Or so it goes in a local software engineer’s new online game, in which players deputized as park rangers fight ghouls, frolic through the and learn the

Cheesman Park: The Game, created by 33-year-old Casey Cantor, is filled with recognizable landmarks from the 80-acre park, brought to life one pixel at a time. To play the free game on a computer or smartphone, visit .

“This is a love letter to Cheesman Park,” said Cantor, who has no plans to monetize the game. “I told my wife yesterday that I would be so satisfied if some people played it, and maybe a local paper would write about it. Mission accomplished.”

Cantor and his wife live a couple of blocks from the park, which is bordered by Humboldt Street, Race Street, 13th Avenue and Eighth Avenue. The software engineer lived in Denver after college from 2015 to 2018 and then moved back with his wife a year ago.

When searching for a neighborhood to call home, Cantor took his wife to Cheesman Park, where they both fell in love with the area.

“The park is the biggest reason we picked this neighborhood to move to,” he said.

Cantor’s game-making started about the same time he moved back. He grew up playing video games like World of Warcraft and Halo, but also enjoyed with cute worldbuilding like Animal Crossing and Stardew Valley.

Cantor realized the rapid evolution of artificial intelligence, paired with his software engineering skills, enabled him to create just such a cozy game himself, without having to hire other people. He cut his teeth making a horse-racing game called Pocket Derby — a process he found gratifying.

When his friend asked a few weeks ago whether he was going to make another game, Cantor found a muse in one of his favorite places — a neighborhood staple with spooky lore that would lend itself well to storytelling.

“Basically, the game made itself with the history of the park, the spooky history of it all,” Cantor said. “I knew I wanted something to do with ghosts and zombies, but also wanted to do some of the happier, more friendly parts of the park.”

Players who frequent the park are in for a treat spotting familiar sights.

In the game, as in real life, dancers groove in the iconic Cheesman Park Pavilion. Volleyball games are underway. Dogs and squirrels abound. The rose garden is flourishing.

When nighttime falls, the game’s friendly parkgoers turn into zombies and ghosts who chase the park ranger, armed with nothing but a Frisbee deployed by the keyboard’s space bar. The aim of the game is to survive as many nights as you can before you’re zombie chow.

Players may run into , the undertaker the city hired in 1893 to remove the remains of the bodies buried in the graveyard that now exists as Cheesman Park.

The cemetery opened in 1858. By 1910, the land had a scandalous conversion to a public park and was named after Walter Cheesman — a local businessman and booster whose fortune after death went toward financing the park’s iconic pavilion.

Infamously, McGovern did a literal hack job on the bodies, cutting them up and distributing them among multiple caskets to cash in on more profits. have been found in the modern park and adjacent Denver Botanic Gardens. (In a bonus level of the game, players dash through the gardens.)

From start to finish, Cantor said the game took him six days to make and launch. He posted it on social media and plans to hang fliers in Cheesman Park that say “Enjoying Cheesman Park? Play the game!”

Cantor credits AI with the quick deployment, along with his own software skills and on-the-ground work. To re-create the park so well, he used overhead shots he found via Google and his own photos from walking the park.

“A few years ago, this would have taken five people a few weeks to make and nobody would have funded it, but now the technology is so great, those things are possible,” he said.

Now that he’s had a taste for it, Cantor is inspired to re-create even more Denver landmarks through computer gameplay.

“One person really can make something specific to their corner of the city, kind of like a love letter of the things important to them,” Cantor said.

The agave utahensis, also known as the Utah agave, is halfway through its first — and last — bloom in the , according to a video posted by Denver Botanic Gardens.

The plant is on its last tour, “but don’t worry, it����ap going out in style!” . A video posted by the garden to announce the plant’s first (and only) bloom featured two men headbanging and singing “death bloom” on repeat.

Agave lifespans vary from one to 100 years, Assistant Manager of Learning Engagement Vanessa Callahan said in the posted by Denver Botanic Gardens. This one spent a quarter-century growing in Colorado as it amassed the energy to flower and spread seeds, she said.

The entire stalk, which appears to be the height of several grown men, is covered in growths that will eventually bloom, Callahan said. Roughly half the flowers have opened up so far, and the stalk will continue blooming and releasing seeds into the summer, she said.

“Here’s where it gets dramatic,” she said in the video. “Once we’ve got all of those seeds fully mature, ready to live a life on their own, this plant here is going to die, hence the existential name ‘death bloom’.”

“Don’t be sad,” continued Callahan, who also goes by “” on social media. “This is the life cycle of an agave plant; it’s how they live.”

The gardens have set expectations high and local art fans have come to anticipate these efforts with gusto — and often reward the efforts with repeat visits to the site.

But even the best of them have occasionally been a bit ill-fitting, and even unnecessary. I’ve enjoyed the work on its merits — who cannot appreciate a sculpture by Henry Moore, the star of the garden’s warm-weather exhibit in 2010, or the colorful, mythological animal figures made by Jacobo and María Ángeles exhibited in 2024 — but always felt the man-made art objects offered pale competition to the garden’s real heroes: the tulips, lilies, irises and peonies that give the institution its reason to exist.

For me, the art was a distraction, an effort to generate excitement and sell extra tickets — something that the garden, which is attracting large numbers of visitors lately, no longer needs to do with such desperation.

So, in that way, it����ap just fine that the garden has scaled back this year with a retrospective of work by the Spanish sculptor Jaume Plensa titled “A New Humanism.” Visitors will see his work, some of it is large-scale and showy, but they will notice less of it along the fields and pathways of the open spaces.

Instead, the centerpiece of Plensa’s show is shifted inside, within the three indoor art galleries that the garden began programming in 2020 when it opened the Freyer-Newman Center.

