the same uplift that lifted Pikes Peak, with paved, accessible paths winding between them. You would happily pay for this. You will not have to.
The free finder
No entrance fee, no permit, no reservation at time of writing. Filter by region or by what kind of day you want.
Showing all 14
Colorado Springs · Front Range
Entry and parking cost nothing, and a deed keeps it that way. Park at the main lots, walk the paved central loop and finish at the visitor center for the best Pikes Peak view.
The land was given to Colorado Springs in 1909 on condition it remain free for everyone.
Morrison · Front Range
Outside of event hours the park, trails and amphitheater steps are open to the public at no cost. Check the concert calendar first, because the venue closes ahead of shows.
Morrison · Front Range
Walk the public road along the ridge on your own to see the bones and tracks without paying anything. The guided shuttle is the only part that costs money.
Geologists named the Morrison Formation after the nearby town.
Boulder · Front Range
A science building where the exhibit floor, parking and the trails starting at the lot are all free. A rainy-day plan in Boulder that costs nothing.
Durango, Silverton, Ouray · Western Slope
A loop of public highways, so the only cost is fuel. Drive it over two days, stop at free pullouts and trailheads, and picnic instead of eating out.
Crested Butte · High Country
A county road through enormous aspen groves near Crested Butte with no fee at all. In late September, the gold forest is one of the best free shows in Colorado.
Estes Park · High Country
Watching elk in Estes Park itself costs nothing in fall. Inside the national park, an entrance fee and timed entry may apply, so town meadows are the free option.
Rye · Front Range
There is no admission charge for this one-man stone castle in the Wet Mountains. Climb the towers at your own risk.
San Luis Valley and statewide · San Luis Valley
All you need is a clear night and a dark spot. Pull off at a safe public area well away from towns and look up.
New moon weeks are darkest; allow half an hour for your night vision.
La Junta · Eastern Plains
You can hike or bike to the dinosaur trackway on public grassland for free. It is a long, exposed trip, so carry plenty of water.
There is no shade and no water on the approach. Skip it in summer heat.
La Junta · Eastern Plains
A reconstructed trading post on the Santa Fe Trail, worth pairing with the free plains sights nearby. Check the National Park Service site for current fees and hours.
Calhan · Eastern Plains
A county park near Calhan with no entry fee, a small parking area and short trails among striped clay hoodoos. Leave the formations untouched.
Statewide · High Country
Most of Colorado's 58 peaks above 14,000 feet can be hiked from free national forest trailheads; Mount Elbert is a popular first one. Your only costs are gas and gear.
Be on top early and below treeline by early afternoon to avoid lightning.
Denver · Front Range
The restored great hall is open for anyone to sit and people-watch without buying anything. It is also the end of the airport train line.
Nothing matches those filters. Try clearing one.
Some of these charge for optional extras — Dinosaur Ridge's bus tour is paid while walking the public road is free, and Bent's Old Fort is a National Historic Site with free admission. Fees can appear; tell us if one has.
The big one
Colorado's national forests are the single largest free recreation resource in the state, and the least understood by visitors.
Trails cost nothing. Primitive camping along most Forest Service roads costs nothing, with a typical limit of 14 days in any 28. Driving the scenic roads costs nothing but fuel, and most of them have no entrance station at all.
What you give up is facilities. Dispersed sites have no toilets, no water and no bins, so you pack out everything — including waste. That is the trade, and it is a fair one.
Our companion guide covers the ethics in full in Pack It In, Pack It Out, including the five-step method for killing a campfire so it stays dead.
Be honest about it
Four bottlenecks account for most of the fees people complain about in Colorado. Knowing them lets you decide rather than be surprised.
State parks also charge, either a daily vehicle pass or the annual Keep Colorado Wild Pass, which residents can add to a vehicle registration at a discount. That is worth understanding: state parks charge, national forests generally do not. It is the most useful distinction in Colorado recreation and the one visitors most often get wrong.
Everything else on this page remains free. So if the budget is tight, the honest advice is to build the trip around the national forests and the free landmarks, and treat the four bottlenecks as optional splurges rather than obligations.
The cheapest bed in Colorado is a tent on national forest land, which is legal on most Forest Service roads at no charge. Colorado Camping Spots shows where to go, which spots have water and which do not.
Common questions
The no-cost list includes Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs, the Red Rocks park in Morrison when nothing is scheduled, NCAR's exhibit floor in Boulder, the public road at Dinosaur Ridge, Bishop Castle near Rye, Bent's Old Fort near La Junta, the Paint Mines near Calhan, Denver Union Station, the fall elk rut in Estes Park, stargazing in the San Luis Valley and every national forest trailhead in the state.
Yes, permanently. The land was donated to the City of Colorado Springs in 1909 on the explicit condition that it remain free to the public forever. There is no entrance fee, no parking fee and no reservation requirement. It is one of the few major American attractions with free access written into its deed.
Yes. Red Rocks Amphitheatre is free to walk on any day nothing is scheduled, along with the surrounding trail system and the visitor centre. Locals run the amphitheatre stairs at sunrise. You only pay when there is a ticketed event, and the geology alone justifies the visit.
Across national forest land, yes. Eleven national forests cover a big share of Colorado's mountains, and walking their trails is free. The fees cluster at a few famous, overcrowded spots: Rocky Mountain National Park, the Maroon Bells, Hanging Lake and Mount Blue Sky. Avoid those four choke points and almost all of Colorado has no gate.
A free Denver-area day: walk the Red Rocks park in Morrison, look at the Cretaceous footprints from the public road at Dinosaur Ridge, sit in Union Station's great hall, wander the RiNo murals, then head to NCAR's free exhibit floor in Boulder, an I.M. Pei building with free parking and trails right from the lot.
No. Colorado state parks charge a daily vehicle pass or require an annual Keep Colorado Wild Pass, which residents can add to a vehicle registration at a discount. National forest land, by contrast, is generally free to hike and to camp on in dispersed sites. That distinction is the single most useful thing to understand about free recreation here.
On most Forest Service roads you can camp for free, usually for up to 14 days in a 28-day window. There are no toilets or water, so everything, waste included, leaves with you. Developed campgrounds with facilities charge a fee and are reserved on Recreation.gov, frequently months ahead.
If you only do one, make it Garden of the Gods: upended red sandstone fins, paved accessible paths, and a 1909 deed that keeps it free. For something odder, Bishop Castle near Rye is a hand-built stone castle with a fire-breathing metal dragon and no entry fee. And for sheer scale, a night of stargazing in the San Luis Valley, under some of the darkest skies in the lower 48, is completely free.
Get in touch
If you know a no-cost Colorado place we left out, or something listed here has started charging, let us know. We confirm fees with the managing agency before changing the page.
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