Wildflowers, endless trails, and rugged views draw tourists to the mountains in the summer. Knee-deep powder does the same in winter. And although high-country communities have largely accepted mud season (April through June) as a wash, they’re bolstering their autumn offerings to lure in some postsummer revenue. “Fall offers an opportunity to... MORE

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

I didn’t come here for a geology lesson. Steeping in Giggling Springs, on the banks of the Jemez River in northern New Mexico, churning hot water kneads my skin and drains my brain. Soon the only thought I can articulate is “this feels nice,” and I find that I’m not terribly curious about the subterranean plumbing that makes this spring so... MORE

Any woman will tell you there’s nothing sexy about waders. They’re not made for the female form—baggy around the midsection, with shoulder straps that don’t cinch tight enough, and close-fitting fabric from the knees to the ankles. But a man—like my husband, Matt, for example—will tell you a woman in waders is incredibly appealing. Not because she... MORE

On a crisp, sunny day in February, Mike Jackson rockets up the slope of Battle Mountain on a snowmobile, sliding around lodgepole pine trees, leaving clouds of exhaust in his wake. He stops often, pointing out areas he’d like to take a chainsaw to, so he can unveil the ski resort that he—and so many others—see hidden in the virgin terrain. He... MORE

A year ago, Andrew Fonseca was a 19-year-old gang member with a bleak future in Dallas. But when he woke up in the hospital after getting jumped this past summer, he was sent to Colorado to live with an uncle and to attend an alternative school. What happened next was unheard of in Fonseca’s circles: He joined the Rocky Mountain Youth Corps (RMYC... MORE

Bear dens smell good. I know that because I’ve just been in one, face up against a bear—headfirst, flat on my stomach—on a narrow, rocky outcropping. I was drenched in sweat, huffing, and thinking, Isn’t it supposed to stink in here? and I’ve never been happier. But my happiness was irrelevant. It was the bears’ well-being that was germane, which... MORE