Plensa, who is 70 and lives in Barcelona, is a global figure, if not a household name. He has works placed across the globe; many have emerged as popular landmarks. Among the more recognized: the 2004 “Crown Fountain” in Chicago’s Millennium Park, which features a giant LED screen that projects large human faces, with actual water gushing out of their mouths. Audiences are delighted to watch them spit; it����ap all tastefully, humorously done.

There is nothing quite so ambitious in Denver, but the show does manage to capture the spirit of Plensa’s work. He is all about demonstrating the different faces of humanity, the various cultures that exist around the world, and showing how the planet����ap various occupants can co-exist.

In the garden show, this mission is reduced to its most uncomplicated basics. It rarely goes beyond the superficial, with signage telling visitors again and again about how Plensa wants us to think of ourselves as a big, happy family.

“What’s beautiful is to be as one, while keeping our differences,” reads one of several quotes by Plensa installed on the gallery walls. It����ap not so deep, but who can argue with the premise?

The work largely expresses that same message, repeatedly, though Plensa does have a graceful way of stating the obvious in his three-dimensional objects — and that makes many of the pieces gratifying to gaze upon.

Outdoors, in a small, grassy field, there is a series of four large-scale, sculptures shaped to look like women’s faces. The pieces, from 2019, were originally carved from oak trees and then cast in bronze.

While each has been assigned a name — Wilsis, Laura Asia, Carlota and Julia — their true personalities come out in the way Plensa has depicted them, with their eyes closed and in some apparent state of peaceful meditation. They feel quite human and fully relatable. It helps that the sculptures are technically very accomplished.

And because Plensa has retained characteristics of the trees themselves — you can still see bark and the grains of the wood — they feel right at home in their natural garden habitat. If the intent of these summer shows is to connect art to the earth, these objects are the highlight of the show.

Other works rely more heavily on easy sentiment. The centerpiece of the indoor display is 2013’s “Talking Continents,” which fills an entire room with hanging sculptures made from steel. The pieces are abstract but appear to show featureless human figures sitting atop globular, cloud-like shapes that float in the air. All of the sculptures are fashioned from connected letters, pulled from the various alphabets used in writing across the world’s cultures.

The piece is an optical delight, even if its message is oversimplified. “By removing signs of race, class or gender, Plensa seeks to highlight what we have in common rather than our differences,” reads the signage.

It����ap a bit childlike, and not as interesting as nearly every exhibit the garden has programmed in its indoor galleries since they opened.

But it����ap possible to spin that in a positive way. The garden actually is a place for children, and this art plays nicely to a younger audience. Kids will get the messages that Plensa espouses as quickly as adults, but this work is an easy, comprehensible introduction to how artists work, using surprising materials in inventive ways to make viewers consider the world differently.

There is also something in this exhibit for adults. The level of craft is high in nearly every piece, and the ideas behind it are sincere if straightforward. But it feels like a good opportunity for parents and guardians to introduce their charges to the world of fine art in a place where they can relax — not in a hushed museum but in a lush garden.

IF YOU GO

“Jaume Plensa: A New Humanism” continues through Sept. 7 at the Denver Botanic Gardens, 1007 York St. More info: 720-865-3500 or botanicgardens.org.

More than five years after the 2020 shutdowns, garden centers and nurseries are navigating what the from Garden Center magazine calls a “post-COVID hangover.”

Released in January, the data from the annual survey of owners, operators and managers found that Spring 2025 saw the second-smallest reported growth in spring sales over the past decade. For the first time, more independent garden centers reported no increase in working capital than those that did.

Although most responding independent garden centers remain profitable, their profitability rate still falls just below the average for the past 10 years.

“It all points to an industry in need of some solid motivation,” wrote Patrick Alan Coleman, editor of , Greenhouse Management and Produce Grower magazines, in the report.

Coleman said it����ap not the time to panic, but rather an opportunity for the industry to reassess operations and make improvements in marketing, staffing, inventory management and infrastructure.

Independent garden centers have also faced growing competition from big-box retailers like Home Depot and Lowe’s, which have .

In 2025, Home Depot was the top retailer for gardening supplies and plants, according to a , although its numbers dropped significantly from 2024.

Still, 30.3% of respondents said independent garden centers offer the highest quality plants, followed by Home Depot at 24.7%, Lowe’s at 12.8% and Walmart at 11.5%

Denver garden centers are adapting to those pressures while trying to preserve the personalized experience that sets them apart from national chains.

City Floral Garden Center is one example.

Serving the community since 1911, and one of the city’s oldest greenhouses, the center launched an online ordering platform last year through Shopify called .

“We are trying to stay relevant in this convenience-driven society,” said Candace Wickstrom, who, alongside her husband Matthew, has owned City Floral Garden Center since 2007.

“A large part of our customers just love the experience of coming in and picking out their own plants, but younger consumers today, it����ap more of a mix. Some people may want a better assortment than they can get at Home Depot, but maybe they don’t want to take an hour to come pick out their own plants. So, we are continuing to develop the offerings on that online platform.”

The pandemic plant boom

Wickstrom said the pandemic brought a surge in gardening as people spent more time at home during city-mandated lockdowns. Houseplants and rare plants saw a spike in popularity, in the United States, particularly due to and fueled by Gen Z and millennials.

Over time, she said, some interest has fallen off as people travel and return to other hobbies, though many of the new customers have stayed. She said consumers have increasingly leaned toward water-smart gardening and growing vegetables at home.

“The idea of producing your own ‘farmers market’ in your backyard really caught on during the pandemic and remains popular,” Wickstrom said.

“That����ap an interesting topic for City Floral, because we’ve been growing our own vegetables for, you know, more than 30 years in our own facility.”

As a grower-retailer, City Floral , including growing over 60 varieties of tomatoes and 70 varieties of peppers, Wickstrom said.

