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Elopements

Best Elopement Spots in Colorado, Month by Month

Every "best elopement spots in Colorado" list has the same eleven places on it, ranked in the same order, as if the state looks the same in February as it does in July. It doesn't. Colorado runs on seasons, and most of the good stuff has a shelf life measured in weeks.

There's a creek at the Great Sand Dunes that runs for about three weeks a year and is bone dry by July. There's a lake in Rocky Mountain National Park where you can bring thirty people in January and only fifteen in June.

So this isn't a ranking, it's a calendar: the best time to elope in Colorado depends entirely on what you want the landscape to be doing. Twelve months, one spot each, plus a backup, because weather votes too — each with the drive from Denver, the permit fee, the guest cap and the booking window. If budget matters more than elevation, our guide to free and low-cost venues around Denver is the better place to start.

One thing to settle before you fall in love with a location: several of Colorado's most photographed ceremony sites ban freestanding structures outright. If you are planning around a wedding arch or a chuppah, ask the land manager first.

Last verified: September 2026 · Permit fees, festival dates and fall colour windows are refreshed every January.

January  —  The mirror month

The high lakes are locked. Snow settles the surface flat, the sun stays low enough that the Continental Divide holds alpenglow for a long, slow stretch, and the crowds are simply gone.

At a glance

Sprague Lake

Best for

Frozen lakes, alpenglow

Drive from Denver

1 hr 45 min · 80 mi

Crowds

Gone

Guest cap

30 people / 10 vehicles (winter); 15 / 3 (summer)

Permit

$300

Book

Up to 1 year ahead; applications reviewed from the 1st of each month, first-come

Hero

Frozen Sprague Lake edged with pines, snow-capped peaks of the Continental Divide behind

Sprague Lake

Rocky Mountain National Park

Sprague Lake is a half-mile flat loop with a boardwalk, a plowed lot, and a straight sightline to the Divide. In summer it's a tour bus stop. In January it's yours.

Here's the part nobody puts in their guide: Rocky's group caps change in winter. Sprague Lake is capped at 15 people and 3 vehicles in summer — and 30 people and 10 vehicles in winter. If you want your parents, your siblings, and a few friends there, winter is the only way to do it at this particular lake.

The park issues a maximum of six wedding permits per day and no more than two per location. A few chairs are allowed for anyone who can't stand. Plan the ceremony around the landscape, not a structure.

Permit
$300 non-refundable administrative fee · National Park Service
Capacity
30 people / 10 vehicles (winter); 15 / 3 (summer)
Book
Up to 1 year ahead; applications reviewed from the 1st of each month, first-come
Window
2 hours total, including setup and photography

Permit source

Backup

Bear Lake

Rocky Mountain National Park

Details
Snow-covered frozen Bear Lake under a bright winter sky, dark pines along the far shore

Bear Lake is a winter-only ceremony site — the park doesn't permit it at all the rest of the year — and it's weekdays only. Cap is 20 people, 5 vehicles. Frozen lake, Hallett Peak straight ahead, ten-minute walk from the lot.

Permit
$300 non-refundable administrative fee · National Park Service
Capacity
20 people / 5 vehicles; winter only, no weekends
Book
Up to 1 year ahead
Window
2 hours total, including setup

Confirm before booking: Confirm the exact winter date window with the RMNP special use office — 'winter' is the park's word, not a published date range.

Permit source

February  —  Snow on red rock

February gets the biggest visual payoff-per-effort of the year on the Front Range. Storms roll through, dump on the foothills, and clear within a day. Wet snow clings to sandstone for about eighteen hours and then it is gone. Red rock plus fresh white plus a blue sky is the most Colorado image there is, and it is almost entirely a winter phenomenon.

At a glance

Garden of the Gods

Best for

Fresh snow on sandstone

Drive from Denver

1 hr 10 min · 70 mi

Crowds

Empty at 8 a.m.

