A couple of previous experiences in the mountains have shaped my comfort level camping and lodging in Colorado.

On one hand, I had no issue sleeping in the back of my camper truck — when it still worked. (Rear-wheel-drive vehicles and ice don’t mix very well.) On the other hand, one weekend without Wi-Fi at a resplendent lakeside cabin had me climbing up the logs trying to get in touch with civilization.

Earlier this year, I found my sweet spot at Castle Mountain Lodge, a roadside inn with cabins and hotel rooms in Estes Park on the way to Rocky Mountain National Park. The lodge had almost everything we needed for a calming weekend getaway, whether our plan was to venture into the park, stroll the town or lie low and let hours go by.

Our excursion ended up being more of the latter. My wife recommended Castle Mountain Lodge as a destination for our “babymoon,” a getaway before our child is born, and a sort of redemptive opportunity after our last trip to the “Cabin with No WiFi.”

The lodge began with a single dwelling, purchased by architect Igor Polevitsky in the early 1950s. More cabins — including the Little Pines studio with kitchenette and fireplace where we stayed — were built by the adjacent Fall River.

Castle Mountain Lodge is now owned by Chris Wood and Michael Hodges, according to the website. It has 29 units, a playground, a hot tub room and picnic area, said Joel Tramel, the inn’s manager.

It has not changed much over the years, according to Tramel, who did single out the addition of the laundry services and hot tubs to some cabins. “It has always been a very family-focused collection of cabins.”

The lodge is on the doorstep of Rocky Mountain National Park, where many of the guests head for the day, he said. Others stay near the lodge, casting for fish stocked in the Fall River, watching for grazing elk or walking by not-so-wild turkeys that roam the grounds. Black bear sightings are possible, though we did not come across one.

Since we are expecting, we were not looking for excitement, so we splurged on a babymoon package that included a couples massage. Our room came ready with a vase of roses, a basket of treats, a box of chocolates and firewood dropped off by the front door. In the basket was also a gift certificate to Bird & Jim, an American restaurant in Estes Park, that did not go unused.

While that package is no longer available, there are others: The “Sweetheart” deal comes with roses and chocolates, a snack basket, a certificate to Bird & Jim and extra firewood. The “Spa and Pamper” package adds a one-hour couples massage performed on-site by professional massage therapists.

Truly, I would’ve been fine just enjoying the serenity of the outdoors out on the deck, or streaming a baseball game on the television, or reading from inside our warm room, as we did.

The lodge is open year-round. Rooms and cabins are still open despite the busy summer and fall season, Tramel said.

Many longtime guests are familiar with Wanda Bauder, who has worked there for about 20 years and now assists at the concierge desk. Tramel has an even longer history with Castle Mountain Lodge, having worked there while attending college in Kansas between 1989 and 1993. He is now two years in to what he considers his “third act” in life as lodge manager.

“I had been coming to Estes Park since I was a little kid and always loved it,” he said. “I worked summers in college here, made friends and kept coming back out year after year.”

I don’t have the same history with this area as Tramel does. I can definitely see myself coming back, though.

Castle Mountain Lodge is at 1520 Fall River Road, Estes Park. Check online at for bookings and availability.

The utility — which serves 1.5 million people across the Denver metro — on Monday announced its plans to drain the Park County reservoir, located on the Middle Fork of the South Platte River south of Fairplay. Recreation at the reservoir will close through the end of the year, including camping.

Denver Water officials did not give an exact date when the draining would begin or when recreational access would close.

The water in Antero Reservoir will be moved downstream to Cheesman Reservoir, southwest of Deckers. The move will save 5,000 acre-feet of water from evaporating from the surface of Antero Reservoir, which has the highest evaporative rate of Denver Water’s reservoirs.

An acre-foot of water equals the approximate annual water use of three to four households, according to the utility. When full, Antero Reservoir can hold more than 20,000 acre-feet. It was 88% full on Monday.

“Antero is a drought reservoir, designed to provide water to our customers during a severe drought,” Nathan Elder, the manager of water supply for Denver Water, said in a news release. “Consolidating this water into Cheesman will help us make the most of the water we have.”

Water managers will work with Colorado Parks and Wildlife to minimize fish deaths in the reservoir, according to the news release. Antero is popular with anglers year-round.

Denver Water officials will decide when to refill the reservoir based on drought conditions.