Data from Garden Center’s report found that 71% of respondents in their 2025 survey grow some of their own plant material, just below the all-time high of 72% in 2021.

Among respondents that grow more than half of their plants, 33% reported increasing volume, diversity, or both over the past two years. Customer demand is the main driver, followed by economic pressures, quality control and shipping costs.

In addition, annuals are the most commonly grown plants at independent garden centers at 62%. Perennials follow at 59%, while vegetables and herbs are grown by 53% of respondents, according to the Garden Center report.

Vegetables and herbs grew 6% from 2024 to 2025, and has seen a substantial increase in recent years as a result of rising grocery prices, driving customers to grow their own produce, Coleman wrote.

Indoors, foliage plants are grown by a quarter of centers, while 12% of respondents nurture flowering houseplants in their greenhouses.

Wickstrom said many consumers remain highly price‑driven, with some customers splitting their spending between box stores and locally owned retailers.

Wickstrom said the price gap between big-box stores and independent retailers has narrowed in recent years as labor, transportation, economic uncertainty and production costs have emerged across the industry.

“Bulb prices went up probably 15% this year with tariffs,” she said.

“Unfortunately, those costs do have to be passed on to the consumer. We do not, as an industry, make enough money that we can absorb those costs entirely.”

Seventy-five percent of garden centers who took the survey raised plant prices between 1% and 10% in 2025, roughly the same as the previous year, the report found. However, more respondents than previous years said they do not plan to raise prices in 2026, citing ongoing customer affordability concerns.

Real estate pressure is also reshaping Denver’s nursery industry. Wickstrom said that many long‑standing farm families have sold their land, reducing the number of local growers and tightening the plant supply chain.

Paulino Gardens, which operated just north of Denver in Adams County for over 60 years, closed in 2019. That closure was followed by Groundcovers Greenhouse & Garden Center at 4301 E. Iliff Ave.

The city of Denver has since , with plans to develop it into a park slated for completion in spring 2027.

Similarly, Welby Gardens, a Colorado-based growing operation founded in 1948, closed last year before the property was later purchased by Arvada-based Blooma Farms for $4.5 million.

Local and unique experiences

City Floral, at 1440 Kearney St., is the last sizable independent garden center in Denver proper that employs about 50 people year-round, Wickstrom said.

During peak season that number grows to roughly 110 employees, split among its Denver retail garden center, its landscaping division and a three‑acre growing facility in Golden.

As local centers close or relocate farther from the city, Wickstrom said she worries it will become difficult for residents to garden at all.

“Very few people are going to be willing to get in a car and drive 30 minutes plus to get to a garden center,” she said.

At the same time, some new owners are stepping into the industry.

Cade Scholl, alongside his wife Kara, became owners of in February 2025.

Scholl said they were inspired to buy the business at 7150 Leetsdale Dr. because they had always wanted to own their own company and were drawn to the welcoming nature of the gardening industry.

“For the most part, it is difficult for the small retailers like myself to match exactly what some of those big nationwide stores can do. There’s a few things that that we can match them on, but it’s difficult,” he said.

“What we provide, though, is a unique experience.”

Scholl said gardening can feel intimidating for beginners who may not know which plants work best for certain light conditions, soil types or watering schedules. But at independent retailers such as Country Fair, he said, customers can rely on experienced staff.

“If you come in, you’re going to see one of three or four people that is always in the store, and they’re going to be willing to help, and a lot of times they’ll even know your name,” he said.

“We even get times where people will come in and they will have bought a plant at one of those big box stores and they ask us for advice. We can usually get that plant back on track and nurse it back to health.”

Interest in growing food at home remains strong, Scholl said.

“This time of year, we’ve sold a lot of seeds, and I expect it will continue to sell seeds throughout the spring,” Scholl said.

Scholl said Country Fair works with small and local vendors to offer plants and products that customers might not find in big-box stores.

He also plans to rebuild classes and workshops at the garden center, which had faded under the previous owner, to strengthen the local gardening community through education.

Trees, not knowing the calendar date, began to bud in early March. In Denver and across much of Colorado, temperatures remained unseasonably warm for months. And precipitation? Hard to come by.

By early March, , and one-tenth of the state suffered extreme or exceptional drought, including Denver and its surrounding areas. The conditions did not bode well for gardens this year.

For home gardeners, protecting trees, shrubs, flowers and produce means paying careful attention to watering routines and shielding as much water as possible from evaporation, experts said.

“It has been such a warm and dry winter — things seem to be way ahead of schedule,” said Chris Hilgert, the director of and a horticulture specialist at Colorado State University Extension.

Here are some tips from experts for gardeners looking to help their greenery survive drought.

Smart watering

If you didn’t water your trees this winter, it’s better to start late than never.

In a dry winter, trees need deep watering to stay healthy, said Jennifer Miller, the assistant manager of horticulture at the . Evergreen trees especially need the extra moisture because they keep their needles all winter and lose water to evaporation through their leaves.

“Trees are the biggest plants out there, and we don’t want them going into the growing season stressed,” Miller said.

Trees benefit from deep watering. Established trees should be watered around the perimeter of their canopy, as that’s where their roots reach. Once or twice a month, a tree needs approximately 10 gallons of water per inch of trunk diameter.

Younger trees — a year old or younger — should be watered near their trunk, as their roots have not yet grown out as far. They need about a gallon of water, Miller said.

Miller uses 5-gallon buckets with holes drilled in the bottom to water her trees. She measures out the water and then places the buckets around the trees’ canopy lines, letting it drip down.

Be careful to water only when temperatures are above 40 degrees and the ground isn’t frozen, she said. Water can’t pass through frozen soil and won’t reach the roots.

Preventing evaporation

Once planting season comes around, gardeners’ primary challenge becomes minimizing evaporation.

The closer to the roots you apply water, the better, Hilgert said. Using a drip line reduces the amount of water lost to wind and evaporation.

