Topic
Outdoors and wildfire
Hunting and fishing rules, trails, rivers, camping, winter sports, dark skies, and wildfire risk and defensible space — the public-land side of Colorado life.
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Local notes
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Outdoors and wildfire
State Wildlife Areas near Pueblo are not the same as parks
Lake Pueblo SWA and Runyon/Fountain Lakes SWA offer fishing and wildlife recreation near Pueblo, but they require a hunting or fishing license or an SWA pass, not just a parks pass.
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Temple Canyon Park south of Cañon City is a rugged city park on Grape Creek
Temple Canyon Park is a city-owned natural area southeast of Cañon City along Grape Creek, reached by winding gravel roads and open dawn to dusk for camping and hiking.
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The Powderhorn Wilderness protects a vast stretch of flat alpine tundra
Northeast of Lake City, the Powderhorn Wilderness spreads across the Cannibal and Calf Creek plateaus, holding one of the largest stretches of gentle alpine tundra in the Lower 48.
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The Rio Grande cutthroat, the valley's native trout
The Rio Grande cutthroat trout is the San Luis Valley's own native trout, and a decades-long recovery effort has kept this homegrown fish swimming in the high streams it has always called home.
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The West Elk Wilderness is remote and closed to bikes and motors
The West Elk Wilderness is a large, lightly visited area where federal wilderness rules generally bar bicycles, carts, and motorized equipment.
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Bighorn sheep cross the road at Sheep Lakes in Rocky Mountain National Park
Bighorn sheep come down to Sheep Lakes in Horseshoe Park to lick mineral-rich mud, and the park manages a crossing area so the animals can reach it safely across the road.
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Buffalo Peaks Wilderness, near Fairplay, is quiet meadow country with bighorn sheep
On the southwest edge of the Mosquito Range, the Buffalo Peaks Wilderness offers walkable meadow-and-forest backcountry close to Fairplay and Hartsel, with one of Colorado's largest bighorn sheep herds and strict wilderness rules.
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Camping and swimming at Lake Pueblo come with a few real rules
Lake Pueblo State Park's campgrounds take reservations and stay open year-round, and the reservoir is cold-water for much of the year, so a little planning makes a visit safer and smoother.
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Horsetooth Mountain Open Space charges an entrance permit
Horsetooth Mountain Open Space, home to Horsetooth Rock and a seasonal waterfall, is a Larimer County open space that requires an entrance permit; the reservoir below it is a separate county park with its own rules.
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Lost Creek Wilderness, near Tarryall, is granite-dome country with wilderness rules
The Lost Creek Wilderness in eastern Park County is known for rounded granite domes and arches reached from Tarryall Road, and as designated wilderness it has stricter rules than ordinary forest.
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Low water can close boat ramps at Nee Noshe, so check before you launch
Water levels at Nee Noshe Reservoir in Kiowa County rise and fall enough that some boat ramps can be unusable, so boaters should confirm ramp conditions with Colorado Parks and Wildlife first.
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Manitou Lake: fishing yes, swimming no
Manitou Lake north of Woodland Park is a small Pike National Forest reservoir popular for family fishing, but body contact with the water is not allowed and a Colorado fishing license is required.
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McCullough Gulch trailhead also uses summer parking limits
McCullough Gulch, a waterfall-and-alpine-lake hike on the north side of Quandary Peak, falls under the same summer parking reservations and shuttle system as Quandary.
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Moose live in the high country around Cameron Pass
The willow valleys near Cameron Pass and the Laramie River, in far western Larimer County, are moose country, and these large animals deserve more distance and caution than most people expect.
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Moose now live in the high country near Lake City
Moose were brought to the upper Rio Grande region that includes Hinsdale County, and these large animals deserve plenty of space and quiet respect.
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North Clear Creek Falls is an easy stop on the Silver Thread, but only in season
North Clear Creek Falls has a developed overlook just off Highway 149 near Creede with paved parking and railings, but the access road is closed and snowed in for much of the winter and spring.
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Rabbit Valley: real dinosaur bones you can visit, but not collect
Off I-70 near the Utah line, the Trail Through Time and Mygatt-Moore Quarry let you see Jurassic dinosaur fossils in place on BLM land, where collecting vertebrate fossils is prohibited.
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Red Mountain Open Space closes in winter for wildlife and bans dogs
Red Mountain Open Space, a large area of red rock and grassland near the Wyoming line, is open only part of the year to protect wintering wildlife, and it does not allow dogs.
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San Luis Lakes is a State Wildlife Area, not a state park
San Luis Lakes is now a Colorado Parks and Wildlife State Wildlife Area with license or SWA-pass rules for most adult visitors.
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Summit Lake is a Denver park in the alpine, high on Mount Blue Sky
Summit Lake Park, a Denver Mountain Park near the top of Mount Blue Sky, sits in true alpine tundra where the weather and altitude need respect.
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The Devil's Backbone is a tilted rock fin west of Loveland
Devil's Backbone Open Space protects a hogback, a wall of sedimentary rock that the same forces that built the Rockies tipped on edge, and it is a popular trail area close to town.
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The Dominguez-Escalante NCA carries the Gunnison River past Montrose
The lower Gunnison River north of Montrose runs through the BLM's Dominguez-Escalante National Conservation Area, a red-rock float and hiking area that spans Montrose, Delta, and Mesa counties.
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The Grand Mesa holds hundreds of lakes for fishing and camping
The forested top of the Grand Mesa is dotted with lakes and reservoirs with national-forest campgrounds, where Colorado Parks and Wildlife sets the fishing rules and the Forest Service runs the campsites.
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The Grand Mesa is its own avalanche forecast zone in winter
The Colorado Avalanche Information Center forecasts the Grand Mesa as its own backcountry zone, so winter snowmobilers and skiers should check it before heading up.
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