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Best Place for an Active Family Reunion

Bruce Spruce Ranch

Nestled deep in the San Juan National Forest, at the base of Wolf Creek Pass, the Bruce Spruce Ranch can hold 75 of your nearest and dearest in search of an active outdoor adventure. In addition to the lodge -- which accommodates up to thirty people -- fourteen rustic log cabins as well as RV and tent-camping sites are available. On-site activities include cross-country skiing and snowshoeing, lake and stream fishing, hiking, horse rides and, when you're done with them, horseshoes. Downhill skiing, snowmobiling, hot springs, golf, narrow-gauge train rides, casino gambling and all sorts of amusements are close by, so there won't be any time for dysfunctional familial psychodrama this year.

Best Place for an Active Family Reunion

Bruce Spruce Ranch

Nestled deep in the San Juan National Forest, at the base of Wolf Creek Pass, the Bruce Spruce Ranch can hold 75 of your nearest and dearest in search of an active outdoor adventure. In addition to the lodge -- which accommodates up to thirty people -- fourteen rustic log cabins as well as RV and tent-camping sites are available. On-site activities include cross-country skiing and snowshoeing, lake and stream fishing, hiking, horse rides and, when you're done with them, horseshoes. Downhill skiing, snowmobiling, hot springs, golf, narrow-gauge train rides, casino gambling and all sorts of amusements are close by, so there won't be any time for dysfunctional familial psychodrama this year.

Best Bike Race

Bob Cook Memorial Mount Evans Hill Climb

There's just something compelling about a race whose waiver begins: "I acknowledge that this athletic event is an extreme test of a person's physical and mental limits and carries with it the potential for death, serious injury and property loss." The hill climb, scheduled this year for July 28, starts in Idaho Springs and grinds for 28 miles to the summit of Mount Evans on the highest paved road in North America, gaining 7,000 feet of elevation along the way. The fastest riders complete the trek averaging about twelve miles per hour; you'll be lucky to average eight. But the phrase "While I was doing the Mount Evans Hill Climb..." is an essential prelude to any serious local bike bragging.

Best Bike Race

Bob Cook Memorial Mount Evans Hill Climb

There's just something compelling about a race whose waiver begins: "I acknowledge that this athletic event is an extreme test of a person's physical and mental limits and carries with it the potential for death, serious injury and property loss." The hill climb, scheduled this year for July 28, starts in Idaho Springs and grinds for 28 miles to the summit of Mount Evans on the highest paved road in North America, gaining 7,000 feet of elevation along the way. The fastest riders complete the trek averaging about twelve miles per hour; you'll be lucky to average eight. But the phrase "While I was doing the Mount Evans Hill Climb..." is an essential prelude to any serious local bike bragging.

Best Ecosystem Trail

M. Walter Presman Trail

This 1.5-mile trail -- completed in 1962 through the efforts of the Denver Botanic Gardens and the U.S. Forest Service -- winds up a peak in the Mount Evans ecosystem, about 55 miles west of Denver. From the lower trailhead in a stand of ancient bristlecone pines, up past the timberline, through alpine tundra above 12,000 feet, the trail provides access to a wide variety of ecologically unique plants, wildlife and geological features. Each summer, volunteers from the Botanic Gardens work to conserve and restore the Presman trail; last year, construction began on a nature center at the lower trailhead. Guided tours along the trail offer visitors the opportunity to learn about the fragile ecosystem and the importance of conservation.

Best Ecosystem Trail

M. Walter Presman Trail

This 1.5-mile trail -- completed in 1962 through the efforts of the Denver Botanic Gardens and the U.S. Forest Service -- winds up a peak in the Mount Evans ecosystem, about 55 miles west of Denver. From the lower trailhead in a stand of ancient bristlecone pines, up past the timberline, through alpine tundra above 12,000 feet, the trail provides access to a wide variety of ecologically unique plants, wildlife and geological features. Each summer, volunteers from the Botanic Gardens work to conserve and restore the Presman trail; last year, construction began on a nature center at the lower trailhead. Guided tours along the trail offer visitors the opportunity to learn about the fragile ecosystem and the importance of conservation.

Best Flying Canine

Clever Corbin

Speedy Clever Corbin has blown away the competition since breaking in last year at the Mile High Kennel Club. Just two years old, the star of the Bryon Legg Kennel won 35 of his first 49 starts, with four seconds and four thirds, and he's lost just once, during the current meet at Cloverleaf Kennel Club in Loveland. The son of local greyhound racing legend Unruly Thomas and Uno Impulso, he will likely represent Cloverleaf in dog racing's annual Night of Stars in early May -- a simulcast of fifteen top-grade races from fifteen U.S. dog tracks.

Best Flying Canine

Clever Corbin

Speedy Clever Corbin has blown away the competition since breaking in last year at the Mile High Kennel Club. Just two years old, the star of the Bryon Legg Kennel won 35 of his first 49 starts, with four seconds and four thirds, and he's lost just once, during the current meet at Cloverleaf Kennel Club in Loveland. The son of local greyhound racing legend Unruly Thomas and Uno Impulso, he will likely represent Cloverleaf in dog racing's annual Night of Stars in early May -- a simulcast of fifteen top-grade races from fifteen U.S. dog tracks.

Best Animal-Attraction Encounters

An Adult Wild Night
The Denver Zoo

An offshoot of the zoo's wildly popular Bunk with the Beasts overnight programs for kids and families, this slumber party is just what it's billed to be -- a campout in the Gates Conservation Center for the 21-and-older set, featuring a guided walk through the zoo after hours (during which you'll observe a variety of nocturnal animals, human and otherwise, up close and personal), a couple of meals and a late-night snack (please avoid nibbling your next-door neighbor) and another behind-the-scenes tour in the morning. Singles are encouraged to sign up, though couples are welcome. The next adult night is in June; early signup is a must.

Best Animal-Attraction Encounters

An Adult Wild Night
The Denver Zoo

An offshoot of the zoo's wildly popular Bunk with the Beasts overnight programs for kids and families, this slumber party is just what it's billed to be -- a campout in the Gates Conservation Center for the 21-and-older set, featuring a guided walk through the zoo after hours (during which you'll observe a variety of nocturnal animals, human and otherwise, up close and personal), a couple of meals and a late-night snack (please avoid nibbling your next-door neighbor) and another behind-the-scenes tour in the morning. Singles are encouraged to sign up, though couples are welcome. The next adult night is in June; early signup is a must.

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