Guest cap

Jaycee Plaza (50), High Point (50), South Spring Canyon (50), Sentinel Plaza (25), Three Graces Plaza (25), Scotsman Picnic Area (25)

Permit

None required

Book

None — first-come, first-served; the city does not take reservations for these sites

Hero

Red sandstone formations at Garden of the Gods dusted with fresh snow, snowy pines below

Garden of the Gods

Colorado Springs

The Springs sits at 6,000 feet, so snow melts fast — which is exactly why a February morning after a storm is the shot. Pikes Peak is white, the fins are dusted, and the park is empty at 8 a.m.

Permit
No permit required under 50 people with no setup items · City of Colorado Springs
Capacity
Jaycee Plaza (50), High Point (50), South Spring Canyon (50), Sentinel Plaza (25), Three Graces Plaza (25), Scotsman Picnic Area (25)
Book
None — first-come, first-served; the city does not take reservations for these sites
Window
Small, brief ceremonies only

Permit source

Backup

Roxborough State Park

Douglas County

Details
Tilted sandstone ridges at Roxborough State Park covered in snow above a snowy meadow

Tilted red sandstone fins, and considerably fewer people than the Garden. Two overlooks, each capped at 25 guests. No seating provided; you bring your own chairs.

Permit
Special Activity Agreement may apply — call the park · Colorado Parks & Wildlife
Capacity
Two overlooks, 25 guests each; no seating provided
Book
Call the park
Window
Park hours

Confirm before booking: CPW's central page punts to individual parks. Get the SAA requirement and any structure rules in writing.

Permit source

March  —  Twenty thousand cranes

Sandhill cranes stage in the San Luis Valley on their way north — arriving mid-February, peaking the first two weeks of March with more than 20,000 birds, and gone by early April. They lift off the fields at sunrise and drop back in at dusk, and the sound carries for miles.

At a glance

The San Luis Valley

Best for

Sandhill crane migration

Drive from Denver

3 hr 45 min · 215 mi

Crowds

Low, except festival week

Guest cap

n/a

Permit

Contact the refuge

Book

Contact the refuge before planning anything

Hero

Sandhill cranes flying over a field crowded with feeding cranes, snowy Sangre de Cristo peaks behind

The San Luis Valley

Monte Vista and Alamosa National Wildlife Refuges

Be honest with couples about how this one works: the cranes are the event, not the venue. These are wildlife refuges managed for the birds, not for ceremonies, and the best viewing is the hour after sunrise and the hour before sunset — exactly when the birds are most sensitive to disturbance.

The way to do it: hold the ceremony at a nearby site you've properly permitted, and build the day around a dawn crane viewing before it or a dusk one after. The Monte Vista Crane Festival runs in early March, which is a good week to be in the valley and a bad week to expect a quiet hotel room.

Structures are a non-starter on the refuge itself. At a nearby permitted site an arch or a chuppah is usually workable — worth confirming site by site.

Permit
Contact the refuge — assume ceremonies are not permitted on refuge land · U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
Book
Contact the refuge before planning anything

The Monte Vista Crane Festival runs in early March — a good week to be in the valley and a bad week to expect a hotel room.

Permit source

Backup

Sapphire Point Overlook

Dillon

Details
View from the rocks at Sapphire Point over Dillon Reservoir, snow on the surrounding mountains

March is when the snowpack is deepest and most reliable at 9,000 feet. Sapphire Point is a short walk to a bench of land above a frozen Dillon Reservoir with the Ten Mile Range across the water.

Permit
$120 (Jan 1–Jun 13 window); $142 (Jun 14–Sep 30) · White River NF, Dillon Ranger District (Recreation.gov)
Capacity
30 people total — and that counts every vendor: photographer, videographer, officiant, florist
Book
Book exactly 6 months ahead at 8 a.m. Mountain, rolling
Window
3-hour slot; two dedicated parking spaces only

Confirm before booking: Published fee schedule only covers Jan 1–Sep 30. Confirm Oct–Dec availability before promising a winter date.

