It won’t be long until summer arrives and people look for spots to which they can escape. For thousands of people that means Colorado, one of the prettiest states in America.
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Colorado’s lure is the Rocky Mountains and the outdoors experience. Unfortunately, the natural beauty that draws American visitors also attracts tourists from around the world.
The Rocky Mountain high that John Denver sang about can become a Rocky Mountain low of traffic jams on scenic highway loops and crowded campgrounds. Texas native Dennis McKinney, who has lived in Colorado since 1977, has the solution to Rocky Mountain crowds.
McKinney is a writer who specializes in travel stories, often with a fishing, hunting or camping twist. His first book was a natural for a man who has spent 25 years searching out Colorado’s best wild places. The 352-page book is the state’s first definitive source on the Colorado Division of Wildlife’s State Wildlife Areas.
The book is called “Guide to Colorado State Wildlife Areas” ($28.95).
It is illustrated with 300 color photos and numerous maps.
Though this book is the official guide to state wildlife areas, McKinney at first met unusual resistance from Colorado Department of Wildlife field personnel who feared the public might overwhelm the 241 fragile areas highlighted by the book.
“At first they didn’t want the [wildlife areas] publicized,” said McKinney. “The guidebook has had the effect, however, of dispersing visitors who were using the more crowded natural areas.”
There is no charge for visiting these properties for fishing, hunting, hiking or even camping. The camping is primitive, meaning no running water, electricity, showers or toilets, but there are also no crowds.
One example is the Lajara Creek State Wildlife Areas south of Del Norte, said McKinney.
“It’s in the lower San Luis Valley where public campgrounds tend to be crowded,” he said. “At Lajara Creek you can fish for brown trout in a beautiful setting and camp under the cottonwoods along the creek. There’s a good chance you’ll have the place all to yourself.”
If you’re visiting Telluride, an area known for its beauty, be sure to follow McKinney’s directions to Woods Lake in the Lizardhead Wilderness Area. It’s one of the prettiest high mountain lakes in Colorado, but you won’t find it mentioned in most of the local literature.
The locals have known about these places for years, said McKinney. The guidebook levels the playing field for flatlanders looking for hidden gems. After 20-plus years of wandering Colorado, McKinney had visited nearly 100 of the wildlife areas. He and his wife took an entire year to visit and photograph the other 150 wildlife areas.
Some of the areas offer excellent hunting in the fall, and McKinney is very high on the quality of the trout fishing.
Most of Colorado’s state wildlife areas can be accessed in a two-wheel-drive pickup or sport-utility vehicle, said McKinney. A few spots require an off-road vehicle, but all that information is included in the guidebook.
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