Three Fun Things To Do In Colorado With, Or Without, Kids

 We've lived in Colorado for 4 years now and have been able to visit so much of this beautiful state. There is so much to do - from four national parks to scores of breweries, mountain hikes and natural hot springs, there is never a shortage of things to see and do in the Centennial State. We've been blessed to visit some things as a couple and some things with our 4 year old grandson. Here are three unique, and fun, things to do in Colorado with, or without kids!

Dinosaur Ridge

Dinosaur Ridge is an outdoor museum 20 minutes west of Denver that has 250 fossil tracks and is the #1 paleontologist rated Dinosaur Tracksite in the country. It even is the site of the first named Stegosaurus bone fossils!

There are several ways to visit - you can take a guided bus tour, take a guided walking tour, walk with a geologist or take a self-guided walking tour. There is also a main visitor center that includes indoor exhibits, a gift shop and some hands-on experiences including mining, and digging for fossils. 

We chose to take the guided bus tour and it was great. Our guide was very knowledgeable and upbeat and it was strange to know that we had driven by here so many times and never knew what a treasure was right here.

After our tour we visited the Exhibit Hall - $5 per person that is included in your guided tour price - where the kids saw replicas of dinosaurs and were able to dig for "fossils" - our grandson found a shark tooth that he was able to keep.

If you have a dinosaur lover in your life, this is the place to take them. 

Georgetown Loop Railroad

Departing from the former mining town of Georgetown - 45 minutes from Denver - the Georgetown Loop Railroad is a train ride through evergreens and over tall trestles while enjoying a scenic mountain view. The trains journey through Clear Creek Canyon takes about 2 hours with a stop at the Silver Plume Depot for about 10 minutes for a restroom or gift shop break.

It's a fun afternoon out - especially for a train lover like our grandson - and the scenery is awesome. I'd recommend it, though, it doesn't come cheap. (It was part of our grandson's birthday gifts) Also, if you'd like they have special trains year round including Christmas, Mother's Day, Easter and all other holidays to make it a special day out.

If you'd like you can tack on a mine tour and head deep into a silver mine to learn about the silver rush in the 1880's. You can see original equipment and hear stories of the miners. 

Colorado Wolf  and Wildlife Sanctuary

The Colorado Wolf and Wildlife Sanctuary is a non profit sanctuary for wolves and wild canines. Located in Divide, Colorado, just south of Colorado Springs, they offer guided tours - year round - and conservation programs.Their mission is to educate the public through tours and programs. It all began when the founder of the center rescued a wolf dog in 1993. They are passionate about "the importance of wolves, foxes and coyotes to our eco system" and they provide natural habitats for animals who cannot live in the wild. 

Reservations are required and there are many, obvious, safety related rules that you must adhere to in order to visit. Children are allowed on tours, though they prefer kids 5 and over, but must be monitored at all times.

As you can imagine, it's a very interesting place to visit. We arrived for our tour early so we walked around a bit and visited the gift shop. Our tour had about 25 people in it and our guide told us lots of info about the biology, history and current issues facing wolves. We saw wolves - housed in pairs -, wolf dogs, foxes and even New Guinea"singing" dogs (only from the island of New Guinea, these dogs who sing are closely related to the Australian dingo)

They offer standard tours, full moon tours and feeding tours. Standard tours - what we took - is an hour long and is $20 per adult. It's a very interesting place and if you like learning while you travel then you might consider a tour if you're in Colorado.

I hope this gave you an idea of some fun, and unique, things to do in Colorado - with or without kids!

How about you? Have you done any of these?