Great Outdoors Colorado - GOCO

🚲 Bike tuned up and ready? Fraser Bike Park is officially open at Cozens Ranch Open Space between Fraser and Winter Park.

Designed for riders of all ages, abilities, and skill levels, including adapted riders, the free bike park features:

• 1,800 linear feet of dirt skills trails
• Progressive jump lines
• A 1,680-square-foot paved asphalt pump track
• Bike repair stations
• Shaded seating areas

The project was made possible by Town of Fraser, Colorado and an incredible team of local organizations, including Headwaters Trails Alliance, Fraser Valley Metropolitan Recreation District, Fraser Valley Mountain Bikers Association, Avid Trails, Skinny Traffic Trails, Trestle Bike Park, and many others, with support from a GOCO grant.

See you out there!

📍Map from Explore Fraser Colorado
ℹ️ explorefrasercolorado.com/find-your-flow

It's open! 🥳

The new High Plains Trail connector and bridge over Parker Road now link the Cherry Creek Regional Trail and High Plains Trail, creating a seamless and safe route for walking, running, and riding in the south metro area.

Years of collaboration made this win possible, connecting major trail systems and helping more people get outside close to home.

Let's hear it for Arapahoe County Government, Aurora, Colorado City Hall, Town of Parker, Colorado, City of Centennial Government, Douglas County - Government, E-470 Public Highway Authority, and Denver Regional Council of Governments for coming together to make it all possible. GOCO is proud to have supported the effort.

📸 Arapahoe County

🙌 More than 3,300 acres in the Gunnison area are now protected forever, thanks to the Colorado State Forest Service and partners.

The Higher Ground Headwaters Ranch conserves critical wildlife habitat, forests, and headwaters that feed the Gunnison River system. It supports species like Canada lynx, Gunnison sage grouse, elk, mule deer, black bears, and native trout, and hosts 14 miles of streams, springs, and riparian habitat. 🌱

GOCO was proud to support alongside Colorado Parks and Wildlife, Gunnison County, CO Government, Trust for Public Land, the U.S. Forest Service Forest Legacy Program, and dedicated landowners committed to long-term stewardship.

Now that’s some powerful partnership for our outdoors. 💪

📸 Laura Wagner, USFS

🥁 Drumroll, please…Kelsey Kirkwood joins GOCO!

Kelsey's our new North Central Program Officer, based in Salida, where she’ll support partnerships across the region and help communities navigate GOCO funding opportunities.

And she’s no stranger to GOCO. Kelsey got her start in a GOCO-funded fellowship with our friends at Colorado Open Lands, where she later moved into a full-time role, helping the land trust conserve working lands and natural resources across the state.

Fun fact: her love for the outdoors spans the globe. 🌎 Before COL, environmental education work took her to Alaska, Peru, and China, deepening her appreciation for how people connect to land across cultures.

Now, we’re lucky enough to call her a GOCOer. Welcome, Kelsey!

It begins! City of Lone Tree Government just broke ground on a truly epic regional park vision. This phase is set to finish up in 2027. We. Can. Hardly. Wait. 🤩

📣 Conserved near Denver! 347 acres have just been added to Matthews/Winters Park, creating even more space for Coloradans and visitors to get outside near Red Rocks.

It's an important wildlife migration corridor--a rare conservation opportunity this close to the city. It supports elk, mule deer, black bear, and mountain lion, plus at-risk species like the Preble’s Meadow Jumping Mouse, Hops Azure Butterfly, the Mottled Duskywing butterfly, and the fiddleleaf twinpod, a rare wildflower found only in this region. 💚

Let’s hear it for The Conservation Fund and Jeffco Open Space, CO, who moved quickly to protect this property forever. 👏 Proudly supported by GOCO.

📸 Anne Friant Ludolph, courtesy of TCF

It’s happening. 👀

Construction is officially underway on a major glow-up of the Town of Silver Cliff's community park, tucked in the Wet Mountain Valley in south-central Colorado.

They’re getting accessible play areas and a four-court pickleball facility, set to a stunning backdrop that already comes with the place: the dramatic Sangre de Cristo Mountains. ⛰️

The project is the result of residents, local businesses, and organizations coming together to dream up a more inclusive, sustainable park to boost community health, connection, and outdoor access for people across Custer County.

We’re so excited for them! Stay tuned for more updates on how it’s going.

🌱 SPRING. If you're anything like us, you're gearing up for some sweet adventures. Quick note to drop in your pack:

We're headed into a warm, dry season, which means taking a little extra care out there.

> Stay on trails to give fragile plants a break.
> Pack it out. Wind + low water = trash where it shouldn't be.
> Check local fire restrictions and trail updates so you (and your favorite spot) stay safe!

Coloradans, you know your stuff. What would you add?

4,000+ acres of gorgeous Colorado "canyon country" protected forever. Let's go, The Conservation Fund! We're so proud to have supported the effort.

Vast Canyon Landscape Protected in Western Colorado: Escalante Ranch - The Conservation Fund We protected Colorado's Escalante Ranch, stretching from Uncompahgre Plateau to the Gunnison River, and will join Dominguez-Escalante National Conservation Area.