Permit source

April  —  The desert goes first

April is the worst month in the Colorado high country — mud, rotten snow, closed roads — and one of the best on the Western Slope. Grand Junction hits the seventies while Aspen is still shoveling. The desert greens up, the cactus blooms, and the redrock is warm to the touch.

At a glance

Colorado National Monument

Best for

Warm redrock, cactus bloom

Drive from Denver

4 hr · 250 mi

Crowds

Low

Guest cap

Book Cliffs View (25), Book Cliffs Shelter (15), plus Saddlehorn Amphitheater, Saddlehorn Picnic Area and Devils Kitchen Picnic Area

Permit

$150

Book

10 business days; 4 weeks if additional environmental compliance is needed

Hero

Independence Monument rising from a red rock canyon, the Grand Valley stretching out beyond

Colorado National Monument

Grand Junction

Twenty-three miles of canyon rim road, monoliths dropping 500 feet, and in April you can stand there in shirtsleeves.

Permit
$150 administrative fee; $50/hour/employee monitoring if the event is complex · National Park Service
Capacity
Book Cliffs View (25), Book Cliffs Shelter (15), plus Saddlehorn Amphitheater, Saddlehorn Picnic Area and Devils Kitchen Picnic Area
Book
10 business days; 4 weeks if additional environmental compliance is needed
Window
Site-dependent

Permit source

Backup

Eldorado Canyon State Park

Eldorado Springs

Details
Grassy slope looking across a steep rocky canyon under a clear blue sky

Golden sandstone walls, South Boulder Creek coming up with the melt, twenty minutes from Boulder. April beats it out before the climbers and the parking problem arrive.

Permit
Special Activity Agreement likely required — call the park · Colorado Parks & Wildlife
Capacity
Call the park
Book
Call the park
Window
Park hours

Confirm before booking: The lot fills and closes early even in shoulder season. A weekday morning is the only reliable play.

Permit source

May  —  Three weeks of a creek that isn't there

The best 'why this month' story in Colorado. Medano Creek runs down out of the Sangre de Cristos and spreads across the base of the Great Sand Dunes in a wide, shallow sheet — peaking in late May or early June around 40 cfs in an average year. By late June it is an inch or two deep. By July it is gone.

At a glance

Great Sand Dunes National Park

Best for

Medano Creek at peak

Drive from Denver

4 hr · 235 mi

Crowds

Moderate

Guest cap

Dunefield capped at 15 people total, including officiant and photographer. Groups over 15 must use the amphitheater. Two weddings per day per location.

Permit

$200

Book

Applications accepted January 1 through 7 days before the ceremony

Hero

Great Sand Dunes beneath the Sangre de Cristo Mountains, golden grassland in the foreground

Great Sand Dunes National Park

Mosca

For about three weeks you get a mirror at the foot of the tallest dunes in North America.

Also: No tents, tables, generators, or carpets. Chairs only for elderly or disabled guests with prior approval. Sound capped at 60 decibels. Every guest pays park entry.

Permit
$200 non-refundable fee · National Park Service
Capacity
Dunefield capped at 15 people total, including officiant and photographer. Groups over 15 must use the amphitheater. Two weddings per day per location.
Book
Applications accepted January 1 through 7 days before the ceremony
Window
2 hours maximum

No tents, tables, generators or carpets. Chairs only for elderly or disabled guests with prior approval. Sound capped at 60 decibels. Every guest pays park entry.

Permit source

Backup

Rifle Falls State Park

Rifle

Details
Rifle Falls pouring over a mossy travertine wall into a green, rushing creek

A 70-foot triple waterfall over a travertine wall, mossy and green and frankly not very Colorado-looking, running at peak snowmelt volume in May. Limestone caves behind it.

Permit
Special Activity Agreement — call the park · Colorado Parks & Wildlife
Capacity
Call the park
Book
Call the park
Window
Park hours

Confirm before booking: Small park, small parking lot. Confirm capacity before promising anything.

