Tag: outdoors
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Colorado’s darkest skies and where to camp under them
For many Coloradans, the brightest memories are of camping trips under the darkest skies. That’s how DarkSky International knows those skies ー indeed dark and unblemished by light pollution, allowing the stars to twinkle in our minds long after the sun rises. As summer approaches and we make camping plans, here’s a guide to the…
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Lost Canyon set to open this summer, to be next great escape on Colorado’s Front Range
Trails are coming together around a hidden canyonland between Denver and Colorado Springs, soon to be realized after much anticipation. On the southeast edge of Castle Rock, Lost Canyon Ranch Open Space is set to open this summer. That was the word at an April town council meeting, which included an update on trail construction…
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Denver area recreation hub growing, ‘hidden in plain sight’ behind Red Rocks Amphitheatre
One of the Denver area’s most popular recreation destinations is growing. That’s after Jefferson County Parks and Open Space recently closed on 347 acres of historic ranchland adjacent to Matthews/Winters Park and Red Rocks Park and Amphitheatre. Braun Ranch has forever loomed in the near distance behind the famed venue, perhaps unbeknownst to concertgoers and…
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Heading outdoors? Find all the gear you’ll need and so much more at Scheels
1226 Interquest Parkwayscheels.com Pop in for some camping gear and ride the 65-foot Ferris wheel for a buck. And while you wait for your bike to get tuned, zone out to the sea life in the 16,000-gallon saltwater aquarium. Scheels is part shopping, part tourist attraction — all in a 225,000-square-foot space on the north…
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Incoming Colorado Springs parks director ponders big questions about funding, management
Skyler Rorabaugh grew up in rural Kansas, where his father worked as a postman and his mother waited tables. “They’d scrape together some money, and we would go on vacations to Colorado,” Rorabaugh said, “and I was just awe-inspired by the mountains.” Those trips deepened his love for the outdoors. And with a degree in…
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Going to Argo: What to know about scenic gondola, trails and more at new Colorado attraction
One day ahead of the much anticipated debut of the Mighty Argo Cable Car in Idaho Springs, Mary Jane Loevlie gave a tour to the man who would be emceeing the celebratory event. The two walked around the top of the gondola, around the attractions here at Miners Point, where the Continental Divide dazzles in…
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In the beginning was Waterton Canyon | Take a Hike
The CT Series is a special series of hiking articles about the Colorado Trail (CT) that runs from May through October. The CT is a unique and well maintained continuous trail, spanning 485 miles from Denver to Durango. The Colorado Mountain Club Guidebook to the Colorado Trail is an indispensable tool for planning and executing…
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In the beginning was Waterton Canyon | Take a Hike
The CT Series is a special series of hiking articles about the Colorado Trail (CT) that runs from May through October. The CT is a unique and well maintained continuous trail, spanning 485 miles from Denver to Durango. The Colorado Mountain Club Guidebook to the Colorado Trail is an indispensable tool for planning and executing…
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Plan outlines reservations, shuttles at popular trailheads near Colorado 14er, expanding ‘pay-to-play’ model
Under a recently approved plan, changes will be coming to a popular recreation area in Colorado’s central mountains. The U.S. Forest Service’s Southern Tenmile Recreation Access Project encompasses Quandary Peak and other highly sought destinations in the vicinity: lakes, waterfalls and trails reached via the Spruce Creek, McCullough Gulch and Blue Lakes trailheads outside Breckenridge.…
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Colorado ski area aims to expand parking amid growth, ‘public safety concerns’
Monarch Mountain celebrated a major terrain expansion this past ski season. Now operators want to expand parking. A proposal to add about 260 spots to Monarch’s upper Paradise parking lot was recently announced by the U.S. Forest Service, which is collecting public feedback as part of its standard decision making process. The proposed expansion is…