life
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New trails open at Fishers Peak in southern Colorado
After years in busy Boulder and busier Denver, Juan Delaroca was looking for something else. In 2015, he found it driving through Trinidad near Colorado’s southern border with New Mexico – found it in the sight of a mighty flattop, Fishers Peak, which was privately held at the time. “I just kind of looked around and…
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Colorado’s Great Sand Dunes grows with land roamed by bison
Colorado’s Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve is now bigger. That’s thanks to the transfer of 9,362 acres of surrounding ranch land, as recently celebrated by Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland and National Park Service Director Chuck Sams during a visit to the San Luis Valley. The Nature Conservancy sold the large portion…
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Donation marks momentum for bike path along notorious highway in Colorado
Boulder County is one step closer to realizing a long-envisioned bike path along a popular, notorious roadway. Nonprofit Cyclists 4 Community recently announced a $30,000 donation to the county to help pay for a feasibility study that could pave the way for a bike lane along the North Foothills Highway. That’s the stretch of U.S.…
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Eating disorders in Colorado teens, young adults rose during pandemic
As the pandemic enveloped the globe in 2020, Emma Warford used her newly acquired free time to laser in on a destructive hobby – scrutinizing her caloric intake. Over the course of the next year that obsession, coupled with stressful activities, such as taking advanced placement and college classes, having a job and extracurricular hobbies,…
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Fees announced for overnights in popular wilderness of Colorado
Starting next year, you’ll have to pay to stay the night in some of Colorado’s most iconic, backcountry destinations. The U.S. Forest Service recently announced a permit program that will require a $10 fee per night per person staying in certain parts of the Maroon Bells-Snowmass Wilderness. That goes for hikers along the Four Pass…
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New Colorado state park could feature 80-plus miles of trail: Draft plan
A recently released draft master plan paints the picture of a state park under development in southern Colorado. Three years after Fishers Peak State Park was established, a document spanning 188 pages lays out a detailed proposal for the future of the 19,000-plus acres. That includes plans for hikers to finally reach the iconic, flattop…
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Colorado state park entrance fees will be waived Monday
Entrance fees at all 42 of Colorado’s state parks will be waived Monday to celebrate the state’s 146th birthday. Colorado Parks and Wildlife has offered free admittance to the parks in conjunction with the state’s birthday, or Colorado Day, for at least five years. Colorado Day was established in 1907 by the state Legislature and…
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Record spending reported at Colorado’s national parks in 2021
Visitors spent more money than ever at Colorado’s national parks in 2021, according to a government report. The annual report determined 7.8 million parkgoers collectively spent an estimated $560 million, with most of that going toward lodging, eating and filling up the gas tank. Those expenses and more supported 7,570 jobs in and around Colorado’s…
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Colorado study confirms: Outdoors were saving grace at start of pandemic
A new study out of the University of Colorado at Boulder provides empirical proof to claims heard widely at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic: The outdoors were a guard against anguish. Researchers surveyed 1,200 residents around Denver and rated depression and anxiety “scores” to draw correlations with time in green spaces. Among those who…
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Introducing Conor Hall, new head of Colorado Outdoor Recreation Industry Office
Colorado has a new face for its mighty outdoor industry. It’s a young one. It’s 32-year-old Conor Hall, who from his childhood mountain town of Crestone has gone on to accomplish an impressive amount in an early career. It has been a career in politics, most recently with The Trust for Public Land. For the…