You can leave downtown Denver and arrive in spectacular Summit County, which harbors ski areas, miles of bike trails, a huge lake with marina, miles of blue-ribbon flyfishing, in an hour flat. Or if you travel in another direction, Rocky Mountain National Park is about two hours away. And the scenery is spectacular. By mid-September, the aspen at higher elevations are starting to change from green to gold. Tentatively scheduled are tours that will illustrate dendrochronological field techniques, harvesting techniques being used to address the massive blowdown at the Routt National Forest, and agency efforts to deal with forest disturbance along urban-wildland interfaces.
Few cities can match Denver's ready access to wild places.
For example, Denver is home to the Denver Mountain Park System, which consists of 14,000 acres scattered over an area of 380 square miles. Of those 14,000 acres, more than 8,000 comprise 31 named parks. The remaining acreage is comprised of 16 unnamed wilderness areas, including 20 mountaintops. In addition, the park system also contains 22 miles of forest roads, more than 16 miles of marked hiking trails, two bison herds, and one elk herd. Also, the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Area, located in the midst of Denver's suburbs, is one of the largest urban wildlife areas in the United States, while Brown's Park in western Colorado provides a unique combination of wildlife, solitude, scenery, and Western history.