In May, the trilling sound of the male broad-tailed hummingbird at dawn announces spring in the Rockies. At sunrise, the birds shoot over the dark treetops in dozens of valleys along the Front Range, letting the wind whistle through their wing feathers,...
Muscoco Mountain, above Cheyenne Cañon, is in the city's backyard and also far off the beaten path. The climb up a ridge to a rarely visited summit is a perfect half-day hike. To get there: From downtown Colorado Springs, take U.S. Highway 24 west...
This Monument-area classic winds through a hidden clutch of meadows where Monument Creek gets its start. This can either be done as a long bike loop or a there-and-back hike perfect for a picnic. Rating: Three boots. Four miles,...
After years of changing little, the world of backpacking stoves is suddenly roiling with high-tech, user-friendly cooking systems that boil water twice as fast as the competition and often are as easy to light as a kitchen stove. It's been a long time...
Anyone who has had a near-death experience thanks to the fast, downhill mountain-bike traffic on the Chutes Trail will appreciate the pedestrian-only Gold Camp Trail. To get there: Drive west on Cheyenne Boulevard to the entrance of North Cheyenne Cañon...
Tim Barnes is 49 years old and has two titanium hips, but it's not his age or his protheses that are the biggest obstacles to success in kayak racing. It's his inexperience. Barnes, a Pueblo native, took up sprint kayaking only two years ago, but this...
Nature and Pueblo may not be two words you associate with each other, but Pueblo's Nature Center Greenway is a lush, inviting trail perfect for family bike rides and spring birding. Rating: One to three boots, up to 12 miles of paved trail, almost no...
ARAPAHOE BASIN - If you want to have a beach party in Colorado, you'd better bring your own sand. And it helps to bring a lot. "I figured I needed about three tons," Jim Roberts said Saturday as he shuttled wheelbarrows of the stuff from a trailer in...
This rolling forest loop, which lopes through Fox Run Regional Park east of Monument, is a short hike good for families or a quick after-work jaunt. To get there: North of Colorado Springs, take the Baptist Road exit from Interstate 25. Go east four miles...