Description: Detailed large map of Colorado showing cities, towns, counties, roads, US highways and State routes.
Map of Colorado (USA). Colorado map with cities, counties, and towns. Use this detailed map to understand Colorado's full county grid, every administrative capital (county seat), the major cities and towns, bordering states and waters, and a few highway cues for orientation only. It is the best map style for residents, travelers, and geography students who want clarity without road clutter. Colorado covers a lot of ground, flat farm country on the eastern plains, fourteen-thousand-foot peaks through the middle, and high desert out on the Western Slope, so the 64 counties on this map do real work: they show you where the mountains give way to the plains, and where a city like Denver or Grand Junction actually sits next to its neighbors. Look at the map, and you will notice most of the growth is clustered along the Front Range, while the Western Slope and the eastern plains stay wide open and lightly populated by comparison.
Borders and waters at a glance: Located to the north of Colorado is Wyoming. Nebraska is to the northeast of Colorado. Kansas is to the east of Colorado. Oklahoma is in the southeast corner of Colorado. New Mexico is south of Colorado. Utah is west of Colorado. Therefore, Colorado shares a border with six states. A seventh state, Arizona, only brushes the corner at the Four Corners point in Montezuma County, so don’t think Colorado touches seven states edge to edge; that corner is a single point, not a line.
This map of Colorado with counties and cities shows all 64 counties in color blocks. These color blocks are loosely connected by I-25, I-70, and I-76. Furthermore, it shows connections to other major cities and towns, such as Denver, Colorado Springs, Aurora, Fort Collins, Pueblo, Grand Junction, Durango, etc. To know southeast Colorado, the Arkansas River is a good indicator. The river flows past the city of Pueblo and from there continues down towards the state border with Kansas. The river is a very useful landmark when navigating the area.
Road-light orientation: The I-25 highway runs along the Front Range from Fort Collins in the north to Pueblo in the south. Colorado’s only true east-west interstate, I-70, climbs up from the Utah line through Grand Junction and Vail, over the mountains through Denver, and out on the eastern plains toward Kansas. I-76 heads toward the northeast out of Denver and toward Fort Morgan. These 3 roads aren’t for turn-by-turn navigation. They create a soft sense of place for a county or city relative to the interstate system, and the counties are the real information.
This map of Colorado with cities and towns also works well for quickly finding administrative capitals, since every county seat is printed in bold next to its county on the page. Colorado shares its borders with six states, but there is a real boundary line with only Wyoming to the north. Other neighbors include Nebraska to the northeast, Kansas to the east, Oklahoma to the southeast, New Mexico to the south, Utah to the west, and Arizona in beautiful Montezuma County. The state has 64 counties. By land area, Las Animas County is the largest with about 4,773 square miles, and by land area, the City and County of Broomfield is the smallest with about 34 square miles, also Colorado’s newest (2001) county. El Paso County, home to Colorado Springs, is the most populous county, having recently overtaken Denver County, while Hinsdale County is the least populous, with roughly 750 residents. Arapahoe County is the oldest, established in 1861 as one of the Colorado Territory’s original 17 counties. Colorado covers about 104,094 square miles in total, with about 103,642 square miles of land, ranking as the eighth-largest state. The capital, Denver, has its own quirk worth knowing: the City and County of Denver is a consolidated city-county, meaning the city and county limits are identical, unlike almost every other county on this map. This Map of Colorado’s major cities list includes Denver, Colorado Springs, Aurora, Fort Collins, Lakewood, Thornton, Arvada, Westminster, Greeley, and Pueblo, in roughly that order by current population.
Every county in this Map of Colorado counties appears below with its seat, in alphabetical order for quick lookup: Adams–Brighton; Alamosa–Alamosa; Arapahoe–Littleton; Archuleta–Pagosa Springs; Baca–Springfield; Bent–Las Animas; Boulder–Boulder; Broomfield–Broomfield; Chaffee–Salida; Cheyenne–Cheyenne Wells; Clear Creek–Georgetown; Conejos–Conejos; Costilla–San Luis; Crowley–Ordway; Custer–Westcliffe; Delta–Delta; Denver–Denver; Dolores–Dove Creek; Douglas–Castle Rock; Eagle–Eagle; Elbert–Kiowa; El Paso–Colorado Springs; Fremont–Cañon City; Garfield–Glenwood Springs; Gilpin–Central City; Grand–Hot Sulphur Springs; Gunnison–Gunnison; Hinsdale–Lake City; Huerfano–Walsenburg; Jackson–Walden; Jefferson–Golden; Kiowa–Eads; Kit Carson–Burlington; Lake–Leadville; La Plata–Durango; Larimer–Fort Collins; Las Animas–Trinidad; Lincoln–Hugo; Logan–Sterling; Mesa–Grand Junction; Mineral–Creede; Moffat–Craig; Montezuma–Cortez; Montrose–Montrose; Morgan–Fort Morgan; Otero–La Junta; Ouray–Ouray; Park–Fairplay; Phillips–Holyoke; Pitkin–Aspen; Prowers–Lamar; Pueblo–Pueblo; Rio Blanco–Meeker; Rio Grande–Del Norte; Routt–Steamboat Springs; Saguache–Saguache; San Juan–Silverton; San Miguel–Telluride; Sedgwick–Julesburg; Summit–Breckenridge; Teller–Cripple Creek; Washington–Akron; Weld–Greeley; and Yuma–Wray.