Permit source

June  —  The high country finally opens

The two-week window nobody plans for and everybody should. The passes open, the tundra greens, the lakes are ice-free — but the snowfields are still holding in the north-facing bowls. Green grass and white snow in the same frame, before the monsoon arrives in July. Longest days of the year: light until nearly 9 p.m.

At a glance

Independence Pass and Independence Ghost Town

Best for

First alpine access

Drive from Denver

3 hr · 150 mi

Crowds

Busy

Guest cap

Call the ranger district

Permit

Authorization likely

Book

Call the ranger district — do not assume 'it's just a pullout'

Hero

Green alpine tundra near Independence Pass with rows of mountains and scattered snow beyond

Independence Pass and Independence Ghost Town

Aspen / Twin Lakes

12,095 feet, paved to the top, an easy walk to an overlook, and the ruins of an 1880s mining camp on the way up. The road opens the Thursday before Memorial Day and closes on or near November 7. In June the basin below the pass is still patched with snow.

Don't assume "it's just a pullout."

Permit
Special use authorization likely required · White River NF, Aspen-Sopris Ranger District
Capacity
Call the ranger district
Book
Call the ranger district — do not assume 'it's just a pullout'

Ashcroft Ghost Town near Aspen is a beautiful June–September ceremony site the Aspen Historical Society rents for $400 (up to 70 guests) — but it is ceremonies only: no tents, tables, chairs or food.

Permit source

Backup

Guanella Pass

Georgetown

Details
Purple columbines beside a boulder on Guanella Pass, grassy hills under storm clouds

11,669 feet, paved, an hour from Denver, and one of the easiest drive-up alpine views in the state — willow flats in the foreground, Mount Bierstadt filling the frame. June is when the willows leaf out and the pass is fully clear.

Permit
Check with the ranger district for group events · Arapaho & Roosevelt NF / Pike NF
Capacity
Check with the ranger district
Book
Check with the ranger district

Permit source

July  —  Peak bloom

Colorado's alpine bloom runs late June through late July, pushing higher as the month goes on and reaching 11,000+ feet by mid-August. Crested Butte is the state's wildflower capital and does not have to try very hard to prove it.

At a glance

Crested Butte

Best for

Peak wildflower bloom

Drive from Denver

4 hr 30 min · 230 mi

Crowds

Peak

Guest cap

Varies by land manager

Permit

Depends on the site

Book

Sort this before you sort the flowers

Hero

A hillside of purple lupine above a green valley near Crested Butte

Crested Butte

Gunnison County

Gothic Road, Washington Gulch, Snodgrass, and the lower Brush Creek meadows are the classics. The Crested Butte Wildflower Festival runs mid-July — 2026 was its 40th, July 10–19 — which tells you when the town thinks the bloom is best and also when every room in the valley is booked.

Permit
Depends entirely on where you stand · Varies: Gunnison NF, town parks, or private meadows
Capacity
Varies by land manager
Book
Sort this before you sort the flowers
Window
Varies

Permit source

Backup

Yankee Boy Basin

Ouray

Details
Yankee Boy Basin with grey cliffs above a green valley and a small waterfall

Columbine at peak in mid-to-late July, waterfalls, and a bowl of 13,000-foot peaks. The upper basin requires high-clearance 4WD, which is either a dealbreaker or the whole point.

Permit
Check with the ranger district · Uncompahgre NF
Capacity
Check with the ranger district
Book
Check with the ranger district

Permit source

August  —  Late bloom and the darkest skies

Two things at once. The alpine bloom finishes above 11,000 feet into mid-August, and the Perseid meteor shower peaks around August 11–13, right when the Milky Way core is highest.

