the colorado insider - Recently Updated Pages

Mesa Verde

shane4x4 — Fri, 15 Dec 2006 10:18:41 CST

Mesa Verde National Park
-Contributed by Roy Hall
This National Park highlights the location where the ancestral Pueblo people lived for nearly 700 years. This National Park is home to over 4,000 archeological sites and 600 cliff dwellings. This park offers the chance to see some of the best preserved archeology of this kind in the United States. Mesa Verde Located in Southwestern Colorado near the town of Cortez.
Visitor Information
(970)529-4465

Great Sand Dunes

shane4x4 — Fri, 15 Dec 2006 10:17:38 CST

Great Sand Dunes National Park
-Contributed by Roy Hall
The recently created National Park has the tallest sand dunes in North America. On November 22, 2000 Congress passed the Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve Act immediately transferring 42,000 acres to the National Park Service.
This park offers the opportunity to have fun hiking, sliding, playing or just the pleasure of seeing such a unique and scenic area. The park strives to protect the natural alpine tundra, streams, dunes and grasslands. This park is one of the most biologically and geologically diverse parks in the United States. This park is located in the San Louis Valley Between Blanca and Alamosa, Colorado off Hwy 160.

National Parks & Recreation Areas

shane4x4 — Fri, 15 Dec 2006 10:14:03 CST

There is no abstract available for this page revision.

Denver Metro

shane4x4 — Fri, 15 Dec 2006 10:10:24 CST

The Denver Metropolitan Area is the largest area in Colorado, in terms of area as well as population.
Denver is very similar to virtually every large city, there are plenty of things to do in and around the city. The difference is, the Rocky Mountains are always visible, and just a short drive away.

Some of the major attractions in the Denver area are:

Professional Sports Teams
Performing Arts
Colorado Convention Center
Six-Flags - Elitch Gardens Amusement Park

Some exciting cities/towns in the Denver area....

Golden

Where Angie & I were married
Excellent Coors Brewery Tour

Boulder

Home of the University of Colorado, and Mork & Mindy

Lakewood

At the foothills of the Rocky Mountains

Golden

shane4x4 — Fri, 15 Dec 2006 10:09:51 CST

Things to Do:

Coors Brewery Tour
-Courtesy of Roy Hall
This free 40 minute tour shows how the Coors Brewery manufactures and packages its products. The Coors Brewery has been a Colorado company since 1873. One of the highlights of this tour is that you can sample all of the Coors products for free at the end of the tour. Some of the products that Coors now manufactures are Coors, Coors Light, Blue Moon, the Zima Products and the now Coors owned Molson Beer products.
Mon - Sat: 10AM - 4PM (closed Sunday & major holidays).
13th & Ford Streets, Golden
(303) 277-BEER - Tour Info
(866) 812-2337

Adventures & Expeditions

shane4x4 — Tue, 12 Dec 2006 14:24:24 CST

Colorado is a great place for adventures & expeditions.

When we're out in the mountains, we usually do many different activities over the span of a few days, some of these include:
-Hiking
-Climbing
-Fishing
-4 Wheeling
-Horseback riding

The list can go on and on. One thing we're real big on is 'loops'.

While traveling throughout the state, we really enjoy going in 'circles' or 'loops'. While we certainly don't mind an 'out-and-back' trip to see a beautiful mountain lake, we generally prefer to find a route that forms some type of loop, to avoid back tracking.

Home

shane4x4 — Tue, 12 Dec 2006 10:37:17 CST

"the colorado insider "

is an independent site for news and information regarding tourism, travel, and adventure throughout Colorado.
Our goal is to provide impartial, independent information about all things Colorado. Just some of the Outdoor Adventures we'll be informing you on are:

Off-Roading / 4 Wheeling
Mountain Biking
Snowboarding & Skiing
Hiking, camping, & backpacking
Information on Cities & Towns
Interesting information and handy links you'll find useful if traveling to Colorado for ANY reason.

Use the navigation on the upper left site to visit all of our sections.

I'd like to invite anyone that has a love for Colorado to help out. It's beneficial if you're a resident of CO, but if you're not now, but have been in the past - I'd love a helping hand! You can contact me by registering on wetpaint and looking up my information.

First Pic:
The Gore Range, North Central Colorado

SnowSports

shane4x4 — Mon, 11 Dec 2006 14:57:35 CST

Colorado is home to some of the best snow in the world. Locals call it 'Champagne Powder'. Something about the way the snow falls here - dry, soft, fluffy - makes it amazing for any type of snowsports.

