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Outdoor Adventure: Paint Mines Interpretive Park























Outdoor Adventure: Paint Mines Interpretive Park
Governor Jared Polis has issued a stay-at-home order for Colorado residents, but you're allowed outdoors for air and exercise. Just remember to maintain your space.
The Paint Mines Interpretive Park, located about an hour southeast of Castle Rock, is one of the gems of the Colorado plains. Named for its colorful clays once used by American Indians to make paint, the interpretive park includes vibrant rock formations colored gold and pink by oxidized iron compounds.
The park has four miles of trails leading around the rim, as well as through the mines themselves; you can see geological formations, including spires and hoodoos, formed by various erosive processes. Archaeological artifacts found on the site, such as arrowheads and stone dart tips, point to native occupation that began about 9,000 years ago; in the 1800s, Euro-American people settled in this area.
Location: 29950 Paint Mines Road, Calhan
Main Feature(s): Colorful walls of the Paint Mines.
Local Wildlife: Coyote, mule deer, songbirds, horned toads, falcons, rabbits and hawks.
Elevation: 6,607 feet to 6,722 feet.
COVID-19 Notes: The trails, even on the weekend, have plenty of room to observe social-distancing protocol. The only amenity that is temporarily unavailable is the park's restroom.
Governor Jared Polis has issued a stay-at-home order for Colorado residents, but you're allowed outdoors for air and exercise. Just remember to maintain your space.
The Paint Mines Interpretive Park, located about an hour southeast of Castle Rock, is one of the gems of the Colorado plains. Named for its colorful clays once used by American Indians to make paint, the interpretive park includes vibrant rock formations colored gold and pink by oxidized iron compounds.
The park has four miles of trails leading around the rim, as well as through the mines themselves; you can see geological formations, including spires and hoodoos, formed by various erosive processes. Archaeological artifacts found on the site, such as arrowheads and stone dart tips, point to native occupation that began about 9,000 years ago; in the 1800s, Euro-American people settled in this area.
Location: 29950 Paint Mines Road, Calhan
Main Feature(s): Colorful walls of the Paint Mines.
Local Wildlife: Coyote, mule deer, songbirds, horned toads, falcons, rabbits and hawks.
Elevation: 6,607 feet to 6,722 feet.
COVID-19 Notes: The trails, even on the weekend, have plenty of room to observe social-distancing protocol. The only amenity that is temporarily unavailable is the park's restroom.
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