Miller’s top tip is mulch — and then more mulch.

“I can’t stress mulch enough; it’s going to be your best investment,” she said.

Mulching around plants, trees and shrubs helps soil retain moisture, reducing the need to water.

Another simple solution? Weeding. Removing weeds from your garden leaves more water for the plants you are trying to grow, Miller said.

A garden’s water needs will depend on the specific plants, but Miller recommends watering one to three days a week for 30 minutes to an hour. Poking a finger into the soil is a good test to determine if more water is needed. If the soil is dry a few inches down, it’s time to water.

Grouping together plants that have similar water requirements can help reduce water waste.

It’s also important to water during the cooler hours of the day to minimize evaporation. Miller recommends watering between 5 a.m. and 9 a.m. or, if that’s not possible, in the late afternoon or early evening.

Watering in the evening, however, can increase the risk of fungus, as the moisture sits on the plants’ leaves and stems longer, she said.

While planning your spring planting, don’t forget the birds and the bees, Miller said.

She suggested installing a water fountain or a bird bath to attract the important species to your yard. Leaving a few pieces of floating wood in the water can give bees a place to land while they take a drink, she said.

Smart plant choices

Gardeners can also prepare for drought in the long term by shifting toward , Miller said. Plants adapted to semi-arid climates, where temperatures can fluctuate widely, will do well with minimal human intervention.

Many Colorado seed companies sell varieties of flowers, vegetables and fruits that are adapted for Colorado’s climate, she said.

Hilgert also suggested swapping out thirsty nonnative lawn turf for more resilient native grasses, like or

While gardeners may be tempted to start planting early, Hilgert warned that cold snaps and snow are still possible through the end of April.

“Winter may still show up temporarily,” he said.

The awe-inspiring tulip display — 10,000-to-15,000 flowers strong — that graces the Denver Botanic Gardens’ annual garden each April and May won’t happen this year. Even worse, it likely won’t return until 2029.

Blame a nasty case of “tulip fire,” a common but destructive fungal disease that spreads through spores in soil and can cause tulips to wilt and die, said Gardens spokeswoman Erin Bird.

“About every other year, our horticulturalists swap out the bulbs with different varieties of tulips and different colors so that the display isn’t the same each season,” she explained. “In 2024, they noticed that the tulips weren’t looking as good as they usually do, and last year, they were in an even more dire situation. Some didn’t even bloom at all.”

Most of the tulips at the Gardens come from Europe, and Bird said one of their vendors may have unknowingly sent blighted bulbs in the fall of 2023. (Tulip bulbs are typically planted in the fall and bloom in the spring.)

The good news is that tulip fire doesn’t spread through the air, so it didn’t affect the smaller tulip displays at the Gardens, including the ones out front, which aren’t changed out as often. It also doesn’t affect other kinds of flowers, so instead of tulips, the annuals garden includes thousands of daffodils, hyacinths and lilies this year — and they are peaking right now.

“It����ap still very beautiful and springy – but void of tulips,” Bird added.

There’s additional bad news, though: Plant and soil experts recommend waiting for three years before replanting in an area that has suffered tulip blight, even if all of the soil is changed out. As a result, the Gardens won’t replant tulip bulbs in the annuals garden until the fall of 2028 for blooms in spring of 2029.

“We’ve gotten a lot of sad face emojis and disappointment,” Bird said about the reaction to the tulip news on the Gardens’ social media pages. “In the springtime, it’s one of the most common questions we get on social media, or by people calling, or at the visitors’ desk. We anticipated that, and made sure front-of-house staff knew what to say.”

But Bird pointed out that there are plenty of other reasons to visit the Gardens right now since spring came about a month early. In addition to the daffodils, the lilacs are also blooming. “It has been wild. The peonies will probably be next, and then we will move into the big summer blooms,” which will include bold displays of dahlias in the annuals garden.

“It has been a really unique spring, ” she added. “You get to see everything in its peak all at once.”

The full summer concert slate, which goes on sale to the public starting at 10 a.m. on Monday, March 16, includes a March 11-13 pre-sale for members of the Denver Botanic Gardens and Swallow Hill Music (Swallow Hill books the series). Ticket prices were not immediately available.

The Gardens’ lower-key , which places performers throughout the York Street location in Denver, will be announced later this spring, and ticket sales will start in mid-May. Visit for more details.

The summer series is produced with folk nonprofit Swallow Hill Music and takes place each year from June through August at 1007 York St. Here’s the current lineup.

Denver Botanic Garden Summer 2026 Concert Series

John Craigie and Blind Pilot
Tuesday, June 23

Grace Potter
Tuesday, July 7

Allen Stone
Wednesday, July 8

Soccer Mommy
Thursday, July 9

Chris Botti
Thursday, July 16

Judy Collins with Bruce Cockburn – Sweet Judy Blue Eyes Tour: A Lifetime Of Songs
Wednesday, July 22

Watchhouse
Sunday, July 26

The Beths and Beach Bunny
Wednesday, July 29

The Infamous Stringdusters
Tuesday, Aug. 4

Band of Horses
Thursday, Aug. 6

Gregory Porter
Monday, Aug. 10

Steel Pulse
Tuesday, Aug. 11

Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue
Wednesday, Aug. 12

Sam Bush and Paul Hoffman
Monday, Aug. 17

As the 72-year-old retiree was admiring the unexpected burst of color, she noticed bees dancing on the flowers. The sun was out, and temperatures in Boulder County hovered in the mid-50s.

“The weather is pulling the pollinators out of their dormancy,” Koiv said enthusiastically. “A multitude of bees.”

A few miles away in Arvada, Susan Burgmaier was headed to the outdoor pickleball courts at the Simms Street Recreation Center for a match. The weather was heavenly, and Burgmaier, 61, had been playing the game al fresco once a week for much of the fall and early winter.

