Cruise through the history of the Rockies on this route

For access to the serene and gorgeous Fraser River, head to Kaibab Park. It might be small, but it offers the chance to experience nature close to the town of Granby. It's an especially nice spot to spend an afternoon if you're with kids; they’ll like the small fishing pond and playground here. It's the perfect way to get a feel for what life was like in Colorado before cities began to sprout up.

Hot Sulphur Springs is a cute little town that dates back to the earliest settlers in the region, so it naturally has a great Pioneer Village Museum. Housed in the town's former 1920s schoolhouse, the museum contains early clothes and tools, archaeological artifacts, displays on skiing, and even railroad snowplows and a caboose! Plus, here you can also visit the original early 20th century Hot Sulphur courthouse and county jail, a blacksmith shop, and a re-creation of a typical early 1900s ranch house.

Pioneer Park is Hot Sulphur Springs's best hidden gem. Here, you'll find 80 acres of nature for exploring. The fishing and hiking are great, and the no-fee tent and RV camping sites make this the perfect spot to stay while you explore the town. Speaking of the town, downtown Hot Sulphur Springs, with its warm geothermal pools, shops, and restaurants, is walkable from here. It's even great for snowshoeing and cross-country skiing in the winter!

For some classic mid-century diner vibes, head to the Parshall Inn. Built in 1950, the P.I. still serves up classic, home-cooked dishes like burgers, fried chicken, burritos, and home-cooked potato chips. Or, enjoy a beer and a round of pool, some darts, or horseshoes with some locals. Either way, this joint is a local favorite for a reason; it hasn't changed in years, because it doesn't need to!

Go even further back in history (like, 72 million years), head to the Kremmling Cretaceous Ammonite Locality, a fossil ridge loaded with ancient remains. It contains a particularly high density of ammonite fossils. Ammonites were enormous half-squid, half-snail beasts that lived in the inland sea that once stretched across Grand County from the Arctic to the Gulf of Mexico. You can also see the fossils of clams, snails, brachiopods, crabs, gastropods and fish. The site is free to visit, but it's fenced off because collecting fossils from here is strictly prohibited. You won't be able to get up close and personal with the fossils, since they're very rare and fragile and they're still being studied. There's still a lot to learn from studying where these fossils lay, so be respectful when you visit, and seeing them in their natural habitat is still fascinating.