1. YANKEE BOY BASIN
Monument plant, paintbrush, columbine, larkspur, chiming bluebells, wild iris, dwarf sunflower, and other alpine flora nestle into this spectacular basin in the shadow of 14,150-foot Mt. Sneffels.
2. HURRICANE PASS/LAKE COMO
From Hurricane Pass, you can look behind you to see fields of wildflowers, or you can look down in front of you to see petal-covered slopes melt into bluer-than-blue Lake Como, the headwaters for the Uncompahgre River.
3. CALIFORNIA GULCH
This narrow valley with a small stream often holds on to patches of snow well into summer, but the white stuff only serves as an intriguing backdrop for yellow, pink, and purple wildflowers.
4. ANIMAS FORKS
Built in the 1870s as a mining town, Animas Forks is remarkably well preserved considering its remote location. A…