At a glance

Ice Lake Basin

Best for

Turquoise water, late bloom

Drive from Denver

6 hr 30 min · 360 mi, then 7 mi on foot

Crowds

Peak

Guest cap

Parking is the real constraint — the basin sees 100 to 600 people a day at peak season

Permit

None required

Book

Check San Juan NF for current group-event rules

Hero

Turquoise Ice Lake ringed by rugged San Juan peaks under billowing clouds

Ice Lake Basin

Silverton

The most absurdly colored water in Colorado — a genuine turquoise that comes from glacial rock flour — ringed by 13,000-foot peaks, with the last of the season's flowers still going. This is a real hike: 7 miles round trip, 2,420 feet of gain, from a 9,840-foot trailhead to a lake at 12,260 feet, in San Juan National Forest.

There's currently no permit system for Ice Lake Basin, which makes this one of the few showpiece locations in Colorado you can simply walk into. Parking is the real constraint.

Permit
No permit system currently in place · San Juan National Forest
Capacity
Parking is the real constraint — the basin sees 100 to 600 people a day at peak season
Book
Check San Juan NF for current group-event rules

Permit source

Backup

Jackson Lake State Park

Orchard

Details
Cottonwood on the shore of Jackson Lake under a wide, cloudy plains sky

Jackson Lake State Park is Colorado's first International Dark Sky State Park, out on the plains northeast of Denver where there's nothing to light the horizon. Great Sand Dunes is also a certified International Dark Sky Park. A ceremony at dusk that rolls straight into a meteor shower is a genuinely different kind of wedding photo.

Permit
Special Activity Agreement — call the park · Colorado Parks & Wildlife
Capacity
Call the park
Book
Call the park
Window
Park hours

Confirm before booking: At Great Sand Dunes, confirm whether an after-dark slot is possible within the two-hour permit window.

Permit source

September  —  The gold comes in from the top

Aspens turn by elevation and the wave moves downhill over about three weeks. Above 11,000 feet: mid-to-late September. Between 9,000 and 11,000: late September. That is the sweet spot, and it is why the last ten days of the month are the busiest wedding days in the Colorado high country. Also: the elk rut.

At a glance

Kebler Pass

Best for

Aspen gold, high elevation

Drive from Denver

4 hr 30 min · 235 mi

Crowds

Busy

Guest cap

Check with the ranger district

Permit

Check with the district

Book

Check with the ranger district

Hero

Hillsides of gold and orange aspens on Kebler Pass below jagged peaks

Kebler Pass

Crested Butte

Peak roughly September 22 – October 2. One of the largest aspen stands in North America, a graded dirt road you can drive in a sedan, and something like thirty miles of continuous gold. The San Juan Skyway and Dallas Divide near Ridgway peak a couple of days earlier, September 20–30, if you want Mount Sneffels in the frame.

Permit
Check with the ranger district for group events · Gunnison NF
Capacity
Check with the ranger district
Book
Check with the ranger district

Permit source

Backup

Maroon Bells Amphitheater

Aspen

Details
Maroon Bells reflected in Maroon Lake, aspens turning gold on the slopes

Peak roughly September 20 – October 1. The most photographed mountains in North America, and a formal, bookable ceremony site.

Big constraint: the amphitheater is not available Fridays or Saturdays in June, July, and August, or Fridays, Saturdays, and Sundays in September. A fall Maroon Bells wedding is a weekday wedding. (Aspen Chamber has signaled seven-day availability starting summer 2027 — worth re-checking.)

Permit
$200 per day for the amphitheater · White River NF (Recreation.gov)
Capacity
Five vehicle passes issued; everyone else takes the shuttle ($16 adult / $10 senior and child)
Book
Reservations open one year in advance at 8 a.m. MST and go instantly
Window
8 a.m. to 3 p.m. slot, no extensions

Not available Fridays or Saturdays in June, July and August, or Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays in September. A fall Maroon Bells wedding is a weekday wedding. Aspen Chamber has signaled seven-day availability starting summer 2027 — re-check.

Permit source

October  —  The color comes down to the foothills

The wave that started at 11,000 feet in September reaches 7,000–9,000 feet in early-to-mid October, which means the Front Range foothills peak roughly October 5–15 — a full month after the high country. Meanwhile the peaks take their first real snow. Gold leaves plus a white summit is October's whole argument.