The reservoir was last drained in response to drought in 2002. Denver Water also emptied the reservoir in 2015 for dam rehabilitation.

Located near Ridgway and Telluride, the Blue Lakes are among the most popular places to hike in the San Juan Mountains thanks to their alluring turquoise waters, robust wildflowers and access to the roughly 14,150-foot Mount Sneffels. The three lakes are so popular, in fact, that the U.S. Forest Service is now implementing a plan to reduce foot traffic to the area in hopes of restoring the natural environment, which has suffered over the years.

In addition to requiring permits in the future, that plan included last summer’s closure, which enabled the agency to upgrade some of the visitor amenities and lay the foundation for future restoration projects in the area, said Dana Gardunio, Ouray District Ranger for the USFS. Crews focused on remediating and re-seeding human-made campsites that eroded the soils, ripping up user-made trails, clearing dead trees, and cleaning up human waste.

“We found a lot of piles of human feces and toilet paper behind almost every tree that was up there,” Gardunio said.

Reducing traffic to the area for one summer may have an impact on the wildlife there, too. Gardunio said crews saw moose at Lower Blue Lake, as well as bears, deer and elk.

As hikers and campers prepare to return this summer, there are new guidelines they should be aware of to avoid overcrowding and to enable more restoration to be done. The forest service and its partners, like the , will have personnel at the trailhead, along the trail and at the Lower Blue Lake to help ensure compliance, Gardunio said, “because we don’t really want to lose the investment we’ve made in the work if it����ap not being respected.”

Here are five things you should know before making the trip to the Blue Lakes in the summer of 2026.

Crowds and conditions

In the past, the Blue Lakes saw about 35,000 visitors per year. Gardunio expects traffic to reach those levels in 2026, though it����ap possible there may be an increase as people seek to visit prior to the permit system launch next year.

Peak hiking season runs June 1 through Sept. 30, with the most foot traffic coming through on weekends and holidays. Given the warm and dry conditions Colorado experienced this winter, it����ap possible the trail may be accessible earlier than normal. However, Gardunio advised anyone who plans to visit in the spring to monitor the weather and be prepared for evolving conditions in the alpine terrain.

Parking capacity limits

In 2025, forest service crews reconstructed the trailhead parking lot to delineate specific spots for cars and added an overflow lot for oversized vehicles or those with trailers. In total, there are 45 first-come, first-served parking spots, and if they are full, visitors should be prepared to change their plan.

“Right now, the rule is that you should be parking in designated spots only, and if there aren’t spots, then you would leave,” Gardunio said.

Parking is prohibited along County Road 7 leading up to the trailhead, and agency personnel planted trees along the road’s edge to deter drivers from stationing their cars there. “We’re going to be working on trying to watch that and see where we may need to put some more signage or build some little fences, if needed, to try and discourage that use,” Gardunio added.

When nature calls, pack it out

Speaking of the trailhead, hikers will find a new bathroom with more stalls than previously available. The rest of the wilderness, however, is no longer a toilet. Visitors now must pack out their human waste. This requirement comes after unsustainable use and improper burying on the part of innumerable people. That was probably the top issue the environment faced, Gardunio said, as she and her crew found the landscape littered with “little white toilet paper flowers.”

“Typically, you’re supposed to dig a cathole at least six inches deep and bury it,” she said. “The soils up there are really challenging, there’s so many roots and rocks. I was up there trying to plant some of the trees, and it����ap really hard to dig in that soil, which is why we decided to do the pack out waste. The environment����ap just really not conducive for that.”

Gardunio recommends bringing or some comparable product to carry and dispose of excrement. And remember, it is also poor form to pee near lakes, which can cause contamination. advise urinating at least 200 feet away from trails, campsites, high-use areas, and water sources.

Camping changes

As people prepare to camp overnight near the Blue Lakes, there are both new and existing rules to consider.

Dispersed camping will still be available near the Lower Blue Lake this year, and while there will not be a cap on the total number of people who stay overnight, the forest service is limiting groups to a maximum of six people. Also new this year, campers are required to carry bear-resistant food storage containers, which must be approved by the .

Camping has long been prohibited at the middle and upper Blue Lakes, and that restriction remains in place. Additionally, camp spots must be at least 100 feet away from both water and trails, and avoid natural areas that are being restored. Those who cannot find a compliant spot should have a secondary plan in mind, Gardunio said.

