Skyrim is a beautiful game, that is hard to dispute. However, the basic retail (or "vanilla") version of the game does leave much to be desired in today's gaming market. Here are just a few of the visual-enhancing mods that you can install to make your time in Skyrim more beautiful.

There are two primary ways to install modifications in Skyrim: the simplest (and safest) way is to subscribe to items in the Steam Workshop, which will automatically update and install when you launch the game. The second method is to install mods via the Nexus Mods community, which is a considerably more involved process, but also allows for a greater variety of superior enhancements to be made to your game.

Nexus Mods

While having to individually install mods step-by-step can be a tedious process, the Skyrim Nexus is a phenomenal resource for both experienced modders and newcomers alike. If you are new to modding games, or feel like you could use a refresher course, check out this excellent tutorial from YouTube user Gopher.

RealVision ENB

While there are many "ENB presets" out there for Skyrim, this one stands just a hair above the rest when it comes to relighting and refocusing your visual experience. To use the RealVision preset, you must first install [[1]] for Skyrim by Boris Voronstov.

Climates of Tamriel

By far the most popular environmental mod, Project Reality fully overhauls the game's atmospheric rendering to generate not only dynamic weather patterns, but helps modify your ENB preset's lighting patterns as well. There are also addional updates that add dynamic fog / snow and improves sunlight effects to further add to the immersive experience.

W.A.T.E.R.

The Water and Terrain Enhancement Redux, or WATER, replaces the grainy / low-res water textures of vanilla Skyrim with HD textures and effects to make Skyrim's rivers, lakes and oceans appear to flow just like the real thing.

Lush Trees

This mod does... well, exactly what the title implies. It takes the sparse trees and shrubs from the basic game and updates them to create fuller, more vibrant plant life throughout the game world.

Enhanced Distant Terrain 2

As with the original EDT, this mod improves upon the visual quality of distant objects and terrain (as the name implies). It adds over 6,000 LoD textures (Level of Detail) to the fields and mountains of Skyrim, so be prepared to spend lots of time just staring off into the distance.

HQ Towns and Villages

This mod replaces many of the textures and models found in the various towns and villages with lore-friendly, higher-resolution versions. While it may not seem like a drastic change, all of the little differences can (and do) add up.

Lightning During Thunderstorms

While it can be seen during thunderstorms throughout the game, there's never the satisfying CRACK of lightning striking the ground nearby. This mod adds in randomized lightning strikes during the game's thunderstorms, and even has a setting that can toggle whether or not they cause damage to characters.

Skyrim Total Enhancement Project

If you're feeling ambitious and have a lot of time to kill, then check out the Skyrim Total Enhancement Project, or STEP. It utilizes hundreds of mods, both for visuals and gameplay, in order to create a customized version of the perfect Skyrim experience. WARNING: For advanced (or at least highly dilligent) modders only.

Steam Workshop Mods

If you're uncomfortable editing your games files directly, the good news is that if you're a Steam user you have access to hundreds of mods that install with just a click of a button from the Skyrim Workshop.

High Resolution Texture Pack DLC

This free DLC from Bethesda does wonders for the "vanilla" version of Skyrim on it's own. A must-have for anyone who wants to play, much less mod, this game.

Vurt Floral Overal (Redux)

This mod replaces and enhances many of the plant and foliage textures found throughout the world, making for a much more lush environment as the Dragonborn walks through the woods.

Enhanced Towns and villages

This series of mods enhances the visual quality of the various towns and villages around Skyrim, from Riften to Falkreath to Whiterun. Each location will receive new light sources, NPCs, buildings and textures to further immerse players into their adventure.

Climates of Tamriel Lite

The "light" version of Project Reality: Climates of Tamriel still does wonders for the immersive experience throughout your playthrough by adding more than 506 new weather systems, as well as new sun / glare occurances and various cloud visuals.

Pure Waters

Pure Waters will greatly boost the visual quality of your experience by replacing some of the less-than-stellar water textures with it's overhaul of the colors, shorelines and transparency of the waters of Skyrim.