4:20 pm, Oct 22, 2012
The first snow in Colorado’s high peaks arrived mid-September, an annual sighting that prompted skiers and riders to dust off their gear and look toward the slopes in giddy anticipation. This came just weeks after Aspen/Snowmass, Alta, Jackson Hole, and Squaw Valley/Alpine Meadows announced an unprecedented deal: the Mountain Collective , a...
MORE
4:16 pm, Oct 22, 2012
It’s a colorado conundrum: By the time winter flurries put you in the mood for a hut trip, few spots remain in popular backcountry systems such as the 10th Mountain Division and Braun huts, which can book a year in advance. Now, a new option gives hut-trippers hope for a last-minute adventure: Vagabond Ranch Huts, located north of Granby, combine...
MORE
3:50 pm, Sep 20, 2012
1 - Coloradans have been advocating water conservation for close to a century. Sentiments long ago are strikingly similar to today’s mantras, like this streetcar ad from May 1936: “Water is Denver’s Greatest Natural Asset. Please Don’t Waste It.” 2 - When it was built in 1905, the Cheesman Dam was considered the highest dam in the world—...
MORE
3:45 pm, Sep 20, 2012
• Buffalo Peaks, Fairplay Less visited than the massive Collegiate Peaks to the west, the Buffalo Peaks provide solitude at much lower elevations—perfect for a more relaxed weekend backpacking excursion. Spot elk and bighorn sheep as you traverse the moderate 11-mile Buffalo Peaks Loop—start from the Rich Creek Trailhead—around beaver ponds,...
MORE
2:29 pm, Aug 27, 2012
The trail was uncharacteristically smooth, a thin dirt ribbon that gave my lungs and legs a welcome respite after the granite gauntlet I’d just run. But the next challenge lay ahead. Poking up through the ponderosas was a stone labyrinth that promised to bite at my wheels and test my grit.The assurance of technical mountain biking is precisely...
MORE
2:07 pm, Jun 26, 2012
As the sun goes to bed over Steamboat Lake, the landscape takes on a Monet-like quality. The sky and the water melt together in a blur of color and light that compels me to heed my husband’s advice. “Let’s leave everything in the car for now,” Ben suggests once we locate our campsite at Steamboat Lake State Park. I nod, grab only the camp chairs...
MORE
12:17 pm, May 22, 2012
ROCK CLIMBING: Still Learning Clear Creek Canyon West of Golden Sweeping vistas extend for miles as you approach Clear Creek Canyon on U.S. 6 heading west, where you’ll find a solid mix of easy and advanced routes. Using an area-specific guidebook (you can pick up Clear Creek Canyon Rock Climbs [2008] by Darren Mabe at any local...
MORE
5:24 pm, May 21, 2012
The State of New Mexico has coined the phrase “Land of Enchantment.” (Seriously. It’s printed on the state quarter.) But most Coloradans who travel south on I-25 don’t venture past Santa Fe to Albuquerque to find out what else might be enchanting about our neighbor to the south. Perhaps this is the result of a pervasive impression that Albuquerque...
MORE
5:01 pm, May 21, 2012
The numbers are startling: Pine beetles have decimated more than 1.5 million acres of forest in northern Colorado and southern Wyoming. Here’s your chance to do something about it. Help regenerate the valley’s lush landscape by volunteering for the third annual ReTree Steamboat (June 9). After a morning of planting—last year’s crews set 3,570...
MORE
4:58 pm, May 21, 2012
South Platte Park, Littleton Wander in search of bald eagles, red-tailed hawks, and great blue herons. The more adventurous can brave obstacles while kayaking or fish in one of five lakes along a restored floodplain previously mined for gravel. Red Rock Canyon Open Space, Colorado Springs Besides 80-plus climbing routes, history buffs can...
MORE
1:32 am, Apr 23, 2012
5280.com Exclusive: Images from May's Back at the Ranch.Take authentic ranch living, add upscale accommodations, chef-prepared cuisine, and countless outdoor activities and adventures, and you’ve got the makings of a Western guest ranch. Escape to one of these six dreamy destinations for a taste of the Old West—and the good life.4UR RanchCreede,...
MORE
6:45 pm, Feb 20, 2012
Drink Stop into the quaint Radda Trattoria for aperitivos and house-mixed peach bellinis, made with puréed white peaches and Prosecco. Stay for the view. 1265 Alpine Ave., 303-442-6100, raddatrattoria.com Dig Get your hands dirty (May through early June) at Long’s Gardens, where you can pick your own iris plants. The family-owned farm specializes...
MORE
11:02 pm, Nov 23, 2011
“There are no cool people here,” Greg Ralph tells me as we ride the Pioneer lift at Monarch Mountain. It’s a clear Colorado day, a rarity at these typically cloud-cloaked elevations. Monarch’s base area sits at 10,790 feet, the highest in Colorado, and the near-constant cloud cover means near-constant snow. These slopes, which funnel down the east...
MORE
2:57 pm, Sep 30, 2011
By Sarah L. StewartAttention, fall foliage hunters: The leafy clusters now turning parts of Rocky Mountain National Park a riotous shade of yellow are more than just a treat for leaf peepers. It’s a sign of progress in the park’s three-year battle to restore a balance between its dual autumn icons: the trees (aspen and riparian willow) and the...
MORE
12:39 pm, Jun 24, 2011
Somewhere along the 45-minute drive from Denver to Longmont, busy one-ways give way to county roads, and farms replace office parks. The view of horses roaming in grassy fields with tiers of fading-blue mountains in the distance would be ideal for a Front Range postcard. The town, which has turned into a commuting hot spot for Boulder, Denver, and...
MORE