“The only thing that stops us is the gazillion-mile-per-hour winds,” she said.

The warm, snow-free weather that many in the city have enjoyed for weeks — extending the active season for cyclists, hikers and runners — is bringing less joy to the high country, where the is struggling to salvage its season.

“We haven’t had many powder nirvana days this year,” said Melanie Mills, the president and CEO of , a trade association representing 20 of the state’s ski areas. “Visits are down enough that they will not recover, even if the rest of the season is very snowy.”

Colorado is getting a break with this weekend’s arctic blast — with forecasts of accompanying mountain snow — but the broader dry-weather pattern that’s set to return in coming days is raising worries not only about the ski season but also about impacts this summer for Colorado’s water supply and the farms and industries it sustains.

Despite the thrill of playing pickleball outdoors on a January day, Burgmaier fears the darker implications of what’s happening with the weather.

“It’s nice to be outside, but what’s happening is not good for the environment,” she said. “That one time it snowed this season, I was thrilled. I can get my exercise shoveling — and I’m happy about it.”

State Climatologist Russ Schumacher said figuring out the ramifications of a dry and mild end of fall and start of winter is a complicated thing.

Colorado just clocked its since records started being kept in 1895, while Denver had its second-warmest final month of the year. The city broke daily temperature records seven times last month, including on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. It also documented 21 days where the average temperature was more than 6 degrees above normal, .

The balmy days have extended into 2026, with of 67 degrees for metro Denver for that date.

“What makes this year so unusual is it’s been so warm for so long,” said Schumacher, who is also a professor in the Department of Atmospheric Science at Colorado State University.

In the high country, the warm temperatures have for the season. Last week, the city announced its closure because there hadn’t been “the necessary cold days or snow pack to produce the level of ice our community deserves.”

Closer to the Front Range, Dillon Reservoir was creeping towards its latest freeze-over on record. The current record was set on Jan. 31, 1981. Denver Water, which owns and operates the Summit County lake, estimated last week that ice cover was around 60% — .

Conditions may have briefly flipped this weekend, with a deep freeze settling over the state and heavy snow — up to 10 inches or more — forecast for many mountain locations as of late last week, .

But it will take more than that to make up for the dearth of snow so far this season.

“You need February and March to be nonstop snowstorms,” Schumacher said.

Temps on an upward march

The reasons behind the rise in temperatures and the increase in dryness are fiercely debated, with a mix of focus on the impacts coming from global climate change and those that are attributable to the weather variability that has long shaped what is experienced on the ground.

Globally, the 10 warmest years on record have occurred in the last decade, according to the World Meteorological Organization. The same group determined that the global average concentration of carbon dioxide in 2024 since modern measurements began in 1957.

Carbon dioxide is a pollutant that scientists say helps lock heat in Earth’s atmosphere.

“That’s where the climate change signal really comes out,” Schumacher said.

According to a series of scientific studies published last year and collated by the , researchers determined that climate change is complicit in the drying and warming of the American Southwest. The studies found emissions from the burning of fossil fuels are driving an ongoing 25-year shortfall in winter rains and mountain snows across the region.

Dryness has accompanied the elevated temperatures felt by Coloradans this fall and winter, with the state tallying its 34th-driest December in 130 years of record-keeping, according to the . Much of the state is in some level of drought, according to the , though a broad swath of the Eastern Plains is not.

Denver had its second-latest first accumulating snow — on Nov. 29. As of Thursday, mountain snowpack for that date, according to data collected by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Water and Climate Center.

The snowpack was well below the lowest level recorded at this point in the season in records that go back to 1987.

But Schumacher said aridity in Colorado within a shorter window of time is tough to pin on global warming, given the complexity and interplay of major weather systems and cycles, like El Niño and La Niña.

“Changes in precipitation in Colorado are harder to connect to global climate change because the natural variability can be so big,” he said.

It’s not like anemic snowpacks are new to Colorado. Nearly half a century ago, during the winter of 1976-1977, the state endured one of its worst winters for snow paucity in memory, prompting then-U.S. Sen. Floyd Haskell to urge President Gerald Ford to declare Colorado’s snow-starved high country a disaster area eligible for economic relief.

Just four winters later, in 1980-1981, it happened again.

Jason Ullmann, the state engineer for the Colorado Division of Water Resources, said that despite the recent dry conditions, water storage levels across the state were in pretty good shape.

“We’re in an OK position with reservoir storage on average statewide,” he said.

But Ullmann noted that if things didn’t ramp up significantly on the storm front over the next two months or so, a different conversation could be in the offing by spring.

“It’s not time for panic — there is time for it to improve,” he said. “One of our snowiest months, March, is still to come.”

High country woes

Rick “The Pup” Ascher has seen “really good” years and some “less-than-good” years in his nearly 50 years in Summit County.

He moved to Breckenridge from Minnesota in 1979, at age 18. For the past two decades, he’s owned the ski and snowboard business Pup’s Glide Shop, just off Main Street on Ski Hill Road.

“This year started out pretty slow,” Ascher said, “and it just continued really slow.”

Snowmaking equipment, he said, has done “an incredible job of putting snow on the main trails for the general public” at Breckenridge Ski Resort, but he knows a truly successful ski season can’t be had without the real stuff coating the slopes at some point.

That’s where Ascher puts on his optimist hat.

“Records show it����ap going to snow,” he said. “It always has.”

Sonja Chavez, the general manager of the Upper Gunnison Water Conservancy District, which covers Crested Butte and Gunnison, said the snow water equivalent in the Upper Gunnison River Basin was at 67% of average. Snow water equivalent is a crucial measurement of the amount of liquid water contained within the snowpack.

