Colorado's Darkest Town Is A Hidden Gem For Stargazing, Challenging Hiking Trails, And High-Altitude Adventures

An astounding 80% of Americans are unable to see the Milky Way at night. So if you're looking to spend more time with the starry night sky, then Westcliffe, Colorado is your best bet. Located over 2 hours away from the Denver International Airport, America's largest airport, this town is worlds away from the Denver city lights. In fact, in 2015, Westcliffe and its neighboring city of Silver Cliff were jointly recognized as an International Dark Sky Community, making it the first ever Colorado community to receive the designation. 

But Westcliffe is not just a place with incredible views of the night sky. The town also puts you in a prime position to explore the rugged beauty of the Wet Mountains, a lesser-known, sub-mountain range within the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. There are around 500 people in Westcliffe and around 770 in Silver Cliff, but it's not just these low population numbers that help with light pollution. In a valley essentially surrounded by mountains, there's little chance for the light from neighboring cities to leak in. There are also multiple regulations surrounding installing outdoor lighting in the area.

Remarkably, you have the chance to marvel at the Milky Way right from downtown Westcliffe. But if you want a more in-depth experience, the nonprofit organization Dark Skies of the Wet Mountain Valley holds several free events that help you learn more about the views, including star parties and telescope workshops.

You can explore downtown Westcliffe via the Planet Walk. In a nod to the town's dark skies connection, this walk takes you about a mile along Main Street, with signs planted along the way that tell you about each of the planets in our solar system. The walk also has an audio accompaniment to help you learn more about the planets, which is a great option for kids. If you're in downtown Westcliffe and looking for any outdoor gear or advice on where to go exploring, make sure to stop by the All the Range Mountaineering and Outdoor Gear shop. This shop has everything you need when it comes to the outdoors, and the owners have a wealth of knowledge about the region.

A key hiking trail is the Phantom Terrace loop. The trail is over 14 miles long and can get quite dangerous once you hit the 13,000-foot summits. Another popular trail is the Lakes of the Clouds trail, which is over 11 miles long. You can camp near the titular lakes and enjoy some fantastic trout fishing. For something shorter (and if you have a 4WD high clearance vehicle), the Music Pass Trail is only about 1.2 miles one-way. Here, you can get phenomenal views of the valley and the surrounding mountains. For more water views, you can also go on a hike to the Lower and Upper Sand Creek Lakes.

If you want a long-distance hike in the Westcliffe area, the Rainbow Trail is over 100 miles long. The trail was first built in 1912 as a way for forest service workers to access parts of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, and it runs from just outside of Westcliffe to the town of Salida. The trail is open to hikers, mountain bikers, and horseback riders, and parts of the trail are also open for motorized vehicles, like ATVs. Along the way, you can take side hikes to beautiful alpine lakes. You don't have to traverse the entire trail, either, as there are shorter segments accessible for day hikers.

An important thing to note: The elevation of the town of Westcliffe is around 8,000 feet, which is high enough to start feeling the impacts of altitude sickness, especially if you're not used to such heights. And, of course, when you go up into the surrounding mountains, the oxygen levels continue to drop. So, give yourself time to acclimate and make sure to drink plenty of water. Also, many of the Westcliffe area hikes require high-clearance vehicles to get to their trailheads.

If you're making your Westcliffe visit into a road trip, you could also stop by Garden of the Gods in Colorado Springs, a city park full of striking red rock formations, or take a quick detour to Cañon City to visit America's highest suspension bridge across the Royal Gorge. And for more sensational stargazing in Southern Colorado, visit Alamosa in Colorado's high desert and near the Great Sand Dunes National Park. It's a little over two hours from Westcliffe.