Exploring the outdoors is an enjoyable pastime anywhere, but especially so in southwestern Colorado. It’s ground zero for outdoor enthusiasts.
Recreational activities such as mountain biking, rock climbing, skiing, hiking, white water rafting and fishing abound. And you can appreciate the mind-blowing scenery while you partake of these back-to-nature activities surrounding Cobble Creek in Montrose, Colorado.
No matter the season, there is something for outdoor lovers to do in this region. Winter brings with it the obvious options of cross-country skiing, downhill skiing, snowmobiling and snowboarding. Spring, summer and fall are the ideal times for a range of other warm-weather activities. It’s a hiker’s paradise and if you’ve ever had a hankering to learn rock climbing, you’re in luck.
Cobble Creek’s proximity to resort towns such as Telluride, Crested Butte, Ouray and Ridgway offer an even wider range of activities in the nearby area. There are also forests including the Black Canyon of the Gunnison, Grand Mesa, Blue Mesa and Ridgway reservoirs, Curecanti, the San Juan National Forest, Owl Creek and the Cimarrons.
At Grand Mesa you can traverse countryside where pioneers once grazed cattle and where it’s a playground for former Olympic skiers and world-renown athletes. The top of Grand Mesa ranges from 10,000 to 11,000 feet above sea level, and the cool, green slopes are dotted with aspen, spruce and sub-alpine fir trees.
In nearby Ridgway, summer options include hiking or mountain biking on miles of trails, climbing 14,000-foot peaks, four-wheeling along some of Colorado’s hairiest roads, and boating and swimming in the reservoir.
Montrose’s proximity to ski towns such as Telluride and Purgatory give even more outdoor options, with classes on backpacking, camping, rock climbing and mountaineering at Telluride Outdoor School. In Purgatory, you can go hiking with llamas at the Durango Mountain Resort. The area also features miles of mountain bike trails, an alpine slide and horseback riding, fly-fishing and nature hikes.
You can even go white-water rafting along the Colorado River in Mesa Verde National Park. A bit farther away, in Aspen, you’ll find more white-water kayaking and rafting.
At Crested Butte, at nearly 9,000-feet elevation, you can find one of the country’s best mountain-biking destinations. Trails of all skill levels weave around the small, picturesque town.
And Haviland Lake, near Durango, is not far off a busy highway, but the kayaking here is superb. The water is crystal clear and the lake is surrounded by alpine trees.
Sure, Colorado is a wonderful place to visit in winter, but there’s so much to do year-round, whether in fall color time, winter, summer or spring. There are no shortage of rivers and trails in the area for the outdoor enthusiast living at Cobble Creek in Montrose.
