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Hello !
The time has never been better to take a Colorado vacation. As locals, we sometimes forget how lucky we are to live in a place most people dream of visiting. While others are wishing they were here, you can be hiking Mount Evans, spending the afternoon with your kids rafting the Colorado River or enjoying a frosty beverage with your friends at a local festival. Take time for yourself and your family, get out and explore your home state and rediscover all the reasons you’re proud to call it home. To help you get started, check out this month’s newsletter for trips and tips on in-state travel. We’ve created hundreds of vacation ideas and compiled statewide vacation deals and packages.
Now get out and start exploring!
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Hiking Colorado’s National Parks and Monuments
Hiking Colorado’s National Parks and Monuments: The time has never been better to get out and travel Colorado. This summer, explore your own backyard and create lifelong family memories without breaking the bank. Plan a trip to one of the state's national parks and monuments and spend the afternoon bonding over a hike and a picnic lunch, while enjoying Colorado’s amazing scenery and wildlife. Whether you're interested in fossils, geology or ancient civilizations, Colorado’s national parks and monuments simply can’t be missed. Here are just a few to visit:
• Florissant Fossil Beds: People have been visiting these fossil beds since the 1870s --and one trip here will show you why. Groves of petrified redwood forests and thousands of fossilized insects populate this national monument. Although the Florissant Fossil beds are relatively lush and green today, roughly 35 million years ago volcanic eruptions covered this area in ash and lava, encasing plants and animals in preserving stone. Up to 1,500 different kinds of fossilized insects have been found here, making it one of the most diverse insect fossil sites in the world.
• Canyon of the Ancients National Monument: This culturally rich area holds the distinction of having the highest density of archaeological sites in the country. Come for the Ancestral Puebloan history and stay for the unspoiled land of Colorado’s high desert. It’s not everywhere that culture, history and pure nature can mingle so well. This monument is perfect if you want to get away from it all and enjoy the outdoors.
• Great Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve: There's nowhere else in the United States where mountains of sand stand higher than in the Rocky Mountains. The tallest dune towers 750 feet high, at an elevation of 8,700 feet above sea level. The entire dune field itself encompasses 30 square miles. Aside from the dunes, you'll find abundant hiking opportunities, sandboarding (snowboarding on the sand dunes), a great four-wheel-driving trail along the challenging Medano Pass and excellent camping.
• Rocky Mountain National Park: A tribute to the grandeur of the Rocky Mountains, this park encompasses the pure and natural beauty of the region. With high-mountain lakes and streams, peaks more than 14,000 feet high, thick evergreen forests and thousands of acres of wildlife, this park conjures up what most people imagine when they think of the Rockies. Enjoy free guided hikes with park rangers and keep your eyes peeled for cool Colorado wildlife. To learn more about exploring your own backyard, visit www.colorado.com for tips and ideas.
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Whitewater Rafting in Colorado:
A Family Affair
For an unforgettable family getaway, try whitewater rafting on one of Colorado’s sparkling rivers. Throughout the rafting season, which typically lasts from April through September, families can enjoy a variety of rafting opportunities. Professional outfitters offer guided trips specifically tailored for the young to the young at heart -- including everything from adrenaline-pumping whitewater rapids to mellow float trips. It is the perfect way for parents, grandparents and kids to share an adventure-travel experience.
Head to the Upper Colorado River and enjoy unique area attractions, such as natural hot springs, old stagecoach trails and dinosaur tracks. The Ruby and Horsethief Canyons on the Colorado River offer spectacular scenery, including rock art and cool wildlife viewing opportunities. Keep your eyes peeled for bighorn sheep, bald eagles and more. The “beginner section” of Clear Creek, taking rafters through the historic Idaho Springs mining district and the lower Dolores River, near Gateway, showcases red-rock canyon country.
For a total family escape, a number of rafting outfitters have created special rafting packages that include not only a great trip down the river, but a number of other outdoor adventures as well. Everything from a half day of rafting coupled with a two-hour horseback ride, to “float and fishing” trips. There are even raft-n-rail trips that include a ride on one of the state’s scenic and historic trains or rivers and trails packages that offer a four-wheel-drive tour.
For more tips and ideas on rafting in Colorado, visit www.croa.org.
 
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FEATURED EVENTS:
FIBArk Whitewater Rafting Festival (Salida) June 18-21, 2009: FIBArk (First In Boating on the Arkansas) is America’s oldest and boldest whitewater festival. Now in the 61st year, FIBArk continues to draw international competitors and thousands of visitors to Salida every year to kick-off the whitewater rafting season. Visitors learn about the history of the area and the festival while enjoying a variety of competitions, parades, a carnival, live music, great Colorado microbrews and much more. It is a great event that the whole family can enjoy. http://fibark.net
Greater Prairie Chicken Viewing Weekends (Wray) March 27-April 26, 2009: Each year, visitors from across the country head to Wray to watch the sun come up over the grasslands and to examine prairie chicken males as they participate in their unique courtship “dance,” and sound their booming courtship calls. Guided tours are made possible through a partnership between the Colorado Division of Wildlife (DOW), the Wray Chamber of Commerce, the East Yuma County Historical Society, the Wray Museum and local landowners. www.wraychamber.net/prairiechicken.html For more information on events and festivals happening across the state, visit http://www.colorado.com/DoEventsAndFestivals
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 TRIP GIVEAWAYS 
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Summer Rocks in Breckenridge
This summer, Breckenridge is offering the ultimate adventure getaway. Groups of four can stay in Breckenridge for four nights, take a half-day whitewater rafting trip in Browns Canyon, go on a two-hour ATV tour of the Ten Mile Range, experience a 1.5-hour horseback ride through the Rocky Mountains, take an authentic gold mine tour and ride bicycles down Vail Pass. The price is only $97 per person per night, $390 total per person. Package offered May 22 through October 4, 2009. www.gobreck.com
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Stay & Play Golf Packages in Grand Junction
It's the perfect time to book a Stay and Play Golf Package in Colorado's Wine Country! Grand Junction is home to five diverse golf courses, featuring lush green fairways that slice through the desert and elevated tee boxes with spectacular views of the Colorado National Monument and Grand Mesa. Packages start at just $130 per person. www.visitgrandjunction.com
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Hit a Home Run With the Hotel Teatro
Located within walking distance to Coors Field, Hotel Teatro, one of Denver’s highest-rated hotels, is just minutes from the big game. Get ready for the action with a tour of Coors Field, two Rockies baseball caps and transportation to Coors Field with the hotel’s “Hit a Home Run” package. Concierge can assist with tickets to the game. Package available through the 2009 baseball season for home games. Rates start at $185 on weekends and $229 on weekdays. Call 303.228.1113 or 888.727.1200. www.hotelteatro.com
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