Tag: Castlewood Canyon State Park
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Castlewood Canyon State Park: A guide to visiting the park home to the ‘dam that flooded Denver’
Castlewood Canyon State Park is 2,628 acres and features 100 species of birds, 12 miles of trails, and 60 foot rock-climbing walls. There are two entrances to Castlewood Canyon. The main (east) entrance is off of Highway 83 about five miles south of Franktown. The west entrance is accessed from Castlewood Canyon Road off of…
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‘A great place for hiking’: Plan shaping for Lost Canyon between Colorado Springs, Denver
A plan is coming together for one of the newest, largest open spaces between Denver and Colorado Springs. Lost Canyon Ranch is the largest open space ever acquired by the town of Castle Rock — 681 acres on the southeast edge of town bordering a similar, rocky mosaic: Castlewood Canyon State Park. Privately held for generations,…
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Master plan shaping for canyon between Denver, Colorado Springs
A future vision is being shaped for a state park between Denver and Colorado Springs. A draft master plan for Castlewood Canyon State Park has been posted online, along with a survey for feedback and dates for upcoming meetings. One is virtual, slated for 6 p.m. Jan. 15. Another meeting will be held in person…
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Free entry to Colorado state parks for Fresh Air Friday
Colorado Parks and Wildlife claims the best deal for Black Friday: nothing to be bought, but the benefits of nature to be gained. It’s not Black Friday the agency recognizes, but rather Fresh Air Friday — free entry to the state parks the day after Thanksgiving. It’s the 10th year of the tradition in Colorado, providing…
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‘A miracle’ 30 years later: Advocates celebrate Douglas County open space program
Along Interstate 25 between Colorado Springs and Castle Rock, urban sprawl ends and land and sky prevail. Driving this stretch means more to some people. People like Mark Weston. He looks out to the cattle, out to the mesas and buttes along the way, out to the more distant mountains, and he feels proud. “That…
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‘A 36 million-year-old mystery solved’: Gem reveals secret to Castle Rock’s formation
One spring day last year, Mark Longman was hiking around Castlewood Canyon State Park with questions that mounted with every boulder and rock wall he passed. A career geologist and longtime Denver resident, Longman knew it to be conglomerate rock populating the park near Franktown. He knew the rock at Castlewood to be the same,…
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6 Colorado state parks we love for a First Day hike
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Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save Massachusetts is credited as the birthplace of a hiking tradition in 1992. That Jan. 1 morning, hundreds met at Blue Hills Reservation State Park with the idea of starting the new year right — with exercise and fresh air. So the tradition continues at state…
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Explore some of Colorado’s geologic wonders at these 5 state parks
Facebook Twitter WhatsApp SMS Email Print Copy article link Save Reservoirs are synonymous with Colorado’s state parks. It’s no wonder the government would seek to preserve those precious waters. But not to be overlooked are the geologic wonders at the center of some parks. Eldorado Canyon John Schroyer and Helen Davis begin their hike to…
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First Day Hikes planned at Colorado state parks to kick off 2022
Coloradans are invited to ring in 2022 with quality time at some of the state’s most cherished natural sites. Colorado Parks and Wildlife will offer guided tours in the tradition of First Day Hikes, an annual, nationwide celebration. American Hiking Society reports more than 50,000 start the new year by getting a deeper look at…
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Record visitation at Colorado state parks in 2020 spells ‘high-use’ fees
FRANKTOWN — Inside Castlewood Canyon State Park, where worldly troubles seem to float away with the creek and with the clouds out to snowcapped peaks beyond, a certain reality occurred to Trevor Girten. “Prices are only going up it seems,” he said Friday on his first hike of the new year. That was the case…