“Right now, I would say I’m moderately concerned,” she said. “If you talk to me in the spring and we still haven’t seen any significant snowfall, I would characterize my state of mind as highly concerned. If we go into another year with poor snowpack, or below-average snowpack, we’re going to be in a world of hurt.”

Joel Gratz, founding meteorologist of the — which is relied upon by diehard skiers and snowboarders — said temperatures have been rising over the last 60 years. But blaming climate change for current conditions in Colorado, he said, is a facile calculation that fails to account for other meteorological factors at play.

A persistent high-pressure ridge over the West and a low-pressure trough over the eastern United States have been deflecting storms to the north of Colorado, he said.

And while the La Niña weather cycle now occurring over the Pacific Ocean tends to dry and warm the American Southwest, he said, its effects are felt more strongly north and south of the state.

“The atmosphere has multiple factors that create storm tracks. Sometimes they’re not in our favor, sometimes they are. And sometimes it����ap a little bit of both,” Gratz said. “There is low to zero confidence that there have been any long-term changes in storm tracks or the amount of precipitation that falls here in Colorado.

“This is not climate change. This is simply bad luck.”

Ski resorts try to ‘stay nimble’

Regardless of the cause, the impacts of this season’s dismal conditions in the high country are indisputable.

Weekend traffic through the Eisenhower-Johnson Memorial Tunnels in November was down 3.6% from the previous November, according to the Colorado Department of Transportation. Traffic thinned even more in December, with 11.6% fewer weekend warriors transiting the tunnels compared to December 2024.

Room bookings in Breckenridge this season have slipped 7.8% compared to last year, with February’s numbers alone down 13% year over year, according to the Breckenridge Tourism Office.

Earlier this month, Vail Resorts reported to investors that skier visits to its destinations across North America have fallen 20% for the season. The publicly held, Broomfield-based company owns Vail, Beaver Creek, Breckenridge, Keystone and Crested Butte in Colorado, plus 32 other resorts in North America.

Chief Executive Rob Katz told investors that in the Rockies, “snowfall was down nearly 60% versus the historical 30-year average, resulting in approximately 11% of terrain being opened in December.”

Alan Henceroth, CEO of Arapahoe Basin, told The Denver Post that the season has “asked all of us to stay nimble, both on and off the mountain.” While hours have been cut, no employees have been fired or furloughed, the resort said.

Away from the busy Interstate 70 corridor, the challenges are no different. Said Andrew Sandstrom, executive director of the Gunnison-Crested Butte Tourism Association: “We’re hanging in there.”

The mostly north-facing slopes at Crested Butte Mountain Resort have meant less melting of the snow that is there. And with a 13-day ski patrol strike at Telluride Ski Resort that ended in early January, Sandstrom said Crested Butte saw “a little bit of a boost, last minute, of people shifting here.”

“Many destinations are facing similar things. The remainder of the season is certainly much more snow-dependent. Folks are deciding now, ‘Do I take a ski trip for spring break, or do I go to the beach for spring break?’ ” he said. “With the lack of snow, it����ap certainly impacting us.”

Mills, the Colorado Ski Country USA head, said while skier visits are “down sizable double digits” this season, she is not giving up.

“We’re starting to see colder weather,” she said. “There’s a lot of season left, and we know that skiers and snowboarders, when it snows, they want to get out and ski. I think there is a lot of pent-up demand that will still turn out this season.

“We’re not writing it off, by any means.”

Snowpack means water for farms, cities

Nearly 10,000 feet downhill from A-Basin’s 13,000-foot peak sits Dale Mauch’s 4,000-acre farm in Prowers County, which borders Kansas. There, the 65-year-old Colorado native grows corn, hay, wheat and oats. He started farming at age 18.

Mauch credits an early January snowstorm for putting southeast Colorado in fairly good shape water-wise — for now. But he knows the that is just 44% of average. The river is critical to irrigating the farm fields in the area.

If the snowpack doesn’t build in the next two months, Mauch said, farmers on the Eastern Plains will have to tap big water sources — like the John Martin and Pueblo reservoirs — earlier and harder than they’d like.

“So lake water that would last you into September could be done by July,” he said. “Then your crop burns up.”

As crucial as snowpack is to a productive field, Mauch said, farmers can look to the heavens as a backup. He is hoping that monsoon rains materialize this summer.

“If you get the afternoon thunderstorms, you can have a river from rain that makes up for the lack of a river on the snow side,” he said. “Our life is hope — because you have a lot of reasons to say, ‘Why do I do this?’ ”

Nathan Elder’s life is maintaining resilience in Denver Water’s system, which serves 1.5 million people in metro Denver.

As manager of the utility’s water supply, he keeps a close eye on Denver Water’s reservoir system, which and into more than a half-dozen counties west of Denver.

Denver Water taps all or part of 17 reservoirs — which, all told, hold a capacity of 708,000 acre-feet of water. An acre-foot, the amount of water it takes to cover an acre in a foot of water, can supply up to two single-family households’ needs for a year.

Almost all of the water the utility disperses comes from snowmelt.

Elder said the system is at 82% of capacity, which is just 4 percentage points below its normal level of 86% of capacity for this time of year.

“Our snowpack is not the worst we’ve seen for this time of the year, but it’s close to the bottom,” he said.

Elder projects Denver Water’s storage system will be at 90% of capacity at its peak on July 1.

“Denver Water plans for these types of things,” he said. “No one should go out and buy emergency tubs of water.”

But a longer-term concern for water managers is developing in terms of the quality of Colorado’s snowpack, Elder said. Because of rising temperatures, evaporation increases at the surface and desiccated soils suck up more water before it flows downhill.

“We just can’t expect our snowpack to produce as much as in past years,” he said. “We’re on a trend that we don’t want to be on right now.”

Whether counties and cities impose harsher outdoor watering restrictions on residents this summer — a common tactic during dry spells in Colorado — will likely be dictated by how snowy things get in the high country over next couple of months.