At a glance

Upper Beaver Meadows

Best for

Late color, low elevation

Drive from Denver

1 hr 40 min · 70 mi

Crowds

Moderate

Guest cap

30 people / 10 vehicles

Permit

$300

Book

Up to 1 year ahead

Hero

Golden grass meadow at Upper Beaver Meadows with aspens starting to turn and a tall ponderosa pine

Upper Beaver Meadows

Rocky Mountain National Park

Gold meadow, the last of the elk rut echoing off the ridges, Longs Peak with new snow on it, and one of Rocky's most generous caps: 30 people and 10 vehicles. Ten minutes from Estes Park on a graded dirt road.

Trail Ridge Road typically closes in mid-October after the first significant snow, so anything above Many Parks Curve is a coin flip after the first week of the month.

Permit
$300 non-refundable administrative fee · National Park Service
Capacity
30 people / 10 vehicles
Book
Up to 1 year ahead
Window
2 hours including setup

Trail Ridge Road typically closes in mid-October after the first significant snow, so anything above Many Parks Curve is a coin flip after the first week.

Permit source

Backup

Red Barn Group Picnic Area

Golden Gate Canyon State Park

Details
Red barn buildings beside a path at Golden Gate Canyon State Park, autumn trees and a rock outcrop

Thirty-five minutes from Golden, in the exact elevation band that peaks October 5–15. Sheltered picnic tables, parking for 25 vehicles, a fire ring, and room for up to 150 guests (100 seated). October is last call, which lines up neatly with peak foothills color.

Permit
$150 Monday–Friday, $200 Saturday–Sunday · Colorado Parks & Wildlife
Capacity
Up to 150 guests (100 seated); 25 vehicles
Book
Reserve at cpwshop.com or 303-582-3707
Window
10 a.m. to 10 p.m., May through October only

October is last call for the season, which lines up neatly with peak foothills color.

Permit source

November  —  The empty month

Leaves down, ski season not open, everything quiet, and the sun so low that the light is warm all day instead of for forty minutes. November is the cheapest, easiest month to permit almost anything in Colorado. It is also bighorn sheep rut — rams come down out of the high country to fight.

At a glance

Marmot Burrow Amphitheater

Best for

A log arch already built in

Drive from Denver

50 min · 40 mi

Crowds

Empty

Guest cap

Up to 60 guests

Permit

$10

Book

Reserve at cpwshop.com or 1-800-244-5613

Hero

Green meadow and dirt trail winding into a pine-covered valley at Staunton State Park

Marmot Burrow Amphitheater

Staunton State Park, Pine

This is the outlier on the list, and it's here for a specific reason: it's one of the few public ceremony sites in Colorado that has an arch already built into it — a log archway 12 feet tall and 23 feet wide, bigger than any arch you would rent, plus rustic bench seating, with the granite Lionshead formation behind it.

Guests need park passes; event passes can cover people without one. And if you want a chuppah rather than the log arch — a huppah has a specific form and meaning that a log archway can't stand in for — this is a site where you'd bring your own and it would fit the space.

Permit
$10 reservation fee plus $90 for the day · Colorado Parks & Wildlife
Capacity
Up to 60 guests
Book
Reserve at cpwshop.com or 1-800-244-5613
Window
9 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Guests need park passes; event passes can cover people without one.

Permit source

Backup

Georgetown

Clear Creek County

Details

Fifty minutes from Denver, a Victorian mining town in a tight valley, with the Georgetown Bighorn Sheep Viewing Area a few minutes off I-70. The Bighorn Sheep Festival lands on the second Saturday in November.

Permit
Depends on the exact site · Varies: town park, Clear Creek County, or Forest Service
Capacity
Depends on the site
Book
Sort it early
Window
Varies

Permit source

December  —  The month the light does the work

Denver's sunset sits at about 4:36 p.m. for the first half of December — the earliest sunsets of the year land in the first week or so, not on the solstice — and has only crawled back to 4:39 by December 21. That sounds like a problem. It is actually the month's best feature: golden hour runs roughly 3:15 to 4:15 in the afternoon, which means you can hold the ceremony in the best light of the day and still be sitting down to dinner by five.

