![\"PHO-Red_Rocks_Amphitheatre_with_Shiprock-Don_Peitzman-photo_contest-10.13.09_small_2\"](\"http:\/\/ona16.journalists.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/12\/2016\/07\/PHO-Red_Rocks_Amphitheatre_with_Shiprock-Don_Peitzman-photo_contest-10.13.09_small_2.jpg\")
<\/a>Red Rocks Park + Amphitheater (Credit: Red Rocks\u00a0Park + Amphitheater)<\/p><\/div>\n
Red Rocks Park, Morrison, CO<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n About: Red Rocks is 868 acres, consisting of two, three hundred-foot monoliths and surrounded by red\u00a0sandstone rock. The park is located at 6,450 feet above sea level and is the only naturally-occurring\u00a0\u201cacoustically perfect\u201d amphitheater in the world. You can hike, bike, shop, dine and enjoy concerts.<\/a><\/p>\n Distance from host hotel: 16.2 miles (28 minutes with light traffic)<\/p>\n Roxborough State Park, Littleton, CO<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n About: The park has nearly\u00a04,000-acres and according to Colorado Parks & Wildlife, is filled with\u00a0dramatic red-rock formations, abundant flora, and\u00a0wildlife from deer to bear. I\u2019ve never\u00a0been, but after looking at the photos, I want to go. Warning: No drones allowed.<\/p>\n Distance from host hotel: 27.7 miles (59 minutes with moderate traffic)<\/p>\n Garden of the Gods, Colorado Springs, CO<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n About: As the name suggests, this park is filled with dynamic sandstone rock formations and\u00a0breathtaking views. That description is about as good as it gets. Enjoy\u00a0lunch at the glass-enclosed caf\u00e9 with views of Pike\u2019s Peak.<\/p>\n Distance from host hotel: 68.5 miles (1 hour, 29 minutes with moderate traffic)<\/p>\n Pike’s Peak Cog Railway, Manitou Springs, CO<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n About: Speaking of Pike\u2019s Peak, why don\u2019t you take a ride on the cog railway? The railway has been\u00a0taking passengers to the 14,115 summit of Pike\u2019s Peak since 1891. When I took it last May, we only\u00a0made it halfway up because of snow drifts, but I don\u2019t think you\u2019ll have that issue in September.<\/p>\n Distance from host hotel: 72.4 miles (1 hour, 42 minutes with moderate traffic)<\/p>\n Dinosaur Ridge<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n About: A\u00a0suggestion from my sister-in-law that\u00a0is now\u00a0going on\u00a0my Colorado bucket list. Many Jurassic Period dinosaur fossils were found at sites along the ridge and it\u00a0continues being a site for excavations.<\/p>\n Distance from host hotel: 14 miles (23 minutes with light traffic)<\/p>\n Manitou Inclind, Colorado Springs, CO<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n About: The incline is a difficult, physically active (not ADA accessible) hike up a one-mile trail, which\u00a0climbs 2,000 vertical feet. That is all you need to know. If you\u00a0go, I\u2019ll go.<\/p>\n Distance from host hotel: 72.6 miles (1 hour, 44 minutes with moderate traffic)<\/p>\n Hike Rocky Mountain National Park or Roosevelt National Forest, Larimer County, CO<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n About: A few weeks ago, ONA board members Mandy Jenkins, Kim Bui and I hiked in Roosevelt National Forest\u00a0and made our way into Rocky Mountain National Park. It was a delightful experience, with amazing\u00a0views. Pack plenty of water, bring a jacket and snacks and have fun! Bonus: 2016 marks the centennial of the US\u00a0National Parks. What better way to celebrate than to hit up one of the earliest parks established?<\/p>\n Distance from host hotel: Entrance in Larimer County, 67.9 miles (1 hour, 45 minutes with light traffic)<\/p>\n Mout Evans Scenic Byway<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n About: The Mount Evans Scenic Byway is the highest paved road in North America that climbs through\u00a0nearly 9,000 feet of elevation gain to the 14,264-foot summit of Mount Evans. It\u2019s AWESOME and one of\u00a0Colorado\u2019s famous \u201cfourteeners,\u201d or peaks above 14,000 feet above sea level.<\/p>\n Distance from host hotel: 60.2 miles (1 hour, 41 minutes with light traffic)<\/p>\n 8 Other Places to Explore<\/strong><\/p>\n Kelly Metz is the ONA16 Volunteer Coordinator.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Having lived in\u00a0Colorado for the past five years, I have explored much of the state. I have summited —\u00a0or attempted to\u00a0summit —\u00a0peaks, climbed hills, soaked in hot springs and have the bruises, sprains and scars to prove it. These activities are\u00a0made for those who want to take a pause from the hotel scene, a brain […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1239,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"start_time":0,"end_time":0,"moderators":[],"hashtag":[],"soundcloud":[],"scribble":[],"viafoura":[],"youtube":[],"vimeo":[],"facebook":[],"trint":[],"slideshare":[],"livestream":[],"resources":[],"video_embed":[],"first_name":"","last_name":"","title":"","organization":"","website":"","twitter":"","_sponsor_url":"","_sponsor_tagline":"","_sponsor_level":"","spay_email":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false},"categories":[1,69],"tags":[71,72,73,70,74],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paaWsZ-15x","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ona16.journalists.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4187"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ona16.journalists.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ona16.journalists.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ona16.journalists.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1239"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ona16.journalists.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4187"}],"version-history":[{"count":12,"href":"https:\/\/ona16.journalists.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4187\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4250,"href":"https:\/\/ona16.journalists.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4187\/revisions\/4250"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ona16.journalists.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4187"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ona16.journalists.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4187"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ona16.journalists.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4187"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}\n
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