FLOOD10384 (2) - Laserfiche WebLink

Home Browse Search

Recreation Resources of Colorado io, j ~1 ,,' Colorado is one of the prime outdoor recrea- tion areas of the Nation. Its wide range of temperature and varied topography provide activities to suit practically all tastes, and hundreds of thousands of Americans seeking outdoor recreation make tourism third among the State's industries. One fourth of the State is forested providing- in addition to timber resources, watershed pro- tection, and wildlife habitat-a wide and varied recreation base. The summer and winter resorts such as Aspen provide considerable attraction. Winter snow conditions for skiing last sometimes as late as May. The ideal camping season is mid-June to early September, although many campgrounds are open from May to October. Many. sites of archeological interest are available for exploration; those in the southwest are combined with strikingly eroded topogra- phy. Mountain ghost towns from the days of the Forty Niners, old trading posts, and other areas still exist. Ten sites have been considered as eligible for status as Registered National Historic Landmarks: Lindenmeier Site; Pikes Peak; Pike Stockade; Raton Pass; Central City; Cripple Creek; Silverton-Telluride Area; Lead- ville; and the Denver-Rio Grande Railroad from Durango to Silverton. Park Development Programs Under its long-range park development pro- gram, the Department's National Park Service is making rapid progress in its improvement plans for COforado areas. For example, during a recent survey for the proposed campground on Navajo Hill in Mesa Verde National Park, park archeologists dis- covered extensive ditches and channels of a prehistoric system for catching and collecting water used for domestic purposes by the agri- cultural Indians who inhabited the mesa and surrounding regions for more than 1,300 years. The display and explanation of this newly dis- 14