The wilderness area is less than 2 miles off a busy highway in the middle of a county of more than 300,000 people, but first-time visitors often marvel at the fact they’ve never heard of it.
“The thing I hear the most, no matter what camp we’re having, from parents is ‘I never would have guessed this was back here,’” said Lindsey McKissick, communications and programs specialist for .
But Backcountry’s secret is getting out. In the last two years in particular, the staff at the 8,200-acre wilderness and wildlife conservation area a few miles south of Highlands Ranch along U.S. 85 has been adding more programs and social events on the property. , a four-hour, public event where guests can take enjoy hay rides and pony rides, try out archery and other activities in the summer camp area and win prizes from sponsors.
“Itap the first time we’re hosting a large community event here,” McKissick said.
The results of the growing slate of programs are showing. After bringing in $29,000 in revenue in 2010, the property, which developer Shea Homes left to the in 2009 under the terms of a conservation agreement, is projecting revenues of $348,000 this year, McKissick said.
Money is not the only measure of Backcountry’s success. A cornerstone of its mission is education. Thanks to a new “eco explorers” program for kids ages 3 to 6, Backcountry now has programs catering to children, from toddlers to teenagers. Summer camps there cover everything from art to unstructured free-play to life-skill and leadership-focused sessions for teens. In the long-term, McKissick said the hope is that visits to the property will help foster a love of wildlife and open spaces in the next generation.
“The primary purpose of the entire property is wildlife conservation. We’re seeing tremendous growth in wildlife population here. Last year, there were two or three turkeys and now we’re seeing them in groups of 15 or 20,” McKissick said. “The only way we’re going to teach kids to protect areas like this is to let them come out and love it.”
Last week, Backcountry hosted kindergartners and fourth-graders from Cherry Hills Christian school in Highland Ranch. The 42 kindergartners took part in the half-day “Insects, tales and trails” program. Staff read the kids a story about bugs, talked to them about where insects are likely to live and took them on a bug-finding hike, particularly fruitful on a rainy day.
Teacher Jenna Espinosa said the program fit with her class’ recent unit on insects, and, at $400 for the group, was reasonably priced. It was Cherry Creek Christian’s first visit to Backcountry.
“Itap awesome and affordable,” Espinosa said. “We hope that this will be a yearly field trip.”
The students kicked off their visit at Backcountry’s “Base Camp,” where the property’s horses, chickens and other animals live. Base Camp is home to 120-person outdoor amphitheater, two outdoor classrooms, play areas and more. All of the amenities there have been constructed in the last 12 months, staff members say. They have opened up Backcountry for full-day educational camps and provided a centralized space to start programs that used to be scattered across the 13-square-mile property.
“This is only going to be our second summer of full-day camps,” Backcountry Youth Programs Coordinator AnnaKate Hein said. “Now we have a central location and can expand in the area. We’re able to find all the nooks and crannies on the property that the kids discover.”
Backcountry is run as a for-profit enterprise by the Highlands Ranch Community Association — with a limited number of seasonal hunting tags and guide fees bringing in much of it – but in January it launched a . To further its wildlife mission, the fund will focus on creating water resources for animals, including elk, deer, bears and mountain lions, on the property, but education and public access are also slated to be addressed, McKissick said.
“It will certainly be about making sure people who want to get back here get back here,” she said.
If you go
³:The Backcountry Shindig
Where: Backcountry Base Camp, 6005 Ron King Trail
³:10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Saturday, June 3.
Cost: $7, kids 5 and younger get in free.
For more information visit the Backcountry Wilderness Area Facebook page at or call 303-471-8885.