“There is still a possibility, depending on numbers, that you could get up there and find yourself without a campsite,” she said. “So visitors should still be prepared that is the case and if they don’t have anywhere to camp, they’ll need to have another plan — either not camp up there, go back down the trail or find another spot somewhere else along the trail, which I know there’s not a lot because of how steep it is.”

Another existing rule worth repeating: Campfires are prohibited in the wilderness area. Forest Service personnel dismantled numerous man-made fire rings when they remediated the area, Gardunio said.

No permit required to hike to Colorado’s Blue Lakes in 2026

What����ap next on permits

The forest service is now building a digital permit system and continues to discuss proposed fees. Gardunio said to expect to hear more about the agency’s proposal around June 1, and that there will be a 60-day window to solicit public feedback. The agency’s proposal will likely include a fee that goes back to the local office that is intended to support the management of Mount Sneffels Wilderness and Blue Lakes recreation area, Gardunio said.

In response to criticism about implementing a fee for visitation, Gardunio said she believes this is a necessary strategy to protect the wilderness for future hikers and campers. She also believes it will lead to a better experience in 2027 and thereafter.

“Although it may feel restrictive, the hope is that when you are able to visit those areas, whether it����ap with a permit or outside of permitted season, that your experience is a much higher quality without it and that you also have an area to enjoy that doesn’t feel like it����ap overrun or degraded to the extent that we've seen at Blue Lakes,” she said.

CORRECTION 11:24 a.m. on April 2: A previous version of this story erroneously stated the Forest Service planned to build fire rings at the designated campsites it has identified for future years at Lower Blue Lakes. No fires are allowed in that part of the wilderness.

Australian rockers King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard and Colorado’s own EDM sensation Pretty Lights are back in Buena Vista this year, each headlining a multi-day music festival with the full destination camping experience. The festivals take place at , a sprawling 277-acre plot of land featuring a pond, creek access and mountain views.

In 2025, the venue hosted King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard’s inaugural Field of Vision festival and Pretty Lights’ first Yahn Dawn festival. Tickets to both sequels are now on sale and pre-sale, respectively. Here’s what you need to know.

Colorado’s best mountain towns for live music fans

Field of Vision II

Date: Aug. 14-16, 2026

Field of Vision promises three days of camping and rock ‘n roll, headlined each night by the genre-defying King Gizzard & the Lizard Wizard. Supporting acts include Blood Incantation, Die Spitz, DJ Crenshaw, Earth Tongue and more. In a perhaps unexpected booking, drag queen Pattie Gonia is also part of the lineup. Tent, car, and RV camping is available, as are glamping accommodations.

Tickets cost $340 for a weekend pass or $115 for single-day access. For more information, visit .

Yahn Dawn

Date: Sept. 18-20, 2026

Pretty Lights is upping the ante this year and adding a third day to this previously two-day event. Right now, it����ap unclear which other musicians will fill out the bill. But in 2025, the lineup featured electric artists from Flamingosis to Flying Mojito Bros to Mikey Thunder and more. The festival permits car and RV camping, and also offers glamping.

Tickets cost $325 for general admission three-day passes or $475 for VIP three-day passes. For more information, visit .

Looking to travel a little further?

Denver-based electronic producer Of The Trees is returning to Telluride for its original , a two-day festival on Aug. 28-29. Of The Trees plays a daytime and nighttime set both days, with support from Daily Bread. Other artists are expected to be announced in the coming months. Camping is available, though this is not strictly a camping festival. In 2025, its inaugural year, Camp Alderwild brought music to other venues throughout Telluride.

Tickets cost $239.35 for general admission two-days passes or $279.64 for VIP two-day passes. For more information, visit .

“There is no official definition of a superbloom,” said Abby Wines, a park ranger at Death Valley National Park, which straddles California and Nevada. “We use that term to describe conditions when there are so many flowers that they appear as swaths of color on the landscape, rather than as isolated flowers.”

She added, “The effect is particularly striking at low elevations in Death Valley National Park, when it happens on a landscape that is generally sand, gravel, and rocks.”

Wines said that as of late February, the park hadn’t hit peak bloom yet, but “it looks quite possible that the next few weeks will reach superbloom levels. Already the flowers are quite spectacular in some elevations and southern areas of the park.”

At Death Valley National Park, the most expansion bloom areas were along South Badwater Road leading up to Badwater Basin, where Lake Manly was shimmering, and several miles beyond.

