My National Parks adventure began in Denver, where I spent a day exploring Red Rocks, Buffalo Bill’s grave, Central Park, and the iconic mile‑high Capitol before heading deeper into America’s great landscapes.
Denver, Colorado, was the starting point for my escorted National Monuments and Parks tour in 2011. Before the main journey began, I had time for a sightseeing trip in and around the city, and in a short space of time I managed to see several interesting places.
Red Rocks Amphitheatre.
Red Rocks Amphitheatre is a naturally formed outdoor venue about fifteen miles west of Denver. In the early 1900s, John Brisben Walker imagined artists performing on a stage surrounded by the towering red sandstone walls, which the Ute tribe had likely used long before. Between 1906 and 1910, Walker staged concerts on a temporary platform and even built the Mount Morrison Cable Incline, a funicular railway that carried visitors from the base to the top of Mount Morrison for the views.
The surrounding rocks belong to the Fountain Formation. The site was known as the Garden of the Angels in the 1870s, then the Garden of the Titans during Walker’s years. Locals, however, always called it Red Rocks, and that became its official name when Denver purchased the land in 1928. The three main rock features are Creation Rock to the north, Ship Rock to the south, and Stage Rock to the east. Architect Burnham Hoyt designed the amphitheatre that stands today, built between 1936 and 1941 with the help of the Civilian Conservation Corps and the Works Progress Administration.
When I went there large groups of school children where on stage collecting there diplomas. Standing at the back of the theatre I could hear everything that was spoken even though they were just talking using no microphones. The acousatics are amazing and it must be a great place to see a show in the summer with the dark skies and stars above.
Buffalo Bill Museum and Grave.
On June 3, 1917, William Frederick “Buffalo Bill” Cody was buried on Lookout Mountain, a site with sweeping views of both the plains and the mountains he loved. I visited the gravesite and museum and found it a beautiful, peaceful location with a fascinating collection of memorabilia and history.
Central Park.
Central Park in Denver covers 80 acres and includes sports fields, walking paths, picnic areas, a playground and a pond. While exploring the park, we stopped briefly at the Martin Luther King Jr. monument. We also passed the Denver Zoo and the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, although we didn’t go inside either.
Denver Capitol Building.
We visited the Denver Capitol Building and looked around both inside and on the grounds. The famous “mile‑high” marker is on the steps, marking the exact point where you stand 5,280 feet above sea level. On one side of the building is a Civil War Monument; on the other is a statue titled “End of an Era”, depicting a Native American standing over a buffalo he has killed, symbolising the end of traditional Indigenous life in Colorado.
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