Things to do / Travel Guide
Head to the eastern Colorado and Wyoming Rockies for an experience in some of the greatest of the great outdoors. Civilization and nature never got along better, as six great cities in the region, starting with Denver and including Boulder, Colorado Springs, Fort Collins, Laramie, and Cheyenne, revel in their closeness to some of the greatest outdoors activities in the country.
The eastern Rockies, also called the Front Range, so mighty and high, stretch all the way from Colorado Springs in the south to Cheyenne and Laramie in the north, with Denver lying smack in the middle. The range contains six members of the Fourteeners Club - those mountains whose peaks loom above 14,000 feet; and there are an additional 15 that peak above 13,500 feet. Many of these are snow-covered throughout the year, and leave the timberline a distant memory several thousand feet below.
Your mission: absorb the Rockies every which way you can, by hiking and biking, by climbing and kayaking, by fishing its streams and rivers, or by ballooning over and skiing down. And when you're all done, hike some more.
Outdoor Sports and Recreation in Denver, Colorado
You can choose from a selection of scenic hiking trails and bike paths - right in Denver itself, as places like Chatfield Lake provide views of the Rockies looming not-too-distantly to the west. Chatfield is also famous for its ballooning opportunities, by the way, in which you can rise a mile above the ground for views from prairie to mountain unimaginable by land.
Outdoor Sports and Recreation south of Denver, Colorado
Down in Colorado Springs is the famed Garden of the Gods, which looks like, well, a garden of rock formations tended by and for the gods. The gods must enjoy biking! It's probably the best way to experience the Garden, as only this sport can provide the combination of awesome viewpoints with a speed and sense of treachery that goes along with it.
Outdoor Sports and Recreation west of Denver, Colorado
Boulder could be likened to the Shangri-La of the Rockies, a mythical place where people are perpetually happy, and thankful for the fresh, clear air. You'll be, too, surrounded by mountains of utter grandeur, in which opportunities to fish, bike, and hike abound. Bike the Boulder Creek Bikepath, which affords a good exposure of the picturesque mountain city itself, then fish for trout in Boulder Creek and hike in the area of Gregory Canyon and Saddle Rock.
If you haven't yet heard of Estes Park, then listen up: the town is heaven for lovers of the outdoors, with countless hiking, driving, and biking routes. For instance, if you want a good biking trail, try the Estes Park Loop, which affords priceless views of the Mummy Range. For the best hiking in the area, head to Glacier Gorge, where the wildflowers sparkle and waterfalls cascade into alpine lakes clear as crystal.
If you think the fun stops with Estes Park, then you must not be taking Rocky Mountain National Park into account. The mountains in this area, including Mt. Evans and Longs Peak, are some of the whitest, mightiest, highest, and rockiest you'll ever see in the United States. The area is good for the usual hiking, biking, and fishing, but here the unique draw is climbing.
Climbing is actually an umbrella term for all kinds of climbing - up a cliff, bouldering across rocks big and small, and mountaineering. If these extreme sports tickle your fancy, you might want to throw yourself at the cliffs of Lumpy Ridge, or the buttresses of Hallett Peak.
Those heights making you crave solid ground? Then the landlubber in you might be ready for some kayaking, and the Cache la Poudre River and the lakes around Fort Collins are just the thing. On the Cache la Poudre, in the canyon of the same name, you'll find plenty of opportunities for sea kayaking as well as white-water excitement. The lakes around Fort Collins, as far as the Red Feather Lakes and as close as Horsetooth Reservoir, are the region's answers for the need to commune alone with nature on a gently-floating watercraft.
Towards the south side of the region, the white water beckons on the Arkansas River. Be one of the 300,000 a year to brave the waters, with views of a number of Fourteeners, and routes tailored for the beginner as well as for the expert. Places you won't want to miss are Royal Gorge and Brown's Canyon.
Outdoor Sports and Recreation east of Denver, Colorado
While the eastern Rockies aren't as well known for skiing as the western Rockies, you'll still find great opportunities for the alpine sport. Try SolVista, a premier ski resort, or Winter Park, one of Colorado's largest and ideal for snowboarding.
Oh, have we mentioned golf? Try driving a nine iron at Grand Elk Ranch and Club, on the western side of Rocky Mountain National Park, at 8,000 feet, or in the lap of luxury at the Broadmoor, one of the highest-class resorts in the U.S., in Colorado Springs.
Is that all this region has to offer?
Certainly not, as there's also hiking in the Indian Peaks Wilderness Area, kayaking on Dowdy Lake, biking on the Peak-to-Peak Highway, boating in Curt Gowdy State Park near Cheyenne, skydiving in the Front Range, fishing in the South Platte River, hiking Pikes Peak, biking in Colorado Spring's Palmer Park, and cross-country skiing in Estes Park. Happy now?
Outdoor Recreation in Denver, Colorado Springs, Boulder, Cheyenne Wyoming and the Eastern Rockies
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