5 Colorado Photography Locations You Can Drive To (No Hiking Required)

 

If you're photographing the high mountains of Colorado and don't really feel like going on a strenuous hike, you might want to look into a few locations that have easy access for your low clearance 2 wheel drive vehicle.  This might especially be true if you are visiting from near sea level.  Altitude sickness is a thing!  Here are of few of my favorite spots that you can shoot just by getting out of your car:

1.  Trail Ridge Road, Rocky Mountain National Park

 

Rocky Mountain National Park is a great place to visit.  If you want a true alpine experience above treeline, take the drive along trail ridge road.  Enjoy alpine wildflowers, unique rock formations and stunning views of Longs Peak and the Continental Divide.  All of this can be had from pull-offs along the road.  Keep in mind, there is a National Park fee and this place can get crowded on summer weekends.  

2. Chautauqua Park, Boulder

 

  

The city of Boulder sits along the base of the Front Range foothills a short drive from Denver. The most iconic features here are the Flatirons - huge rocky crags that shoot out from the landscape.  Great views can be seen from the entrance.  In fact, the above picture was taken standing in the parking lot!

3. Crested Butte

 

 Crested Butte is called the "Wildflower Capitol of Colorado".  A super neat town with abundant foliage and aspen groves all around it.  From here, you can literally just pick any road to drive down and see great views.  Kebler pass is a great spot in the fall.  It boasts the largest aspen grove in the country...err...world!

4. Dallas Divide

 

 

 The Sneffels Range near the historic town of Ouray is known as "Switzerland of America".  The mountains here are unique and jagged rising abruptly from the landscape below.  Taking Hwy 62 from Ridgway to Telluride goes along the Dallas Divide.  Prime country here.  You can't trespass onto this pasture land that is own by Ralph Lauren, but the best views are along the road anyway.  Once when standing here, I could hear elk bugling and cattle mooing at the same time.

5. Great Sand Dunes National Park

 

 

 Want to go to an ocean-less beach in the middle of the mountains?  The Great Sand Dunes are a true natural wonder.  The highest ones rise up to an elevation of 9,000 ft.  They are super fun to play in with kids, (or adults) but are a bit of a workout if you want to climb to the top.  No worries though, the prime photography spots are near the entrance to the park.  

Got any other easy access photography spots?  Let me know what else could be added to the list!

Fall Color Trip - 2017

The start of October begins the end of the fall season in the high country of Colorado.  I wish this colorful time lasted longer than a couple weeks.  I suppose the short and sweet window of photographic opportunities is what makes it so exciting.  This year, we took a family trip to the San Juans and chose photography locations that would be easily accessible so we could take the kids along for the ride.  We stayed 2 nights at a hotel near Ridgway and 1 night camping in the Uncompahgre National Forest.  The colors overall were a bit dull compared to our visit to this area 3 years ago, but there were still many pockets of bright gold.

This is a big photo dump from the trip.  It's divided into 2 major areas:




Oray/Ridgway/Telluride

 

Crystal Lake near Ouray

Mt. Sneffels

Dallas Divide

Last Dollar Road

Ralph Lauren's Ranch

The Cimarron Mountains

Owl Creek Pass

Precipice Peak

All of these images are for sale as photography prints at http://aaronspong.com/collections/autumn

Blue Lakes Basin - August, 2017

Tim, James and I spent a couple nights in Blue Lakes Basin a couple weeks ago.  Can't think of a better place than the San Juans to spend for the last weekend of the summer!  The Sneffels Wilderness is one of the most beautiful and lush places in Colorado.  It's growing in popularity, but still a good distance from Denver so the crowds are kept down a bit in comparison.  It was very close to (maybe just past) prime time for the wildflowers.

The weather was rainy for most of the trip.  There were periods where the sky cleared, making for some awesome photo ops.  The first morning I hiked up to the middle blue lake for sunrise, which was covered with clouds.  No color to be had, but beautiful none the less.

"S4" and Middle Blue Lake

I waited here until Tim met me on the trail.  A short period of rain came and went, so we decided to head up toward Blue Lakes Pass to see how far we could go.  We had faint hopes of summiting Gilpin Peak, but soon realized the weather would foil the plan.  There were a few parties who were able to summit Sneffels that day, but we were not as motivated as they were.

Tim

We reached the pass as the clouds danced around us, lifting at times to see into Yankee Boy Basin.  After a picnic of trail mix, we headed back down. 

Gilpin Peak (left) from near the pass

Mt. Sneffels - southwest ridge route from Blue Lakes Pass

Yankee Boy Basin from Blue Lakes Pass

Upper Blue Lake

Upper Blue Lake looking up at Black Tops

Once back at the lower Blue Lake where we were camped, the sun finally came out:

Lower Blue Lake - Prints Available

Wildflowers where abundant

In the afternoon, I hiked up the hill to the east of the lake to see if I could get a shot of Sneffels with Blue Lake in the same frame.  As I was hiking up, a cantaloupe sized rock came flying down the hill from somewhere on the high peaks above.  It whizzed past me right through where I was standing only seconds ago.  That will get the heart pumping.  I didn't have a helmet or even think I'd need one. I had no idea I was anywhere near a rockfall area.  A good lesson to always bring the helmet if the terrain is steep, even below treeline.

Mt. Sneffels and Blue Lake - Prints Available

I woke again the next morning before dawn and hiked up to the same location at the middle Blue Lake.  I found a thick field of wildflowers the previous morning.  I hoped the sky would be clear enough to let some light through to the peak.  This was the shot I'd planned the whole trip around.  It was a glorious sunrise.  These sights are what make all the effort and discomfort worth it.  I praised the Lord as I sat witnessing His masterpiece.  Pictures are pretty, but never the same as the real thing.

Sunrise at Blue Lakes - Prints available