At a glance

Hidden Valley

Best for

Low winter light

Drive from Denver

1 hr 50 min · 75 mi

Crowds

Low

Guest cap

30 people / 10 vehicles

Permit

$300

Book

Up to 1 year ahead

Hero

Still mountain lake reflecting pines and sky beside a dirt trail

Hidden Valley

Rocky Mountain National Park

A former ski area on Trail Ridge Road at about 9,200 feet, plowed and open all winter, with reliable snow cover when the meadows below are bare. 30 people, 10 vehicles — one of Rocky's most generous caps, and the road to it stays open when the rest of Trail Ridge doesn't.

Permit
$300 non-refundable administrative fee · National Park Service
Capacity
30 people / 10 vehicles
Book
Up to 1 year ahead
Window
2 hours including setup

Permit source

Backup

Lily Lake

Rocky Mountain National Park

Details
Sun rising over Lily Lake with a boardwalk trail along the shore and a mountain behind

On Highway 7 south of Estes, plowed lot, flat trail, frozen lake with Longs Peak behind it. Three separate permitted sites here: the Southside Picnic Area (30 people), Lily Lake Trail (20), and the dock (10).

Permit
$300 non-refundable administrative fee · National Park Service
Capacity
Southside Picnic Area (30), Lily Lake Trail (20), Lily Lake Dock (10)
Book
Up to 1 year ahead
Window
2 hours including setup

Permit source

Three things that will wreck a Colorado elopement

Colorado elopement permits are issued by half a dozen different agencies, and almost none of them work the same way. Three differences catch people out.

1. Permit lead times don't match each other. Rocky and Maroon Bells take applications a full year out and fill immediately. Sapphire Point opens exactly six months ahead at 8 a.m. Colorado National Monument wants ten business days. Great Sand Dunes takes them from January 1 up to a week before. There's no single calendar — build a spreadsheet.

2. The two-hour rule includes setup. Rocky and Great Sand Dunes both cap ceremonies at two hours total — arriving, setting up, ceremony, photos, breaking down. If your setup takes forty minutes, you've spent a third of your permit before anyone says a word.

3. Vendors count toward your headcount. At Sapphire Point, the 30-person cap includes the photographer, videographer, officiant, and florist. At the Great Sand Dunes dunefield, the 15-person cap includes the officiant and the photographer. A "20-person elopement" with a full vendor team is a 26-person event to the permitting agency.

Quick reference: 24 places to elope in Colorado

Twenty-four Colorado elopement spots, one hero and one backup for every month of the year.
Month Hero Backup
January Sprague LakeRocky Mountain National Park Bear LakeRocky Mountain National Park
February Garden of the GodsColorado Springs Roxborough State ParkDouglas County
March The San Luis ValleyMonte Vista and Alamosa National Wildlife Refuges Sapphire Point OverlookDillon
April Colorado National MonumentGrand Junction Eldorado Canyon State ParkEldorado Springs
May Great Sand Dunes National ParkMosca Rifle Falls State ParkRifle
June Independence Pass and Independence Ghost TownAspen / Twin Lakes Guanella PassGeorgetown
July Crested ButteGunnison County Yankee Boy BasinOuray
August Ice Lake BasinSilverton Jackson Lake State ParkOrchard
September Kebler PassCrested Butte Maroon Bells AmphitheaterAspen
October Upper Beaver MeadowsRocky Mountain National Park Red Barn Group Picnic AreaGolden Gate Canyon State Park
November Marmot Burrow AmphitheaterStaunton State Park, Pine GeorgetownClear Creek County
December Hidden ValleyRocky Mountain National Park Lily LakeRocky Mountain National Park

Framing your ceremony?

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