Angie & I prefer snowboarding, although she's an expert skier. We've had passes to a few different places in the state, but we're currently Monarch pass holders.

With over 25 ski resorts and thousands of acres of back country access - there's definetly something for everyone during the beautiful Colorado winters.

Pikes Peak

shane4x4 — Mon, 11 Dec 2006 14:49:53 CST

Also known as "America's Mountain", Pikes Peak is one of the most famous mountains in America. Standing at 14,110 feet, it towers over Colorado Springs and truly defines our area.

There are many ways to explore Pikes Peak:

Hike Barr Trail - 13 Miles one-way

You should be in fairly good physical shape to attempt this
Leave early, you'll want to be at the top by early afternoon, to avoid thunderstorms

Ride the Cog Railroad

It's a little expensive, but it's the easiest & most enjoyable way to visit the Peak

Drive up to the top

Use extreme caution! It can be a little nerve racking
Use your low gears to come back down, overheated brakes fail!

Off-Roading

shane4x4 — Mon, 11 Dec 2006 14:39:49 CST

"Off Roading" or "4 Wheeling"is one of MY favorite activities in Colorado. With THOUSANDS of miles of trails, forest roads, and scenic mountain passes - wheeling is one of the best ways to experience Colorado!

Probably the best way for a visitor to find some of the roads & trails in Colorado, is by purchasing one of the many 4x4 road guides that have been written about our state.

Here is an Amazon search for Colorado 4x4 Books
For online research, with lots of great info - check out traildamage.com & 4x4trails.net

Be sure to check out the rating system on these sites, don't attempt a trail that you may not be ready for

We're working on building a wheeling club that focuses on the scenery, not destroying your vehicle. For more info, visit us: 15ers4x4.org

There are rules in 4wheeling, common courtesies that you will definitely want to follow, to ensure your experience is very enjoyable.

Stay on defined trails, don't try to blaze a new road through the woods
Don't litter!
Leave everything as you found it

Feel free to pack out any trash that you may find laying around

Watch for blind curves, and tight spaces - many roads are wide enough for only one vehicle
When traveling on a grade, the uphill traveling vehicle has the right-of-way

It's much easier for the downhill traveling vehicle to backup, and to get going again once stopped.

For a full article on "Trail Etiquette", visit this story on About.com

Colorado Springs

shane4x4 — Mon, 23 Oct 2006 14:42:32 CDT

America The Beautiful

I've lived in Colorado Springs (C. Springs, The Springs) for over 10 years now. I knew the first day that I layed eyes on Pikes Peak, Garden of the Gods, and the rest of the area - that I'd found home.

The Springs area has some of the most interesting 'tourist traps' in Colorado. There are many places to stay, and unique wonders to visit. The Springs annually attracts over 6 million visitors, and while we have over 50 major attractions for people to see - my focus will begin with the X 'big ones', at a future point in time, I'll get details on some of the 'less known' places to visit while in The Springs.

The MAJOR Colorado Springs Attractions:

Pikes Peak - "America's Mountain"
The US Air Force Academy
Garden of the Gods
Seven Falls
Royal Gorge Bridge (A short drive from The Springs)
Cliff Dwelling Museum (Next door in Manitou Springs)
Cave of the Winds (Also in Manitou Springs)
The Cheyenne Mountain Zoo
The Broadmoor Hotel
US Olympic Training Center

As I mentioned, these are the 'Major" attractions. Soon I'll have links & info on many more of the fabulous places to visit in Colorado Springs

Pikes Peak Region Camping

Hiking

shane4x4 — Sat, 29 Jul 2006 12:56:10 CDT

Looking for a hike? Colorado has it!

There are thouasands of miles of excellent hiking trails in Colorado. The first question is - where will you be starting from? The second: How long do you want to hike?

I'll begin building a list of the Top 10 Day Hikes for each of these areas:

Denver
Colorado Springs
Ft. Collins
Summit County

More areas will be added later, but these will get you started.

I'll rate the hikes using the Easy-Moderate-Difficult system from 'Mikes Hikes' to rate all the hikes I list in this area.

The Ultimate High - Colorado's "14ers"

If you're looking for the ultimate high when hiking in Colorado, you may consider hiking one (or many) of Colorado's "Fourteeners".
A Fourteener is a mountain peak that rises to an elevation above 14,000 feet. Colorado has over 50 of them!

I found a great article on what it takes to successfully climb a 14er. Check it out!