For now, pay attention to not just what is visible in the yard but what is happening underground, said Laura Swain, an assistant curator at the Denver Botanic Gardens. Roots are still growing and storing energy during the winter months, and they need moisture to remain viable.

“This is particularly important for newly planted trees and shrubs,” she said.

Native, drought-tolerant plants will handily weather the current conditions because “they are more adapted to these fluctuations,” Swain said.

“One year like this doesn’t mean a collapse, but it is a concerning trend,” she said.

‘Might as well enjoy it’

For now, the low snow levels have some people looking at the silver linings, whether at ski resorts or at the businesses that rely on summer snowmelt or among metro residents who are enjoying the outdoors unexpectedly.

Kerry O’Connor, a spokeswoman for the Breckenridge Tourism Office, said that while skiing conditions weren’t ideal on the mountain over the Christmas holidays, visitors turned their attention — and dollars — to Main Street.

“Over the holidays and through New Year’s, Main Street saw quite a nice boost of people visiting shops and local restaurants,” she said. “That was a nice side effect for our retail side of things, even though the mountain was suffering.”

David Costlow, the executive director of the Colorado River Outfitters Association, pins his hopes for the upcoming rafting season, which depends on the spring runoff, on past experience — and an optimism that is requisite for someone in his position.

“We’ve seen times like this before — 2002 was very dry. In 2003, it was very dry in December, January, February,” he said. “Then, on the Front Range, we got a three-foot snow on March 17 that changed the whole season. It kept snowing and didn’t stop until June.”

Even with a snowpack at 70% of average in the spring, Costlow said, the season would be just fine.

“You may not have raging high water, which is OK with us. You may just have a shorter season,” he said. “We will still raft.”

Finally, there’s just the simple human joy of being able to strip down to shorts and a T-shirt in the middle of winter.

Nick Roberts didn’t mind the unusually mild morning on Wednesday. Dressed in shorts and a light jacket, he prepared for a short hike on South Table Mountain in Golden.

He knew that January mid-morning temperatures in the 40s weren’t normal and could portend a dry summer to come. But he felt there was little he could do about it.

As he headed up the trail, he said: “Might as well enjoy it.”

Staff writer Elise Schmelzer contributed to this story.

Many other nonprofits funded by the SCFD also offer annual free days — or they’re always free, such as the Broomfield Veterans Museum, city of Lakewood art exhibitions, Heritage Lakewood Belmar Park, Foothills Art Center, Colorado Music Hall of Fame, the Aurora History Museum, and Louisville History Museum, according to the SCFD.

All free days take place during regular business hours unless otherwise noted. Check the full list, and a printable bookmark for the spots listed below, at . Some require online reservations, and all events are subject to change or cancellation.

Denver Museum of Nature & Science

• • Sunday, Jan. 11
  • Sunday, Feb. 1
  • Monday, Feb. 9
  • Friday evening, March 6
  • Monday, April 13
  • Sunday, April 26
  • Friday, June 19 (Juneteenth)
  • Monday, August 24
  • Tuesday evening, Sept. 1
  • Sunday, Oct. 11
  • Saturday evening, Nov. 7
  • Monday, Nov. 16

Free admission does not include IMAX or the Planetarium. Call 303-370-6000 or visit for more.

Denver Art Museum

• Tuesday, Jan. 13
• Tuesday, Feb. 10
• Tuesday, March 10
• Sunday, April 26
• Tuesday, May 12
• Tuesday, June 9
• Tuesday, July 14
• Saturday, Aug. 1
• Saturday, Sept. 12
• Tuesday, Oct. 13
• Saturday, Nov. 7
• Tuesday, Dec. 8

Note: General admission is free every day for those 18 and younger. Free days do not include admission to ticketed exhibitions. Call 720-865-5000 or visit for more.

Denver Zoo Conservation Alliance

• Friday, Jan. 9
• Sunday, Jan. 25
• Sunday, Feb. 22
• Sunday, April 19
• Wednesday, Nov. 11
• Saturday, Nov. 14
• Saturday, Nov. 22

Due to demand, tickets will not be available at the gate. Instead, all reservations must be made online starting roughly two weeks before the date. Call 720-337-1400 or visit for more.

Denver Botanic Gardens at York Street and Chatfield Farms

• Monday, Jan. 19
• Thursday, Feb. 12
• Monday, March 9
• Wednesday, April 22
• Tuesday, June 9
• Wednesday, July 1
• Tuesday, Aug. 25
• Friday, Nov. 27

Denver Botanic Gardens, Plains Conservation Center

• Thursday, Jan. 15
• Thursday, Feb. 19
• Saturday, March 21
• Thursday, June 11
• Saturday, July 11
• Thursday, Aug. 20
• Saturday, Nov. 14
• Thursday, Dec. 17

Call 720-865-3500 or visit for more, including educational days for students.

Denver Center for the Performing Arts

• Tuesday, Jan. 6
• Tuesday, Feb. 17
• Tuesday, April 7

DCPAccess Sale dates supported by SCFD include low-cost tickets to various upcoming shows. Visit for more.

Many Denver-area museums and attractions offer free admission on certain days every month, with some even hosting special activities. The free days are funded, in part, by taxes collected through the Science and Cultural Facilities District and/or donations from sponsors. Participating facilities include the Denver Art Museum, Denver Botanic Gardens and the Denver Museum of Nature & Science, among many others. (While general admission is free, some special exhibitions or other add-on activities may incur a fee.) For a full review of participants and dates, visit .

