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Jason HatfieldExplorer

Adventure and travel photographer based out of Denver, Colorado. I teach photography workshops and offer private guiding around the west. More at jasonjhatfield.com

Dream Lake is a beautiful place for sunrise and if you're lucky you might catch a moose or elk at the water's edge.

This is probably one of the most incredible places in Colorado. If you hike or backpack here in late July you'll be surrounded by paintbrush and columbine wildflowers. Most people stay at the lower basin but if you're brave you can camp in the upper basins and enjoy solitude after thunderstorms clear everyone else out.

Incline up and Barr trail down makes for a great loop while training for vert. If you're in average gym fitness it should take under an hour, I'm a trail runner and hike up in just over 30 minutes. The current record is under 18 minutes!

A beautiful place no matter what time of year but spring tends to be either very cloudy, very snowy, or both.

I stopped here for a sunrise in late March and it was epic. The view of the city with Mt. Hood in the background is probably one of my favorite city views.

The buildings here make for great foregrounds when shooting the Milky Way or a meteor shower. This is also a popular snowshoeing location.

This spot is great whether you're camping or passing through while running the 4-pass loop. There's also a small waterfall down from the outlet.

For a shorter but steeper route use the TH near the ghost town of Winfield.

Beautiful fragile formations that make for amazing night photography foregrounds. Recent windmill installations have added more light pollution though.

Fall comes a little later here than in the high mountains but it's worth the wait. One of Colorado's few photogenic waterfalls.

Definitely bring your camera here in the during fall colors.

You could spend over a week here photographing all the amazing sunrise/sunset compositions.

Give yourself at least a long weekend here to explore all the photographic possibilities for sunrise and sunset. This location is major chunk of my Colorado Fall Colors eBook guide.

If it looks like clear skies stay after dark and enjoy incredible views of the Milky Way and Denver below.

Incredibly beautiful spot, it's even more fun if you go off trail and make a loop with Blue Lake. It will take some route finding skills and scrambling but if you hit it early season you can glissade a good ways down. If you're bringing your dog put them in a harness to make some of the scramble spots easier.

This place is especially amazing in March just as the ice is thawing and the green moss is peaking through.

You can create about a 7 mile loop by running into Red Rocks park and connecting to the hogback ridges on the other side. The trail is very rocky and narrow but amazing views.

Although it's not open for sunrise or sunset the vibrant fall colors set against the red rocks make this one of the best spots near Denver.

St Elmo is an interesting "ghost town" with an eclectic general store. The town still has some residents so unlike more abandoned places it's not a great spot for night photography.

This is a great lake to hike to for sunrise in the park, but it's rare to have calm water. My favorite spot on the hike is best in the fall when part-way up you'll have a few golden aspens and a grand mountain backdrop for sunrise.

This has been a favorite stop for years and every time I can't help but feel the power of this area. Help keep it special by not crossing the wire fence or disturbing the ruins, be courteous to other users as well.