During a drive, there were mostly Desert Gold with bright yellow petals and orange-ish yellow puffy centers, alongside occasional veritable carpets of deep purple Caltha-leaf Phacelia. In one spot, there were a few pale lavender Desert Five Spot flowers.

Blooms don’t last long, however: Lower elevations will start to lose the flowers toward the end of March; at higher elevations of the park they should be plentiful from April through June, according to the National Park Service.

At the Furnace Creek Visitor Center, a handy posterboard display tells visitors where to see wildflowers and what flowers they might see. During a stop at Badwater Basin, stop and ask park rangers for more advice on where to see wildflowers.

It����ap incredibly special to see the desert landscape bright with green, yellow, and purple hues against the mostly brown, red, and tan colors. The pleasant scent of the wildflowers is surprising, particularly what looked like a pale purple sand verbena near Ashford Mill Ruins.

Beyond Death Valley National Park

In other parts of California, winter storms are giving locals hope to see, if not a superbloom, a “really good bloom” in hotspots.

“Regionally, it looks like it����ap going to be a very good year,” said Dan McCamish, senior environmental scientist at Anza-Borrego Desert State Park, which spreads into three counties and is about a two-hour drive from San Diego. “I would say that superbloom is not a scientifically coined term.” Instead, he attributes this concept to colorful blooms that could be seen in satellite images back in 2016-17 and 2018-19, and the popularity of Instagram. “We jokingly say every bloom is super.”

The difference this year, McCamish said in a phone interview, is that the rainstorms aren’t as widespread across the region. “If the temperatures get too high, the flowers will dry up pretty quickly,” he said, adding that the ideal is to have temperatures stay cool — under 70 degrees Fahrenheit — with cloud cover, for the wildflower blooms to last through spring.

Anza-Borrego Desert State Park is 600,000 acres with elevations ranging from about sea level to over 6,000 feet above sea level. The types of flowers that might bloom vary across this vast park. In February, McCamish said, there were already winter wildflower blooms. “Some of our big showy wildflowers like the sand verbena that is a sprawling hot pink carpet, mixed in with our dune primroses, a bright white flower with a creamy yellow center, will grow in concert.”

Other flower species might bloom later in the spring, like the scarlet red flowers on the ocotillo, that McCamish describes as looking like “an upside-down octopus.”

In Murrieta, Calif., the Santa Rosa Plateau Ecological Reserve is a 7,500-acre spot ideal to see wildflowers later in March and even April, as more storms closed the reserve in February. There you might see an example of California’s “vernal pools,” which can be filled with wildflowers this time of year. Visitors might see tall purple lupine, bright orange California poppies, delicate purple and pink shooting stars, and more native plants in bloom.

These are just a couple of the places in California where nature lovers can seek out a glimpse of the spring blooms. No matter where you go, however, it����ap important to respectful of the environment so that others can see these flowers, too, and the fragile plants can survive for another season.

In Arizona, it����ap not clear yet if there will be a superbloom this spring where fall rains seemed to help, but then warm temperatures and winter dry conditions make for a mixed forecast. For the curious and hopeful, look for the orange of poppies at Picacho Peak State Park and the spikey penstemon at Catalina State Park.

‘Don’t doom the bloom!’

McCamish said that the saying at Anza-Borrego Desert State Park is, “Don’t doom the bloom!” and this means, tread lightly in these natural areas. “Every park or landscape area will have their own rules,” he said.

For starters, he suggested that people first go to the Facebook page or call the wildflower hotline at 760-767-4684, and make a plan for their visi. Let someone know where you’re going and when you expect to return, as well, since there might not be any cellphone service. Bring water, printed-out maps, and other provisions for emergencies.

Also, keep your dog leashed and on trails with you. This is another animal’s home, he said: “Think rattlesnakes!”

It should go without saying not to pick any flowers. “We need our flowers to complete their full life cycles and disperse seed to make more flowers,” McCamish said. “These are very susceptible to trampling so be mindful.”

At Death Valley National Park, visitors need to resist the urge to drive beyond the narrow shoulder of the road when they pull off to snap photos of wildflowers. Also, drones are prohibited here, and so is picking the flowers.

“Drive around the park, parking and taking short strolls at different places,” said Wines. “You’ll see a greater variety of flowers that way.”

