Great Sand Dunes National Park & Preserve is a great place to visit year-round. Colorado is home to beautiful national parks and monuments. At some, you pay entrance fees, but you can get annual passes, oryou can find plenty of fun things to do on free days. Photo courtesy of the National Park Service. We love Colorado, and our state is celebrating a very big birthday this year. Happy 150th Colorado! On Aug. 1, 1876, Colorado officially became a state.