The majority of people begin this journey, and for good reason - the Front Range and Denver metro have over half of Colorado’s population. Denver County is located essentially at the map’s center. It’s the consolidated City and County of Denver; that is, it’s right where the High Plains meet the Rocky Mountains. You’ll see Jefferson County (Golden), Adams County (Brighton), Arapahoe County (Littleton), Douglas County (Castle Rock), and the City and County of Broomfield tightly packed together to make the dense metro core. Boulder County, seat Boulder, sits just to the northwest, home to the University of Colorado, while Weld County, seat Greeley, stretches the urban corridor further north and east into farm country. Follow I-25 on the map, and you are tracing the whole Front Range spine, from Larimer County (Fort Collins) in the north, south through El Paso County (Colorado Springs) and Teller County (Cripple Creek, tucked in the mountains behind Pikes Peak), down to Pueblo County (Pueblo) in the south.
Head west out of Denver and follow I-70 up through Clear Creek County (Georgetown), passing Gilpin County (Central City) just north of the interstate, a former gold-rush town you reach by a winding mountain road. Keep going and you reach Summit County (Breckenridge), home to Keystone and Copper Mountain, then Eagle County (Eagle), home to Vail and Beaver Creek, before the highway drops through Glenwood Canyon into Garfield County (Glenwood Springs). South of that stretch of I-70, Pitkin County (Aspen) and Gunnison County (Gunnison) anchor the central mountains. Chaffee County, seat Salida, sits along the upper Arkansas River near Buena Vista, ringed by the Collegiate Peaks, while Lake County (Leadville, the highest incorporated city in the country) and Park County (Fairplay) fill the mountain parks just east of there. Up north, reached via US-40, Routt County (Steamboat Springs) sits well above the interstate, with Jackson County (Walden) tucked further north still in the isolated North Park basin, and Grand County (Hot Sulphur Springs) holding part of Rocky Mountain National Park alongside Larimer County to its north.
To head west across the Continental Divide, and you are on the Western Slope, Mesa County and its seat, Grand Junction, is the core of the region, near the Utah line along the I-70. Taking up the northern regions are Delta (Delta), Montrose (Montrose), Rio Blanco (Meeker), and Moffat (Craig) counties. We find the start of the San Juan Mountains, neighboring San Miguel County (Telluride), Ouray County (Ouray), sparsely populated San Juan County (Silverton), Hinsdale County (Lake City), and Mineral County (Creede). La Plata County (Durango) is situated in the far southwest region of the map, alongside Montezuma County (Cortez, near Mesa Verde National Park and the Four Corners point), Archuleta County (Pagosa Springs), and Dolores County (Dove Creek), rounding out southwestern Colorado.
As you head south away from the central portion of the mountain range, you will come across the vast and flat San Luis Valley in south-central Colorado. Alamosa County (Alamosa), Rio Grande County (Del Norte), Saguache County (Saguache), Conejos County (Conejos), and Costilla County (San Luis, one of Colorado’s oldest towns) are all near the Great Sand Dunes. If you go east from the valley toward the New Mexico line, you will see Huerfano County (Walsenburg) and Las Animas County (Trinidad, Colorado’s largest county by area), as well as Custer County (Westcliffe) and Fremont County (Cañon City, near the Royal Gorge), rounding out the southern counties.
East of the Front Range, the map opens right up into a grid of big, sparsely populated farming and ranching counties covering the eastern plains. Follow I-76 toward Nebraska, and you pass Morgan County (Fort Morgan), Logan County (Sterling), Sedgwick County (Julesburg), and Washington County (Akron). Along the Kansas line to the northeast, Yuma (Wray), Phillips (Holyoke), Kit Carson (Burlington), Cheyenne (Cheyenne Wells), and Kiowa (Eads) counties fill out that corner of the state, while further south, Lincoln (Hugo), Elbert (Kiowa), Crowley (Ordway), Otero (La Junta), Bent (Las Animas), Prowers (Lamar), and Baca (Springfield) counties trace the Arkansas River corridor southeast toward Kansas and Oklahoma.