Where to stay if you go

The has a mix of lodging options from a historic inn to camping and casitas. It����ap about a two to three-hour drive from Las Vegas, Nev..  ���Dz����������ٻ�𲹳ٳ󱹲��������.���dz�

About 30 minutes away is , which primarily has hotel rooms and RV spots next door. This place books up fast. stovepipedeathvalley.com

Fly into Palm Springs, then drive about an hour to reach one entry point for Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. The town of Borrego Springs is at the center, where visitors can stay at the (adults only), the , or , surrounded by the state park.

The in Murietta is about an hour’s drive from San Diego. murrieta-hotsprings.com

Earlier this month, the U.S. Forest Service that it anticipates requiring advanced-purchased permits to hike the famed lakes beginning in 2027. However, there are new rules that adventurers need to be aware of this summer if they plan to enter the Mount Sneffels Wilderness, near Ridgway and Telluride, where the Blue Lakes reside.

Starting on May 31, visitors will be required to pack out human waste and carry bear-resistant food storage containers, which must be approved by the . Additionally, camping is prohibited at the middle and upper Blue Lakes and overnight groups are limited to six people. In its announcement, the Forest Service reiterated that campfires are not allowed anywhere in the wilderness area.

The Blue Lakes are an international destination for hikers and mountaineers seeking to enjoy the Instagram-worthy alpine lakes and scale Mount Sneffels’ 14,150-foot summit. Years of overpopulation, however, have had severe effects on the local environment.

According to a 2023 environmental impact report, the most common issues are improper disposal of human and animal waste; overrun vegetation and threatened wildlife habitats due to the proliferation of dispersed campsites and user-created trails; campers building fires illegally; and frustration among visitors caused by crowding at the trailhead.

That����ap why, several years ago, the Forest Service decided it would limit the number of visitors each year by implementing a permitting system.

“Anyone who has visited Blue Lakes, or even seen photos, understands why we need to protect this area,” said Dana Gardunio, Ouray District ranger, in the recent announcement.

Permits will be required during the peak season, from June 1 through Sept. 30, likely starting next year. In the meantime, the Forest Service has been restoring parts of the area, such as the trailhead, which now has a new bathroom and reconstructed parking lot.

Those looking to hike the Blue Lakes this year should be prepared for heavy crowds. The trail was closed during summer of 2025 due to the aforementioned restoration projects, and there may be people hoping to see the iconic lakes before competing for a permit to do so.

The Forest Service estimates about 35,000 people recreate in the Mount Sneffels Wilderness annually, the vast majority of whom come from June to October. A permit system would slash the number of visitors to about 8,000 people per summer, Gardunio previously told The Denver Post.

In the coming year, the agency will be discussing fees for permits and soliciting feedback from the public.

will be required to enter the Bear Lake Road corridor from 5 a.m. until 6 p.m., and from 9 a.m. until 2 p.m. for the rest of the park. Reservations are available for . Reservations are free but recreation.gov charges a $2 processing fee.

Reservations for the Bear Lake corridor will be required until Oct. 19. Reservations for the rest of the park will end on Oct. 13.

Reservations for the Memorial Day weekend through June 30 will go on sale May 1 at 8 a.m. Reservations for July go on sale June 1. Reservations for the rest of the season go on sale the first day of the preceding month.

Park officials imposed timed-entry reservation requirements in 2020 during the COVID pandemic and brought them back as a “pilot” program in 2021-23 as a strategy to prevent overcrowding, avoid traffic congestion and reduce impacts on park resources. They were made permanent in 2024.

The National Park Service has not yet announced visitation numbers for 2025. Rocky was the nation’s fifth-busiest national park in 2024 with 4.15 million visitors, behind Great Smoky Mountains, Zion, Grand Canyon and Yellowstone.

Moraine Park, Rocky’s largest campground, reopened last July after a two-year construction project and will be fully operational this summer. Camping reservations are required beginning May 21 and are available six months in advance through recreation.gov.

Friday-Feb. 5. As with the Colorado Symphony and Opera Colorado, performances by Colorado Ballet offer a fine-arts fix for those seeking respite from the chaos of the world. And this week is a great excuse to visit, as the nonprofit company will debut its take on “The Great Gatsby” on Friday, Jan. 30, and with various performances through Feb. 5.

This version of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s enduring novel, which is often misinterpreted as a celebration of Roaring 1920s flapper-excess, arrives with choreography by JordenMorris and an original, jazz-infused score by legendary composer Carl Davis, performed live by the Colorado Ballet Orchestra, producers said. Think glamor, elaborate sets and period-accurate dancing — all with world-class showmanship and precision.

