Best Places to Elope in Colorado
Finding the Perfect Location for your Colorado Elopement
LOVE, LORRAINE ADVENTURE WEDDING and ELOPEMENT PHOTOGRAPHERS
An adventurous elopement is in your future. While doing your early stages of research, Colorado continues to pop up as a great destination for your elopement. The beauty is unmatched, and you are finding that most any time of year is beautiful. Yes, it is true. Colorado is beautiful all year round! While it is mostly known for the iconic mountain range, the Rocky Mountains, Colorado has tons of unique landscapes to offer adventurous couples.
Imagine this: You and your partner wake up together at your Airbnb or in your campervan and head out for a soak in a natural hot spring. After, you two enjoy a slow morning together, making breakfast and having coffee all while getting stoked for the adventure ahead. Maybe you write your vows the morning of and get ready together at your Airbnb or outside of your campervan. After you two gear up, you make your way to the trailhead, stopping to pick up lunch at a local spot in town. Now the real adventure begins! You make your way to your ceremony location and seek out the perfect spot where you two will share your vows. After sharing your vows with one another, you seal your marriage with a kiss and celebratory toast. Sounds like an epic day, right? Don’t forget about sunset and a post-adventure campfire with s’mores to celebrate!
Yes, this could actually be your elopement day in one of the most beautiful places in the US, Colorado!
Why Eloping in Colorado is Epic
Natural Beauty
Colorado has some incredible scenery. From the Rocky Mountain vista views, the red rocks, and the Great Sand Dunes, Colorado offers so many diverse landscapes for you to choose from! Make your elopement a multiple-day experience to fit in multiple different Colorado landscapes and add to the adventure!
Adventure At Every Turn
Colorado is full of adventurous opportunities. Whether you like hiking, biking, skiing or rock climbing, Colorado has it all and so much more! Want to enjoy a picnic beside an alpine lake? No problem! Maybe a local brewery after your ceremony is more your vibe? No shortage of good beer here! Colorado has tons of opportunities for you to build an epic adventure into your elopement.
Self-Solemnization
This is just a very fancy way of saying you can marry yourselves! Yes, you read that right. You won’t need to have an officiant at your wedding, making your ceremony incredibly one of a kind. You can even have your dog act as a witness to your marriage! This is 100% true, and legal. Yay for that!
To learn more about how to plan your very own Colorado elopement and all about Colorado’s marriage laws, read our blog on How to Plan a Colorado Elopement
To learn more about what to pack for your Colorado Adventure Elopement, read the blog on How to Prepare and Plan for your Hiking Elopement
The Best Time of Year to Elope in Colorado
Colorado has all four seasons. They are all incredibly beautiful, and each offers different kinds of opportunities for adventure. It’s important to be aware of Colorado’s fast-changing weather patterns and to understand what places will be accessible in certain seasons when deciding where to elope. For example, in the wintertime, some of our favorite spots are inaccessible. And the weather can go from warm and sunny to snowy and windy in an instant. It is not uncommon to see degree swings of over 30 degrees F! Let’s jump into each season and see what works best for you.
Spring [March-June]
Technically speaking, Spring starts in March. However, it is common that winter will creep all the way into April. Springtime is the best time to avoid the crowds in Colorado. Many of those that travel for skiing will have already come and gone, and since winter lingers and summer is still a bit far out, this tends to be known as Colorado’s shoulder season. If you wait until May or June, it is likely that you can hike to an alpine lake in the snow with no need for warm layers!
Summer [June-September]
In the summer, the snow finally starts to melt at elevation and the wildflowers begin to put on their show. Summer is the best time of year in terms of warm weather. While you can expect afternoon thunderstorms frequently, they never last that long and are often followed by warm sunshine.
Fall [September-November]
If you have seen photos of the Aspen trees golden yellow and orange, then you know just how beautiful the fall in Colorado is. Typically starting later in September, the trees turn and put on a show in the mountains. This is a great time of year for hiking, especially for longer adventures as the temperatures are cooler than they are in the summer. We especially like adventures into remote locations to find the golden aspen groves during the fall.
Winter [November-April]
For the powder hounds, winter comes to Colorado in full force, especially in the mountains! While it could be 60 degrees and sunny any given winter day in Denver, winter weather prevails along with the mountain ranges. While it can be one of the best playgrounds for those into snowshoeing and snow sports, it can be very chilly! Nonetheless, the beauty of Colorado is unmatched.
Alright, it’s time to get to the good part of the blog, which is most likely the reason you were here in the first place. Let’s talk about the best places to elope in Colorado!
The Best Places to Elope in Colorado
With so many beautiful locations available in Colorado, it can be hard to choose just one. Make sure to take the time to understand these landscapes and the weather associated with these places so that you can have a successful and comfortable elopement adventure!
Rocky Mountain National Park
Colorado is an epic place to elope, and Rocky Mountain National Park is the first destination that comes to mind when we talk about getting married in CO. There are so many great locations within the park and endless views of all different kinds. A hiking adventure can take you to 3 alpine lakes in just a few short miles. Experience the meadows with jaw dropping mountain views. Or, drive Trail Ridge Road from Estes Park to Grand Lake in the summertime.