This map uses four rivers and one mountain spine to do most of the orientation work. The Rocky Mountains and the Continental Divide run roughly north to south through the middle of Colorado, splitting the Front Range and eastern high plains from the Western Slope. The South Platte River drains the northern Front Range and eastern plains, passing Denver, Greeley, and Fort Morgan along the way. The Arkansas River begins near the town of Leadville and flows south and east through Salida, Cañon City, and Pueblo before entering Kansas. The Colorado River rises in the high country around Grand Lake and flows west through Glenwood Springs and Grand Junction into Utah. The Rio Grande takes its rise from the San Juan Mountains, flowing in a southerly direction through the San Luis Valley and the towns of Del Norte and Alamosa before it enters New Mexico. If you take these four rivers and the Divide as your guide to the map, almost any county falls into place.
The development of new neighborhoods often changes established municipal boundaries, postal codes, and city designations. However, postal boundary mismatches rarely conform to the rules governing schools, courts, taxes, and ballots. County lines rarely move from their original location. A county-first map is less complicated than a road map and easier to use for everyday questions and long-term decisions. Have you ever found yourself pondering the county that Ordway or Walden, or any place, is in? When you look at the map, the solution immediately hits you; there will be no zip code checks. A roadmap can help one figure out that much, but not how Broomfield, Colorado’s newest and smallest county, was cut off from pieces of four earlier counties in 2001. Similarly, it won’t let you see that Denver is also a city and that both are coincident. A resident finds out which courthouse handles a title transfer. A traveler determines which mountain pass separates two ski towns. A student tries to learn how the 64 counties fit together. In every instance, a county-first approach is better than a messy turn-by-turn road map.
Most of the land in Colorado has a fairly consistent elevation, but one feature stands out where the mountain landscape has been ripped apart in order to create the state’s signature landform and watershed feature: the Rocky Mountains and Continental Divide. Once you gain knowledge of the routes of the South Platte, Arkansas, Colorado, and Rio Grande rivers, they are handy landmarks. For elevation, terrain, watersheds, and land-cover detail, see our Physical Map of Colorado.
Northeastern Colorado features a semi-arid climate, while the high mountain areas have a cold alpine climate. The Western Slope has a milder, high-desert climate. For the entire seasonal and biome breakdown, check out our Physical Map of Colorado.
Colorado has 64 counties, and the map shows every one as a colored block with its county seat labeled.
Denver, in the City and County of Denver, where the plains meet the Front Range.
County boundaries, county seats, and neighboring states, with a light road and interstate layer for orientation only.
The City and County of Denver is a consolidated city-county, so Denver's city limits and county limits are the same.
El Paso County.
Arapahoe County, though Aurora also stretches into Adams and Douglas counties.
In Larimer County along I-25 in northern Colorado.
In Pueblo County along I-25 in southern Colorado.
Denver, Jefferson, Adams, Arapahoe, Douglas, and Broomfield.
Summit (Breckenridge), Eagle (Vail), Pitkin (Aspen), Routt (Steamboat Springs), and San Miguel (Telluride).
Grand Junction is the seat of Mesa County on the Western Slope.
In La Plata County in the southwest corner of the state.
Gilpin County, a historic mining town in the mountains west of Denver.
Teller County, near Pikes Peak southwest of Colorado Springs.
In Chaffee County, along the upper Arkansas River.
In Lake County, the highest incorporated city in the United States.
Moffat, Routt, Jackson, Larimer, Weld, Logan, and Sedgwick.
Sedgwick, Logan, Phillips, and Yuma.
Yuma, Kit Carson, Cheyenne, Kiowa, Prowers, and Baca.
Baca County, in Colorado's southeast corner.
La Plata, Archuleta, Conejos, Costilla, Las Animas, and Baca.
Moffat, Rio Blanco, Mesa, Montrose, San Miguel, Dolores, and Montezuma.
No. Montezuma County touches Arizona only at the single Four Corners point, alongside New Mexico and Utah; no true boundary line exists.
Las Animas County, at about 4,773 square miles.
The City and County of Broomfield, at about 34 square miles, also Colorado's newest county, established in 2001.
El Paso County, home to Colorado Springs, which has overtaken Denver County as the state's most populous county.
Hinsdale County, with roughly 750 residents.
Arapahoe County, established in 1861 as one of the Colorado Territory's original 17 counties.
Denver, followed by Colorado Springs and Aurora.
About 103,642 square miles, making it the eighth-largest state by area.
I-25 running north to south, I-70 running west to east, and I-76 connecting Denver to the Nebraska line.
The South Platte River.
The South Platte, Arkansas, Colorado, and Rio Grande rivers, each anchoring a different region of the state.
No. ZIP code boundaries do not always match county lines, so use the county boundaries and seats shown here instead.
No. Printing or copying maps from this site is not permitted.
Physical Map of Colorado
Physical map and map image of Colorado.
Vegetation Map of Colorado
Vegetation map of Colorado, showing arid and watershed locations of the state.
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