Tickets for the shows at the Ellie Caulkins Opera House, 1385 Curtis St. in Denver, are $40-$125. Ages 12 and up. Call 303-339-1637 or visit for tickets or more details.

Rustlin’ up a party

Friday-Saturday. After its first-ever showing at the National Western Stock Show, which ended Jan. 25, the Colorado Cowboy Gathering is headed to Golden for its 37th installment of Western songs, stories, poetry and humor, all inspired by the campfire culture of ranchers and cattle drives.

The festivities — from Friday, Jan. 30, to Saturday, Jan. 31 — include not just big-hat events but also family-friendly programming, themed sessions and an open-mic session, organizers said. Performances take place at the Buffalo Rose Event Center in Golden, 1119 Washington Ave. in Golden. Tickets for $30 are available for individual musical and storytelling shows from Colorado and national acts, via .

Late night, fully lit

Saturday. Until fairly recently, Denver’s literary scene was confined to book stores, niche festivals and writing workshops. For the past couple of years, events such as Reading Den and pop-up poetry and fiction readings have brought younger, hipper audiences out for drinks and conviviality, creating a genuine social scene around the printed word.

The latest notable is the free Late Night Lit, which organizer Jessie de la Cruz described as a way of making “adult library culture feel less like a lecture and more like a night out, rooted in reading, creativity and connection,” she wrote. Her latest event, complete with a DJ-driven afterparty, arrives on Saturday, Jan. 31, at MCA Denver’s Holiday Theater, although it’s already at capacity. So why did we bring it up? Because now is the time to RSVP for future events, via , such as Silent Pages Society, Curiosity Collective and other innovative adult library programs. All fill up shortly after being announced, de la Cruz said.

It’s also a good time to plan for the next Reading Den, another hip-lit series, on Feb. 25 at Denver’s Fort Greene bar. Visit for more.

On the road again

Through Saturday. This week’s thaw reminds us that spring and summer will be here before you know it, and that includes camping, national park visits and more outdoorsy fun that Coloradans crave. The Ultimate RV Show returns this weekend with plenty of ways to attack it.

Running through Saturday, Jan. 31, at the Colorado Convention Center, the free event is a window-shopping dream with more than 300 fully staged RVs “from compact, lightweight travel trailers to fifth wheels, toy haulers, motorhomes and more,” organizers wrote. The show also features a kids’ zone, balloon twisters, scavenger hunt, and on-site pet adoptions (for real). It’s all from 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Friday, and 9 a.m.-9 p.m. Saturday, at 700 14th St. in Denver. Visit or for more details.

Part of the fun of staying in a cabin or yurt is getting there, as these can be found in scenic locales such as state parks. A cabin is typically a wooden structure with maybe a single room or a couple of rustic rooms for sleeping, cooking meals, and relaxing after a day in the brisk outdoors. A yurt is a single circular room elevated dwelling with space for beds, downtime, and meal prep.

How you get to your destination will determine where you choose to stay. And, don’t be fooled by your summer experience, as some locations might have drive-up access in summer and trails only in winter.

What to pack for a winter cabin or yurt stay

Staying in a cabin or yurt in winter is a hybrid between glamping and traditional camping in a tent. You won’t get all the bells and whistles like a glamping experience, but you also will be warm and on a bed rather than on the ground.

Always read the “what to bring” or instructions once your reservation is secured, then load up the car:

Bedding. Keep it simple and toss the sleeping bags in, or bring sheets, pillows, and extra blankets. Although these lodgings will have beds and mattresses, many times the blankets and such are not included, so it����ap different than a hotel or house rental.

Toiletries. There’s a good chance that in the winter, your bathroom will be in an “out building” away from the yurt or cabin. Bring towels, shampoo, soap, and even toilet paper, just in case it����ap not provided. In case there’s no shower facility in winter, pack the dry shampoo too.

Food. You might need to bring your own cooler if a mini-fridge is not part of the package. Find out what type of cooking range you will use, as it����ap possibly an outdoor grill. Check if you need to bring your own fire materials too.

Communication. There may not be cell phone service or a signal, so be sure to communicate where you’re going and when you expect to return to others before departure. Consider bringing a device such as a Garmin inReach for emergencies.

Pets. Although you might be in a remote location, check ahead to learn if pets are allowed in these places.

