There are a lot of books out in the wild about how to prepare, train, gear up, plan, survive or whatever for outdoor recreation. Some are pretty dense, some overly simplistic, some used as disguises to promote a line of products the author wants you to buy – and some are pretty good. My experience […]
As beautiful as Colorado is during the day, some of its real beauty comes out at night, when the state’s legendary dark skies really open up. I wrote about Colorado’s nocturnal elegance in an article back in July of last year. A petition drive is underway as the first step in creating a new “Dark […]
Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) is asking the CPW Commission at its next meeting on March 4 and 5 for permission to charge out-of-state visitors 50% more for a state parks day pass. It is doing so with no real effort to gather public input and with little justification, other than because the agency seeks […]
As a freelance writer and podcaster, I get emails every week asking me to review a product (NO), or write about some poll or survey about the “best trails” in Colorado, or promoting some vacation resort (still NO), but my favorites are from publishers asking me to look at a new book. Sometimes, the book […]
Being able to hike around – all the way around – the circumference of America’s Mountain on an unbroken system of connected trails has been a dream of outdoor enthusiasts in the Pikes Peak region for decades. It’s a dream that has been stymied by multitudes of governmental jurisdictions and land managers, along with private […]
This time of the year is rife with traditions. Traditional religious and family rites to go with the various holidays and some societal traditions, too, such as making New Year’s resolutions. I don’t know how many people actually make New Year’s resolutions, and of those how many people are serious about them, but I’ll give […]
It’s the gift-giving season and many of us have someone who engages in outdoor recreation on their gift list. Whether they hike, run, cycle, hunt, fish, ride horses, or whatever else you can dream of, finding a gift for the outdoor recreationist on your list can be a challenge. Making things tougher is that the […]
A 45-minute drive down Highway 115, Cañon City is a great hub of outdoor recreation activities. Both the town and nonprofit group Fremont Adventure Recreation (joinfar.org) have created great recreational opportunities. I have visited and hiked in the popular South Canyon and Temple Canyon parks on the south side of town and the Royal Gorge […]
It’s virtually impossible to enjoy outdoor recreation in the Pikes Peak region without relying on the many nonprofit organizations that call the region home. Whether it is building trails or building community, or cleaning up messes left behind or taking care of others, or advancing the big picture view of area recreation or the smaller […]
This is the time of the year that local governments in Colorado are busy working on setting their budgets for the coming year. But actually, the budget process starts almost as soon as one budget is set, with preliminary work, such as determining which infrastructure or capital improvement projects hope to be accomplished or started […]
Early fall in Colorado is a time of transition. September is still shorts and t-shirt weather, wildflowers are still in bloom, and everyone seemingly waits with bated breath for the fall colors to change (see my previous column for the Pikes Peak Bulletin for my suggestions on where to go to see the changing aspens). […]
It’s mid-September, and in Colorado that means it’s leaf peeping season, when the quaking aspens turn gold before going to sleep for the winter. While there have been a lot of news media reports that fall colors are turning early, that doesn’t appear to be the case in the Pikes Peak region where there has […]
I first visited Colorado Springs in 1989 on a trip around the country, and like so many, was taken in by the beauty of the Pikes Peak region, and what I believe to be the crown jewel of the city parks system: the Garden of the Gods Park. Back then, the city population was about […]
Lost Lake is lost no more. Back in 2017, when I first hiked to Lost Lake, high up Cottonwood Pass west of Buena Vista, it was a “if you know, you know” destination. There was no officially marked trailhead, parking was at an unmarked pull-out on the road and there was not much of a […]
“Welcome to Colorful Colorado” greets everyone who enters the state on any of the major highways. The state’s colors inspired Katherine Lee Bates to write “America the Beautiful” after seeing the purple mountains majesty and amber waves of grain from the summit of Pikes Peak. Colorado is indeed colorful, and likely much more than Bates […]
Staunton State Park is a gem of a park that offers something for almost everyone. You can go cycling, horseback riding, hiking, tent camping, rock climbing, snowshoeing, cross-country skiing, fishing, and it is even dog-friendly (leashed, of course). There is history, wildlife, birding, grand views, ponds, and a spectacular waterfall. The park even offers a […]
Being in the mountains means that a lot of our trails are one-way, out-and-back kind of adventures. Or, at the very least, you hike a long way from one trailhead to another and then get a ride back to where you started, such as how many people do Pikes Peak, or the Lost Man Loop […]
Hikers can be creatures of habit, including yours truly. We have trails or parks we like and visit often, eventually knowing them like the backs of our hands. Sometimes this is due to convenience – you’ve only got a little bit of time for a hike, such as during your lunch break, or between work […]
