Colorado

We have done several projects in the Kentucky Placer, a narrow but critical piece of previously unprotected property between the town of Telluride and its glorious back country, running from Bear Creek Preserve to the famed Bridal Veil Falls along the south side of the valley.

In 2016, The Trust for Public Land protected the last piece of privately-held commercial property within Rocky Mountain National Park. Just down valley from the park’s entrance station on Fall River Road, the Cascade Cottages offered a rustic retreat for seven decades of park visitors.

In late 2009, The Trust for Public Land helped permanently protect a high mountain meadow in Chaffee County through conservation easement on this family-owned ranch.

The Trust for Public Land’s Colorado Community Trails Program (CCTP) is a new, innovative initiative aiming to foster a more connected, healthier, and economically thriving Colorado. Whether commuting to a nearby recreation destination, traveling to a neighboring community, or just enjoying the freedom of a close-to-home trail, trails promote healthier, connected communities. In partnership with Colorado communities, we will secure corridors and build trails that enhance connectivity and mobility, expand recreational access, and improve quality of life for all Coloradoans.

For many people, Colorado is synonymous with beauty, and despite its growth, the state continues to offer many wild landscapes that people treasure for self-renewal and enjoyment. Both residents and visitors come to these places to hike, bike, camp, hunt, fish, and view wildlife.

Green space is in short supply in Denver's Westwood neighborhood. In fact, Curatro Vientos—or Four Winds—is the first new park in the area in more than 30 years.

In October 2005, The Trust for Public Land helped the owners of Dunn Ranch place a conservation easement over the property, which protects the land from development and ensures that the ranch's water will continue to be used for agricultural purposes.

Fisher’s Peak, southeast of Trinidad, Colorado, commands a presence at 9,633 feet, rising prominently from the rolling ranchlands that surround it. Visitors today can’t access the peak from Colorado. Instead, intrepid hikers must drive 30 miles to New Mexico’s Sugarite State Park and make a long, arduous hike to reach the peak.

This Greenprint identifies critical assets across the county and helps guide land conservation efforts to protect these working ranches and farms, clean rivers, scenic views, and places for recreation.

In 2000, this critical strip of land nestled between two designated wilderness areas near Aspen and Crested Butte was in jeopardy from development. Concerned about the threat to the area’s natural beauty and its importance for biological research, community leaders turned to The Trust for Public Land for help.

Virtually empty of people just a few years ago, the South Platte River Valley north of downtown Denver is projected to have 20,000 residents by 2035, nearly 20 times its current population.

The Trust for Public Land worked closely with the City of Aurora, the Hoffman Youth Community Center, and families and youth in the neighborhood to redesign and completely transform Jewell Park into asset for both the Hoffman Center programs and the surrounding community.

In June 2010, The Trust for Public Land purchased a large section of land on the edge of Crested Butte that had been owned by the local family since 1905. The conservation transaction was the largest in the town's history.

In December 2012, The Trust for Public Land bought the 1,038-acre ranch from the Marrs family, one of best sites in the world to study the K-T boundary—the sedimentary layer below which  evidence of dinosaurs can be found.

Adams County, northeast of burgeoning Denver, had been struggling to maintain farms and open space in the path of growth. In 1999, The Trust for Public Land helped county residents mount and pass a voter initiative that created a dedicated sales tax for the protection of open space.

Middle Bijou Creek Ranch, located just south of Deer Trail and 40 miles east of Denver, occupies an important role in a growing network of public and privately conserved agricultural and wildlife properties that serves to protect the western heritage of Arapahoe and Elbert counties.

We have been working with Denver nonprofit Environmental Learning for Kids (ELK) to transform 5 acres in the city's Montbello neighborhood into a restored natural area with native gardens, educational kiosks, walking trails, and interactive nature play spaces.

We're working to help renovate two parks in North Aurora, Colorado, that serve a growing population of families and children.

Ringed by 13,000-foot peaks, the Ophir Valley is one of the San Juan mountains' hidden gems. The Trust for Public Land protected more than 1,200 acres here, virtually all of the private land remaining in this still-pristine valley.

The Trust for Public Land is committed to preserving and creating parks, natural areas, and trails in our urban communities, particularly in Denver and along the Front Range.

The Trust for Public Land is proud to have played a part in the creation of the country's 548th National Wildlife Refuge, by working with two landowners to purchase the mineral rights underlying 460 acres of tallgrass prairie.

Central Colorado's Saguache Creek corridor has a rich history: once home to prehistoric peoples, it was also an important transportation route for the Ute Indians.

Much of our Parks for People-Denver program focuses on the South Platte River, where land that used to be taken up by industrial development is being offered for sale.

Located along the Collegiate Peaks Scenic & Historic Byway at the intersection of U.S. Highway 285 and U.S. Highway 24 just outside the Town of Buena Vista, the 186-acre Steel Ranch has been in ranching since the late 19th Century and has been passed down through several generations. With its substantial water rights and over a half mile of frontage on the Arkansas River, the Steel Ranch plays an important role in the agricultural, ecological and scenic heritage of the Upper Arkansas Valley, which has been documented by nationally renowned nature photographer John Fielder.

Scattered across 30 miles of river bottom from Gunnison to the doorstep of Gothic, the lands owned by Trampe Ranch are some of the most familiar, productive, beautiful, and scientifically significant in the Gunnison Valley.

From heart-pumping singletrack to peaceful mountain views, Ute Valley offers outdoor escape in easy reach. Not many folks know that half of this popular patch of wilderness is privately owned  and at risk of development.

This spectacular valley in south-central Colorado is one of the last remaining places where ranching is still the main way of life. Since 2000, we have spearheaded an ambitious and collaborative program to preserve the beauty and way of life in the Wet Mountain Valley.

In 2017, The Trust for Public Land acquired a conservation easement on the 14,000-acre Wilson Creek Ranch in Agate, Colorado, building on a partnership with the Colorado Cattlemen's Agricultural Land Trust that has preserved over 20,000-acres of working agricultural land on Colorado's eastern plains. Funding for the transaction was provided by the Great Outdoors Colorado Trust Fund and the Natural Resources Conservation Service's Regional Conservation Partnership Program.

The Trust for Public Land works closely with local non-profits and government agencies to help farmers and ranchers in Colorado maintain ownership of, and continue working, their lands.