Remember that at some of these accommodations, you are going to carry all of this on your back as you snowshoe or winter-hike in first, so choose lightweight options and distribute the weight among your group.

Easy access destinations

Colorado Parks and Wildlife has yurts available in nine of its 43 state parks. Of these, Golden Gate Canyon State Park and Mancos State Park have yurts that you can drive up to year-round. At Mancos State Park, you can spend a day exploring nearby Mesa Verde National Park (if it is open). Golden Gate Canyon State Park has both yurts and cabins you can stay in.

The lakeside cabins at Sylvan Lake State Park near Eagle can be accessed by car in winter, but see below for details on using their remote yurts in winter.

Steamboat Lake State Park has three charming cabins that are accessible in the winter when the road in is plowed, and you can peep at views of the lake from your rooms.

There are three large and well-equipped cabins tucked into the forests at Mueller State Park, west of Colorado Springs for rental year-round, and no hiking in is needed.

There are three heated yurts at Ridgway State Park in Ouray County, and they have a snowshoe loaner program so you can get out and explore the forests that surround you.

The YMCA of the Rockies Snow Mountain Ranch in Granby has rustic cabins and several yurts available but only the cabins are available year-round. Here, you have access to a Nordic center and your lodging comes with a trail pass to snowshoe or cross-country ski trails — many of which are pet-friendly. There is also snow tubing on site.

Work-for-it getaways

Strap on the snowshoes and head to some of these more remote locations for a winter stay in the Colorado wilderness. The accommodations and travel distances from the parking areas to the individual yurts and cabins will vary from park to park and within each park as the lodging is spread out.

At State Forest State Park, Yonder Yurts is the concessionaire for the nine yurts, including one that is a quarter of a mile from the parking area and is handicap accessible. Winter hikes to yurts will depend on the chosen trail and can be anywhere from half a mile to five miles away.

The Sylvan Lake State Park yurts are 4.5 miles from the parking area, so this spot is truly for the outdoor adventure enthusiasts who want to earn their lodging with some sweat equity.

Snowmobile or snowshoe into the yurts at Pearl Lake State Park near Clark. The distance can be as little as half a mile.

The Tennessee Pass sleep yurts are located 1.3 miles from the parking area, but the trails are groomed and you can opt to have your bags delivered rather than hauling them in yourself.

The accommodations listed here are just some of the cabin and yurt options available in Colorado. Explore what suits your interests and abilities for a winter getaway.

Previously known as the Outside Festival, held at Civic Center Park and organized by Outside Inc., the event has been renamed . The celebration of all things outdoors and music will be held May 29-31 on Denver’s Auraria Campus. Previously, the event lasted two days.

Based in Boulder, Outside is a multi-platform media company that includes Outside Magazine, Ski, Warren Miller Entertainment, Trailrunner, Climbing, Backpack, Climbing, Triathlete, Runner and multiple platforms related to cycling. According to Outside officials, this year’s festival attracted more than 35,000 outdoor enthusiasts, a 94% increase over the inaugural event in 2024.

The move to Auraria was necessitated by construction to renovate Civic Center Park. Whether the move is temporary or permanent is yet to be determined.

“We found an incredible partner with Auraria,” said Chris Jerard, chief experience officer for Outside Inc. “We’re going to see how it goes. I will say, we love Civic Center Park. We were not looking for a new site. The move was very much prompted by the fact that we did not have a choice, but the silver lining is that we found a place where we could see the event (take place). There are a lot of advantages to being right there with the skyline of Denver behind us.”

Jerard said the outdoor footprint at Auraria is about 30% larger than what the event had at Civic Center. Indoor programs, which were previously held at the downtown Denver Public Library, will take place in facilities on the Auraria campus, including the Tivoli and the King Center performing arts complex.

If the event continues to grow, Jerard envisions a day when the event could expand to utilize Auraria, Civic Center and other downtown locations as well. From the start, Outside has seen potential for the festival to become an outdoors version of South by Southwest, an international festival in Austin, Texas, that brings together music, film, tech and innovation influencers. Founded in 1987, it attracts more than 100,000 attendees annually.

“Denver, from a geographic perspective, has everything we need to do a global gathering,” Jerard said. “From Confluence Park to Civic Center Park, there is enough space that you could have 100,000-plus people descend on Denver to celebrate the outdoors. There’s enough to program for a full week. That����ap always been the long-term vision.”