Tag: Hiking
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Private 14er in Colorado opens hiking reservations
Reservations have opened to hike a privately owned 14,000-foot mountain in southern Colorado. The mountain is “like no other,” reads the billing on Cielo Vista Ranch’s website: “Culebra Peak offers a unique climbing experience. Unlike any other fourteener in Colorado, hiking impacts are largely absent — Culebra is essentially ‘untrailed.’” Unlike every fourteener sitting on public…
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Trail Talk: Combining forces, dollars can produce impressive results with Colorado land preservation
A recent announcement involving the preservation of open space in Colorado was rather startling. Denver Mountain Parks (DMP) and Jefferson County Open Space (JCOS) split the cost of a critical piece of property. As a result, they have created 4,000-plus acres of contiguous public land. The achievement is remarkable. Never before had these groups purchased…
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Quick guide to fall in Teller County: Scenic hikes, drives and attractions to visit
In Colorado, aspens prefer higher elevations. It’s no wonder they’ve found a pleasant home in “the City Above the Clouds.” That’s Woodland Park, situated near 8,500 feet. But when it comes to appreciating our favorite tree of fall, the opportunities extend far beyond town — far across the hilly forests and meadows defining this side…
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Colorado 14er hiking continues to drop, according to report
Compared with record numbers from 2020, it appears hiking has sharply dropped across Colorado’s biggest mountains. That’s according to Colorado Fourteeners Initiative, which recently released its annual estimates of “hiker use days,” the nonprofit’s term representing an individual at a peak on a given day, aiming to be more accurate than the term “hikers.” (“Anecdotally…
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Alongside unlikely team, Colorado teen in wheelchair summits Pikes Peak
As day broke last Sunday, a train of people in purple shirts rose through the treeline of Pikes Peak, onward to the tundra and most critical juncture of a two-day journey. There were more than 50 of them, mostly strangers from Colorado Springs and beyond. They had met the day before at the head of…
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Great hikes for fall colors close to Colorado’s big cities
Come fall, Colorado’s city dwellers are quick to swap the concrete for nature’s glow. Except that doesn’t always happen so quickly. One often travels great distances, to great displays across the Continental Divide. But one doesn’t have to. Here are some great hikes within about an hour’s drive of the state’s two biggest cities. Denver…
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Femme Trek: Helping women feel more confident exploring the wilderness in Colorado
Rhonda McGwier’s family has been taking trips to Estes Park for the past 25 years. But last year, because of relocations and complicated schedules, the Dallas-Fort Worth resident found herself without anyone to go with her on the trip. Still, she felt determined to escape to the mountains. She had a goal in mind: Dream…
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Blind people are exploring Colorado’s state parks thanks to a new service
AURORA • Monique Melton cannot see, but Colorado’s outdoors call to her still. The singing of birds. The buzzing of bugs. The rustling of leaves on cottonwoods overhead. The water lapping against the shore. It’s a cloudy morning at Cherry Creek State Park, otherwise Melton would be enjoying another favorite sensation of nature: the sun…
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Happy Trails: A go-to for hikers, mountain bikers in Crested Butte
One of the Crested Butte area’s most popular trails grants you a modest summit with humbling views. Snodgrass Mountain isn’t among the most dramatic peaks around this destination town. But it is among the most accessible. And it grants you the signature scenery that people travel from afar to admire, including wildflowers and aspen groves…