Denver Digs Trees

Though it seems a wee bit early to be thinking about spring, now’s the time to apply for more than 1,200 free and low-cost medium to large shade trees that will be distributed in the spring during The Park People’s Denver Digs Trees program. All Denver residents, businesses, nonprofits and schools are eligible. Trees cost $50 each (a $200 value), and are only $15 if you live in one of the “low-tree-canopy” neighborhoods. Those with a financial hardship may apply to get a free tree. Applications are due no later than Feb. 15. Learn more and apply online at

Recycle your Christmas tree

Nationally, approximately 93 percent of the real Christmas trees are recycled through community programs. Colorado is no exception with most cities and/or counties offering free Christmas tree recycle. Some programs have already started and run into January, with drop-off sites open various length of time, from the first week in January to as long as Jan. 31. A few municipalities offer curb-side pick-up, others ask you to take your tree to a drop-off site. Some even turn the trees into mulch, which is then distributed free to residents. There is no comprehensive holiday tree recycling site, so check your city or county recycling website for details.

DCPAccess Tickets

Among the Denver Center for Performing Arts’ discount programs, the most popular is its DCPAccess, which provides affordable access to many of its productions — even the occasional touring Broadway show — at up to 75 percent off. The discounted price includes the base ticket cost, as well as all fees and city seat tax. A first set of on-sale dates for 2026 have been announced: Jan. 6, Feb. 17 and April 7, and discounted tickets go on sale at noon each day. The shows and performance dates available changes each time, and there is a limit of four tickets per show. (Tickets often sell out within the same day, so be sure to set a reminder.) New sales and additional shows are added on a rolling basis throughout the year. The DCPA also offers special limited-time discounts on additional shows, so be sure to sign up for e-mail updates.

International Sportsmen’s Expo

Colorado is all about the outdoors, so it makes sense that the 2026 International Sportsmen’s Expo is one of the larger consumer shows to visit Denver. The Expo sets up camp at the Colorado Convention Center Jan. 8-11. Show hours vary by date. Celebrate such outdoor pursuits as fishing and hunting; take advantage of numerous show specials; visit hundreds of exhibitors; try gear at the casting pond; attend scores of seminars and workshops; and let the young enthusiasts get a taste of outdoor skills. Tickets are $18 for adults, with children 15 and under and active military getting in for free. Purchase tickets in advance online or at the door. Find a $3 discount coupon on the Colorado Parks & Wildlife site. Big O Tires is also expected to have coupons for the show available in-store.

Denver Zoo free days

Go wild with family and friends at the Denver Zoo Conservation Alliance for free in 2026. The popular local attraction opens its gates with Community Free Days on Jan. 9, Jan. 25, Feb. 22, April 19, and Nov. 11, 14 and 22. The complimentary tickets are available only online on a first-come, first-served basis, and are available nine to 11 days prior to each scheduled Free Day. Get up to five tickets per person. All visitors must have a timed and dated ticket for entry, including children 2 and under. Reservations for Jan. 9 open on Jan. 1. .

NWSS free admission

The National Western Stock Show gallops into the National Western Complex (4655 Humboldt St.) Jan. 10-25. Cowboys and cowgirls of all ages can saddle up for Free Grounds Admission Day on Jan. 13 from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. The complimentary admission does not include ticketed events. Families will definitely round up big savings, given the regular price on Tuesdays is $27 for adults and $7 for children. Parking is free, but space is limited, so consider parking at Coors Field in paved, well-lit lots dedicated to Stock Show attendees. The lots open at 8 a.m. daily with free shuttles taking attendees the 20-minute trip to the National Western Complex.

MLK Free Concert

The Colorado Symphony honors Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. with its annual tribute concert on Jan. 13 at 7:30 p.m. at Boettcher Concert Hall (1000 14th St.) in Denver. Admission is free. The evening will feature special guest performances and honor recipients of the 2026 Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Humanitarian Award. Tickets are required for admission, which are now available online (limit 10 per household). All seating is general admission. However, a ticket does not guarantee a seat, so arrive early.

Martin Luther King Jr. Marade

King’s legacy is also commemorated in Denver with what has grown to be one of the largest MLK Day celebrations in the U.S. Among the local events set to honor Dr. King is the annual Marade, on Monday, Jan. 19 (held rain, snow or shine). This year, due to construction, the marade (a combo of march and parade) starts at the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. statue at City Park. Participants strut their stuff west along Colfax, ending 3 miles later at the  State Capitol. The event is preceded by a 10 a.m. program honoring Dr. King at City Park, with the actual walk stepping off at about 11:45 a.m. There will not be a closing ceremony this year.

Niwot Community Seed Swap

Gardening enthusiasts itching for spring will want to mark their calendars for the Niwot Community Seed Swap at Niwot Hall (195 Second Ave.) on Jan. 24, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Hosted by the Niwot Garden Club, the swap is ideal for local seed savers who would want to share, gardeners wanting to learn how to save seeds and even people who want to garden from seed. Find a wide variety of seeds including native and pollinator-friendly wildflower seeds, Colorado-adapted vegetable varieties, and fruit and perennial garden favorites. Bring your harvested or packaged seeds, bulbs or starts to share, but don’t forget to bring envelopes or containers to take home your new seeds. If you don’t have any seeds, you’re still welcome to take some home. There is a suggested donation of $5.

The Ultimate RV Show

Hit the road with the Ultimate RV Show at the Colorado Convention Center (700 14th St.) Jan. 28-31. Show hours vary by date. Admission is free. See exhibits of all new 2026 RVs ranging from van campers to travel trainers to large motorhomes and more. Check out fully-staged new and pre-owned RVs, all at show-only special pricing. There will be new product debuts, complimentary show bags, a Kids Zone and RV experts on site to share their tips and insights. Visitors can also attend myriad how-to and idea-filled workshops, learn more about area campgrounds/resorts, and get tips on how to get the most out of items they already own.

Laura Daily and Bryan K. Chavez are freelance writers. Send tips to info@milehighonthecheap.com 14 to 21 days in advance.