Paint Mines Interpretive Park in Colorado

Paint Mines Interpretive Park is in Calhan, CO, which is about an hour and a half south from Denver.

This is such a unique space. It’s unlike any park we’ve ever been to before. The colors are so beautiful and the formations are breathtaking. To see some video and drone views on the formations, check out this reel: Paint Mines Interpretive Park Reel

When you first get to the parking lot, you see a lot of open space and some windmills. The parking lot is about a 20-30 minute walk to the actual formations. When we were there, they were doing construction, but they should be finished by now.

It’s interesting that you can’t really see the colorful formations until you’re actually right there with them. Don’t worry, you’re going to right way.

Here’s a pic of us on the trail that leads to the formations. So you can see it looks a lot different than the area surrounded by the colorful formations.

The Paint Mines are named for their colorful clays that were collected by Indigenous Americans to make paint. The kids absolutely loved the colorful formations. We could see yellow, purple, and pink.

About 750 acres, Paint Mines has evidence of human life as far back as 9,000 years ago. And it feels like you’ve stepped into some far away land while you’re there.

The park features geological formations that have exposed layers of selenite clay and jasper.

It’s a really unique space.

And that means a lot in Colorado, which is full of so much beauty in every corner of the state.

One thing to keep in mind is we went in February and it was super muddy so wear shoes you don’t mind getting messy. We didn’t and had to say goodbye to a couple of pairs.

Also, you are not allowed to climb the formations. They are extremely fragile and could be easily damaged by climbing them.

The park was not crowded when we went. We saw about 5-6 other groups there the entire two hours we were there. And we were lucky to catch the beautiful sunset over the rocks while we were there. It was breathtaking. The photo above with me and the kids was set against the sunset.

I would plan to spend at least two hours. Paint Mines trail is 3.4 miles total. And you’ll definitely want to stop to take photos and admire some of the mostly colorful and beautiful areas of the park.

Have you been? What do you think?