Getting away from campus

The end of the semester is upon us and while it may be hard to imagine that you can get outside when you have been in the library for 24 hours studying, soon finals will be over. Therefore, why not spend some time outdoors in one of the various parks in Colorado.

Looking back down the Cataract Gulch Trail outside Lake City, Colorado

There are numerous ways to explore Colorado with a variety of organizations and the alphabet soup can be overwhelming. So here is an attempt to provide you with some of the places to go to find information on parks in Colorado.

Local Area Open Spaces

• Boulder City Open Spaces Enjoy walking at Chautauqua or checking out Boulder Falls? These are all Boulder City open spaces and this web site gives you trail maps, closures, and information on pet restrictions.
• Boulder County Open Spaces Did you know that Boulder County overseas almost 98,000 acres of open space? Not all open space is trails, some of it is used for agricultural purposes. Check out the breakdown of the acreage and find maps, trails and much more on this site.

Statewide Resources

• Colorado State Parks With the abundant local and federal resources you may not have explored the 42 state parks we have here in Colorado, but these parks give you access to boating, fishing, and beautiful trails.
• National Park Service: Colorado There are 13 national parks in Colorado (I've only been to 7 of them), scattered from the eastern plains to the Utah border. This web site gives you information on trails, history and much more on each park.
• National Forest Service: Colorado The Forest Service manages 13 national forests in Colorado, including the Arapho and Roosevelt National Forests here on the front range. If you don't know the name of your favorite national forest, check out this interactive national map.
• Bureau of Land Management: Colorado Last, but not least, is the BLM. The BLM in Colorado manages 8.3 million (yes, million) acres in Colorado. The picture above was taken on a BLM managed trail and their field offices provide detailed and useful trail descriptions across Colorado.

Still looking for more information? Check out the library's guide to parks, forests, grasslands, wildlife refuges, and historic places.