Colorado Springs Hiking

shane4x4 — Wed, 26 Jul 2006 12:33:53 CDT

In-City Parks

Palmer Park
Ute Valley Park
Foothills Trail
Bear Creek Park
Cheyenne Canyon Park

Day Hikes

Horsethief Falls

Easy
Great canyon hike
1.85 Miles Round-Trip
Full details

Longer Hikes

Colorado Resorts

shane4x4 — Sun, 23 Jul 2006 13:19:15 CDT

Click for a map with some of the resorts on it (soon I'll have all of them, with good info)
here's the list:

A-Basin » Summit County
Aspen Highlands » Aspen, CO
Aspen Mt. » Aspen, CO
Beaver Creek » Eagle County
Breckenridge » Breckenridge, CO
Buttermilk » Aspen, CO
Copper Mt. » Summit County
Crested Bte. » Crested Butte/Gunnison, CO
Durango » Durango, CO
Eldora » Nederland, CO
Howelsen » Steamboat Springs, CO
Keystone » Keystone, CO
Loveland » Loveland Pass
Monarch » Monarch Pass
Powderhorn » Mesa, CO (Grand Junction)
Silverton Mtn » Silverton, CO
Ski Cooper » Leadville, CO
Snowmass » Aspen, CO
Solvista » Granby, CO
Steamboat » Steamboat Springs, CO
Sunlight » Glenwood Springs, CO
Telluride » Telluride, CO
Vail » Vail, CO
Winter Pk. » Winter Park, CO
Wolf Crk. » Wolf Creek Pass

Until I can get a good picture up, here's the link to a good map on the Colorado Ski web site...

Rivers & Rafting

shane4x4 — Tue, 11 Jul 2006 13:17:19 CDT

Colorado is home to many wonderful rivers and river activities.

The Colorado
The Arkansas
The Gunnison

There are many companies that provide rafting services. It is always reccomended that you use a properly trained guide.

Mountain Biking

shane4x4 — Tue, 11 Jul 2006 00:03:10 CDT

One of the most genuine "mountain" sports is, of course - mountain biking.

Colorado is home to thousands of miles of trails for the biking enthusiast.
Not a mountain biker? No worries, there are plenty of places to rent bikes.

One of the best adventures you will ever find is biking down one Colorado's many ski resorts. With a realtively low cost rental, and a lift ticket - you are hauled to the top of the mountain, and on your way down!

Camping

shane4x4 — Sat, 08 Jul 2006 12:53:54 CDT

Perhaps one of the best activities to do in Colorado is Camping. Here are some stats for Colorado:

13 National Forests & Grasslands
Over 17 Million Acres of National Forest & Grasslands
Over 8 Million Acres of BLM Land
255 National Forest Camgrounds
6221 National Forest Campsites
42 State Parks
9 National Parks & Monuments
Over 50,000 Acres of National Wilderness (Wilderness Area Definition)
COUNTLESS places to pull off & camp

Making it Happen

Once you've decided on a place, you'll need to think about a few other things:

Travel plans

How will you get to the site? Does your vehicle have the capability to get to the spot you've selected?

Safety
Equipment

Backpacking

shane4x4 — Sat, 08 Jul 2006 12:50:37 CDT

One of the best ways to experience the Colorado backcountry is on foot - Backpacking

With thousands of miles of pack-only trails, it's easy to get off the beaten track, and truly find Colorado Beauty.

When it comes to backpacking, there are a few things you'll need to keep in mind:

Ability
Safety
Equipment
Location

Pikes Peak Region

shane4x4 — Thu, 29 Jun 2006 14:14:05 CDT

The Pikes Peak Region has much to offer to the camper. In addiiton to to the DOZENS of National Forest (NF) Camgrounds, there is plenty of national forest and BLM land that you can camp at.

Some of my favorite places to camp are:

Buffalo NF Camground

This is a great little campground near Bailey, CO
The area has great views, wonderful forests, and plenty of hikes
There are many places to camp besides the NF campground

The Crags NF Campground

At the base of Pikes Peak (on the 'back side')
Wonderful views, and some excellent hikes
Relatively close to Cripple Creek, Woodland Park, and Colorado Springs
Link to the NF Camground site

Rosemont Reservoir Area

This one is a little bit of a drive to get to - but well worth it
Not an official NF campground
MANY sites to camp in this area
The surrounding area has dozens of back-country roads to drive
Here's Google Map of the area

I'll be adding more places in the future, check back often!

Our Jeeps

shane4x4 — Wed, 28 Jun 2006 00:35:12 CDT

Here will be info on our Family Jeeps

Shane4x4's Jeep

2001 Jeep Cherokee Sport

Angie 4x4's Jeep

1998 Jeep Grand Cherokee Limited (5.9L)