| April 28, 2021

10 Colorado Mountain Wedding Venues

Table of Contents

Your Guide to Our Favorite Colorado Mountain Wedding Venues

Finding your *perfect* place to get married is a big decision! If you’ve already decided that a mountainous outdoor location is for you, hopefully this list will help narrow down your hundreds of options.  Depending on your desired trail length, accessibility needs, and ideal landscape, Colorado will have something for everyone—we’d love to help you find your perfect place to say “I do!”

Below, we’ve offered a short description of 10 of our favorite wedding and elopement locations in Colorado that offer stunning mountain views—most of them offer multiple options for trail lengths, drive up locations, or points along the way to kind of “choose your adventure.” If we didn’t state the exact length of a hike, it’s probably because there are multiple lengths to choose from that we can go over in the planning stages of crafting your individual wedding plan!

If one of the below locations piques your interest and you want to know more—reach out! Helping couples plan their weddings and elopements is part of our job. Trust me, you don’t have to have everything figured out at this point, and it is perfectly OK to change your mind once, twice, or more! We’ve been in your shoes—each of us eloped too—and we’ve learned a lot over the years working with hundreds of couples to craft truly personalized wedding celebrations. No two weddings should ever be *exactly* the same, because no two couples are exactly the same! You DESERVE your perfect wedding!

Maroon Bells

The Maroon Bells are a gorgeous lakeside wedding or elopement location near Aspen, Colorado that is accessible year-round if you’re able to hike or via shuttle in the summer months. An amphitheater on-site is able to host wedding groups and trails nearby make the perfect place to elope for smaller groups or just couples who want a mountain backdrop. 

Closest City: Aspen, Colorado

Group Size: 50

Is Hiking Required?: No.

Amenities: Bathrooms, benches & picnic tables.

Rocky Mountain National Park

There are many locations within RMNP that are wedding-approved. However, the permitting process is restrictive and results in wedding permits selling out quickly each year—click here if you want to learn more about how to elope in RMNP. From more established drive-up sites, to other more remote locations that would be ideal for couples portraits, RMNP is a varied landscape for mountain lovers getting married!

Closest City: Estes Park, Colorado

Group Size: 30 (as of 04/15/2021)

Is Hiking Required?: No

Amenities: Bathrooms, benches & picnic tables.

Loveland Pass

Loveland Pass is one of the most accessible mountain elopement locations in Colorado because it’s one of the highest elevation roads in the state, and it stays open year-round. The pass can get extremely cold because of the high elevation, so dress accordingly. Also, depending on the size of your group, you might not be able to access a lot of the fragile trails. The smaller group the better in this location because it also tends to be quite busy. 

Closest City: Keystone, Colorado

Group Size: 20

Is Hiking Required?: Yes, if you want to access any trails

Amenities: None

Cottonwood Pass

Cottonwood Pass is a stunning alpine location featuring a lake, wildflowers in the summer, and stands of gorgeous pines! Due to the fragility of the alpine environment and tight, narrow trails we recommend that your group size be kept as small as possible. A sunrise or sunset session here is likely to be more private, but this 3-mile trail is definitely popular. 

Closest City: Buena Vista, Colorado

Group Size: 10

Is Hiking Required?: Yes

Amenities: None

San Juan National Forest

There are endless stunning mountain locations in the San Juan National Forest that are perfect for a small wedding or intimate elopement—we couldn’t pick just one! Some are accessible to larger groups, while others require a trek through fragile alpine meadows that would be better suited for a two-person elopement. We love the red-tinted mountains surrounding Ouray, the dramatic peaks of Silverton, the clear blue lakes near Telluride, or the romantic hotsprings of Dunton. Wherever you elope in southwest Colorado, it’s sure to be gorgeous!

Closest Cities: Ouray, Silverton, Telluride, or Dunton

Group Size: 50

Is Hiking Required?: No

Amenities: Depends on location.

Mt. Evans

Mt. Evans is a 14er mountain peak you can hike or drive to the top of. If you love 360-degree endless mountain views, this is your spot! Along the drive you will also pass by a few lakes, ancient bristlecone pine trees, and it’s very likely you’ll bump into some mountain goats near the summit! Mt. Evans is accessible by vehicle between late-May and early-September.

Closest City: Idaho Springs, Colorado

Group Size: 10

Is Hiking Required?: No

Amenities: Bathrooms at the parking lot.

