The Top 5 Places to take Engagement Photos in Colorado

Getting engaged has been the most exciting time in mine and John’s lives. We have both been waiting a long time and were thrilled to finally be to taking this next step together. I knew, right after he proposed, that having engagement pictures taken would be the easiest and most fun way to share the exciting news with our family and friends.

Of course, I had already spilled the beans on social media, but we still wanted to capture this moment and have really nice snapshots taken for our loved ones.

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An old friend of mine from high school saw our announcement and instantly reached out about taking our pictures. She has always dreamed of photographing in Colorado, and I didn’t think twice about having her take our pictures!

​We flew our photographer, Holley Grimes, out to Denver to spend an entire week visiting and photographing. She broke up her time between Denver, Fort Collins, and Colorado Springs to photograph us and a handful of other couples.

​We crossed hundreds of miles to scope out some of the most scenic spots in Colorado, and we were were not disappointed in the places we chose!

The pictures turned out so well that we asked Holley to help us create this guide, “The Top 5 Places to Photograph in Colorado”. We hope this helps any and all couples, photographers, and just anyone traveling to Colorado. Enjoy!

#5 Red Rocks Park and Amphitheater - Morrison, CO.

This might be one of the more “obvious” places to visit near Denver. Red Rocks Amphitheater is one of the most famous and scenic places near the city and rightfully so!

This iconic amphitheater is beautiful with its huge and towering rocks, but the park surrounding it is perfect for photographers. It has great trails and we were able to get up close to the red rocks. That being said, our pictures from the road into the park were our favorite!

Get there early to beat the crowds and to catch the INCREDIBLE Colorado sunrise.

#4 Lookout Mountain - Golden, CO

​Lookout Mountain Park is Golden’s well known sunset-watching spot, but it was also a perfect place to take a few private sunrise pictures.

We drove up and around the mountain stopping at just about every pull off and place with a view we could find! We found no one else awake and braving the cold, windy morning on top of the mountain when we went so it was perfect.  

​It was only a 30-minute shoot, but the pictures turned out fantastic!

#3 Garden of the Gods - Colorado Springs

Garden of the Gods is another well-known place to photograph in Colorado. The red spires here tower taller than those of Red Rocks Park and provide a totally different aesthetic with their close proximity to the mountains.

The park fills up EARLY every day, so we actually took most of our pictures from a lookout just outside of the main structures. We had a little party on Mars and really explored around every where we could.

​See more from all of our trips to Garden of the Gods in this separate blog post, here.

#2 Paint Mines Interpretive Park - Calhan, CO

The Paint Mines is one of my favorite places in all of Colorado. It is incredibly fun to take a group of friends and wander through the chalky formations.

This was one of the first places I knew that I wanted to bring Holley because there is a ton of variety in color and landscape, and I knew she could take some incredible pictures.

​*Be warned that this area is always windy and almost always muddy. My long dress probably wasn’t the best idea for this location, but I love the way our photos came out!*

See more from all of our trips to The Paint Mines in our other blog post, here. We have been back several times and I fall in love with it more and more each time!

#1 Royal Gorge Route Railway - Cañon City, CO

​The best place we took pictures was, of course, the only place we had to pay to go, but it was well worth it! The Royal Gorge Route Railway was perfection!

We paid for “Vista Dome” seats on the Royal Gorge Route Railway, and it was a romantic’s dream. We spent 2 1/2 hours sipping wine while taking in the scenic views through the long glass windows. The gigantic, sheer canyon walls surrounding the Arkansas River were beautiful and relaxing.

​This had been on my bucket list for a long time, and I managed to save it for the perfect time with the best people!

Read more about The Royal Gorge Railroad and The Bridge Park in this post, here!

Honorable Mentions: 

Horsetooth Reservoir - ​Fort Collins, CO.

​Horsetooth Reservoir in Fort Collins is another fantastic spot to check out. It changes drastically with the seasons and can be crowded in the summer, but in the middle of winter, it’s a winter wonderland perfect for cozy, snowy pictures!

Chautauqua Park - Boulder, CO

​This is where John proposed to me, so it will always hold a special place in my heart, but it’s also a photographer’s playground. There are dozens of trails and scenic overlooks that are perfect for any kind of photos you are looking to take. We didn’t bring Holley here, but it is not to be missed!

We hope you enjoyed this list of our favorite places across Colorado, and that it helps you take some of your own beautiful photographs.

See more of Holley's portfolio at: https://www.holleygrimesphoto.com/
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Drop us a comment below where your favorite places are across the state, or even the country, so we can check them out next time we are with Holley!

Check out some of my other Colorado Guides:

Guide to Garden of the Gods Park - Colorado Springs
Spend a Weekend Camping in the Dunes of Great Sand Dunes National Park
Our Family Spring Break - Denver, Colorado Springs, and Estes Park