Colorado Turns 150 Saturday and Every State Park Is Free

August 1, 1876. That is the day Colorado became the 38th state. Do the math and Saturday is the 150th birthday.

Here is the part that makes this one different. Colorado is the Centennial State, so hitting 150 is already a big deal. But 2026 is also the year America turns 250. Two round-number anniversaries stacked on top of each other in the same year. Colorado is the only state that gets to claim both at once, and somebody in a marketing meeting actually coined a word for it. The Sesquisemiquincentennial. Say that three times fast. I dare you.

So this Saturday is not your average summer weekend. There are free things happening from the Capitol steps in Denver all the way down to Fort Garland in the San Luis Valley. Let me walk you through where to be.

The Capitol, and yes, there is cake

Colorado Day at the State Capitol, 200 East Colfax Avenue, runs from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. The building is open and free.

At 10:00 a.m. they do the Presenting of the Colors and the speeches. Lt. Gov. Dianne Primavera is on the program, along with Rep. Kenny Nguyen, Rep. Stephanie Luck, Poet Laureate Crisosto Apache, marching bands from Legacy and Chatfield high schools, and the Colorado State Bagpiper. That is a real title, by the way, and honestly it is the most Colorado thing on this list.

Here is the detail most people will miss. They are unveiling an updated Mile High Marker. But it is temporary. The official measurement, the datum from NOAA, will not be ready until summer 2027, and that is when the permanent marker goes in. So what you are looking at Saturday is basically a placeholder for the real thing. Still worth a photo.

At 11:00 a.m. it gets fun. Capitol volunteer Jerry Clayton puts on the role of Governor Routt and reenacts the Proclamation of Statehood, and then they cut the birthday cake. Square dancing kicks off at 11:30 a.m. right after. I mean, where else are you doing that on a Saturday morning.

Quick history note while we are here. Colorado Day did not just happen. The state legislature created it back in March 1907 specifically to mark statehood. So this celebration has more than a century of its own behind it.

Every state park, no entrance fee

This is the one to circle if you have kids or a dog or just a full tank of gas. Colorado Parks and Wildlife is waiving the basic entrance fee at all 43 state parks on August 1.

Read that carefully though. Basic entrance is what is free. The other stuff still costs money. Camping, boat and OHV registration, hunting and fishing licenses. Those all still apply. But the day pass at the gate, that is on the house.

So Cherry Creek, Chatfield, Golden Gate Canyon, Eldorado Canyon, all of them. Pick your favorite and go. Free days like this pack the popular parks fast, so if you want a good spot, be an early person, not a noon person.

Fort Garland and the flag that started it

History Colorado is opening a new exhibit at Fort Garland called "O Say Can You See." The centerpiece is an original 37-star flag that flew over the fort before statehood, paired with a big fiber collage of the state flag made by artist Chloé Duplessis. There is a flag raising by Buffalo Soldier re-enactors.

And this is not random. On the actual morning of August 1, 1876, the 9th Cavalry Buffalo Soldiers raised the flag at Fort Garland to mark the news that statehood was confirmed. So the re-enactment Saturday is happening on the same ground, on the same date, 150 years later. That is the kind of history that hits different when you are standing where it happened.

Golden, Colorado Springs, and Central City

Golden History Park is throwing a family festival and open house on August 1, and they are rededicating the Guy Hill Schoolhouse, which is also turning 150 this year. Nice little coincidence.

Down in Colorado Springs, the United We Rock Festival takes over Rock Ledge Ranch from 2:00 to 8:00 p.m. And the Colorado Springs Pioneers Museum is doing a free Colorado Day celebration while it debuts a new exhibit called "Freedom to Thrive."

If you want the old-school version, point the car at Central City. A lot of people call it the birthplace of the state, and it throws some of the most spirited Colorado Day gatherings you will find anywhere.

One more freebie in Denver

MCA Denver does penny day for Colorado residents on the first Saturday of every month. This year that lands on August 1. A penny to get in. That is not a typo.

So there it is. A birthday that only lines up like this once, free parks, cake at the Capitol, a Buffalo Soldier flag raising 150 years to the day, and a Mile High Marker that is going to get replaced next summer anyway. Hayley already has us aimed at a state park before the crowds hit, and honestly you should do the same. Buckle up.