Breckenridge / Sapphire Point
Yes, it’s everything that it’s hyped up to be; a fully built up mountain town with something for everyone of all ages to enjoy. With a bustling downtown area right at the base of the ski resort, Breckenridge provides the perfect apres ski experience. Hiking and mountain biking adventures are king of the summer months. In the winter, you can snowshoe or cross country ski for miles on end. Check out this beautiful winter elopement at Sapphire Point in Breckenridge, Colorado.
Aspen
Aspen is most famously known as a ski destination for tourists but also offers incredible adventuring in the summer months. Most famously known by photographers for the Bells, Aspen makes for a great adventure elopement year-round. In the summer, Maroon Bells grace viewers with a unique sunrise experience. Further south of Aspen, Independence Pass provides incredible views. In the wintertime, the pass is closed, however, this area is accessible by snowmobiles!
Crested Butte
Just north of the Wild West town Gunnison, CO lies Crested Butte. Another one of Colorado’s many charming mountain towns, Crested Butte is busy in the summer and winter months, offering mountain biking, hiking, and skiing adventures to the locals and tourists. Check out CB in the fall for the golden aspen groves, in the summer for blooming wildflowers, and in the winter for snow-capped mountains.
Loveland Pass
Colorado has many beautiful passes that are worth experiencing. The beautiful vista views combined with a perfect sunset always make for a great end to an adventurous day in the mountains. Loveland Pass offers an alpine lake, mountain views, and an abundance of different terrain to explore. With easy accessibility and natural beauty, Loveland Pass is high on the list of top locations in Colorado.
Mount Evans
Up a long, winding road from Idaho Springs, Mt. Evans is host to the highest paved road in North America. The drive up is stunning. Leave the civilization behind for raw, alpine beauty. Some of our favorite spots up here are truly hidden gems worth adventuring to. Most commonly visited by tourists for its famed status, it still makes for a stunning backdrop for an elopement with plenty of opportunities to avoid the crowds.
Colorado National Monument
Red rock cliffs and unique rock formations make Colorado National Monument a great place to elope. A bit further from Denver, this park receives less traffic than RMNP and is very reminiscent of Utah’s National Parks.
The San Juan Mountains
This high and rugged mountain range is located in Southwest Colorado. Check out towns like Ouray, Telluride, and Silverton for views of these incredible mountains. Want to feel like you are out in the middle of nowhere? These small mountain towns provide tons of charm for how far they are from the next major city. Also worth checking out is Durango, just before getting to the New Mexico border. The San Juan Mountains serve as a great backdrop to an adventure elopement. The charming mountain towns are a huge bonus!
Great Sand Dunes National Park
Colorado has many unique landscapes, and this one always stands out in the lineup. Did you ever think that there could be massive sand dunes nestled up against a mountain range? Dunes up to 750ft tall tower, with neighboring 14ers in the distance. This park experiences very little light pollution, making it a very popular stargazing destination. The sunrises are incredible here, first light is our favorite time of day on the dunes.
Garden of the Gods
Easy accessibility with all the jaw dropping beauty of a national park, Garden of the Gods provides a circus of unique red rock structures making for a great day of adventure. As a backdrop for your elopement, this area provides some super unique landscapes, including Pike’s Peak in the distance.
Black Canyon of The Gunnison National Park
With some of the oldest exposed rock in North America, Black Canyon of the Gunnison hosts a 12-mile long canyon cut by the Gunnison River. The canyon walls are up to 2,250 feet! Make sure to check out the Painted Wall on your visit.
Lost Gulch Overlook
Not far from downtown Boulder lies this quaint lookout. While there can be crowds, Lost Gulch provides incredible views of the distant mountains and the tree-lined foothills. The view looking back towards Boulder is great, too!
Chautauqua
Nestled in the foothills in Boulder, CO, Chautauqua is an easily accessible park with close-up views of the Flatirons. The Flatirons are nearly 300 million years old, and the uniquely shaped rock formations are an iconic view in the front range.
When considering your elopement in Colorado, it is important to not only pick a location that speaks to you and your partner but also consider seasonality as a priority. If you want summer wildflowers, you will want to plan in July or August! Looking for the golden aspen trees? Late September is typically a safe bet, but a small window for sure! And if you want to stay away from wintery conditions and snow, it is best to plan ahead to avoid the possibility of that April blizzard. The best part? Colorado offers adventure in all four seasons, so no matter what your preference, Colorado has a whole lot of something just for you.
Ready to start planning your Colorado adventure elopement?
You can check out some of our other helpful resources HERE.
If you want to speak with us about your dream adventure elopement, click HERE now!
Meet Your Colorado Elopement Photographers
We are Lauren & Travis - Colorado Adventure Wedding & Elopement Photographers. In 2017, we hit the road and lived in our self-converted Sprinter Van. We spent 4 years visiting many different locations throughout the US, but we always seemed to make our way back to Colorado. We now call Colorado our home!
If you’re ready to plan your Colorado Elopement, inquire with us today!