Sunrise Amphitheater 

A great little outdoor “venue” overlooking Boulder, Colorado, especially if you will be bringing guests along to your intimate wedding! To access this beautiful overlook, you take the winding drive up Flagstaff Mountain. This area is handicap accessible and just a short walk from the parking area. You can reserve this ceremony site through Boulder County. The overlook beyond this ceremony location is absolutely stunning, and this is definitely our favorite spot in Colorado for those who love the mountains and want to celebrate with a larger group.

Closest City: Boulder, Colorado

Group Size: 100

Is Hiking Required?: No

Amenities:

Sapphire Point

You can book the campsite at Sapphire Point for 2 hours to have a private ceremony overlooking the Dillon Reservoir. One of the reasons we love this location is because it is accessible year-round. Experience a winter wonderland wedding in this gorgeous place and enjoy the privacy rarely found here in the summer, or wake up early on a warm sunny day to catch sunrise here—otherwise you’ll likely find the short loop trail here crowded with visitors.

Closest City: Dillon, Colorado

Group Size: 10

Is Hiking Required?: No

Amenities: Bathrooms, picnic benches.

Indian Peaks Wilderness

Experience the sunrise or sunset on the shores of Brainard Lake with the mountains glowing in the background, and you’ll fall madly in love with this wild place! The Indian Peaks Wilderness is the perfect spot for a camping elopement, so you can wake up the morning of your elopement without having to hike in to catch sunrise. Enjoy the forested alpine environment in one of the most stunningly beautiful corners of Colorado—I’d recommend choosing a weekday to try and snag one of the campsites for yourself, because they are first-come first-served and go quickly on warm weekends.

Closest City: Ward, Colorado

Group Size: 10

Is Hiking Required?: Yes

Amenities: Bathrooms at the trailheads, none deeper into the wilderness area.

Steps to Getting Married at a Colorado mountain wedding venue

Step One: Find a Location and/or Pick a Date

Depending on what you want to prioritize, you might first want to choose a date and then figure out what places are accessible on that date. Or, if your location is most important, we can help you pick the best date for ideal weather at that place!

Step Two: Find Your Vendor Team

Ideally you’ll choose your photographer before steps 1 & 2. I advise this because photographers can help you picture your date and location, offer advice for alternatives you might not even have considered, and come with first-hand knowledge of a region that might be new to you!

Step Three: Become Familiar with Local Laws

Do you need an officiant, or witnesses to become legally married? Do you need a permit to perform a ceremony? Do you need to register your guests if you’re hiking out into a wilderness area? Are there parking fees or restrictions? All of these things and more can be easily avoided hiccups on your wedding day!

Step Four: Purchase or Rent All Your Details

Attire, vow books, proper footwear, and all the other details of your wedding day are usually better chosen once you have your date and location nailed down. For instance, you don’t want to pick a heavy lacy dress and then realize your dream elopement location is actually in the desert on a summer day!

Step Five: Craft Your Timeline

Your photographer or other vendors should be able to advise you through this step, but I always recommend crafting an hour-by-hour plan for your wedding day! Feeling prepared will help alleviate day-of anxiety and give you the chance to plan time to relax—you don’t want to feel rushed through what should be one of the most fun days of your life.

MORE: Check out our step-by-step guide on How to Elope

Benefits of Getting Married in Colorado

You Can Self-Solemnize

Self-solemnization is what makes Colorado the best place to elope! It means you can legally marry yourselves—no officiant or witnesses required. As such, you have the opportunity to be a bit more flexible with your wedding plans! You can still invite guests (or not, it’s your choice) and anyone you want can sign your marriage licence (yes, even your dog).

MORE: Check out this self-solemnizing elopement in Ouray, Colorado!

You Have a Varied Landscape to Choose From

With 4 national parks, hundreds of thousands of acres of accessible public land, and dozens of cities with unique character, Colorado has something for everyone. You can get married at the top of a 14er mountain pass, or on the slopes of the biggest sand dunes in North America. You could rent a 4×4 jeep to take you to an epic viewpoint, or you could plan a multi-day backpacking adventure that would get you to the same place. Whatever you want—Colorado offers!

Ready to plan your own Colorado wedding? Reach out!

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Maddie Mae

Elopement Photographer

& Planning Consultant

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Adventure Instead

Your Elopement Photographers & Planning Consultants. We are Maddie Mae, Amber, and Tori. We're your photographers, your elopement consultants, your cheerleaders, and your go-to adventure buddy on the day you say your vows.

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