Just outside Cañon City, Temple Canyon and Grape Creek offer trout fishing, hiking, primitive camping, wildlife and rugged canyon scenery away from the Royal Gorge crowds.
Late Summer on the Arkansas River: Why September Is One of the Best Times to Visit
September on the Arkansas River feels different. The river is quieter. Mornings are cooler. Cottonwoods begin hinting at fall. Summer crowds thin out, campsites become easier to enjoy, and the frantic pace of June and July gives way to a season that rewards slowing down. It is also one of the most interesting times to explore the entire Arkansas River …
Where to See Bighorn Sheep Along the Arkansas River
You can spend a lot of time looking for wildlife in Colorado. Along one stretch of the Arkansas River, the clue is right in the name. Bighorn Sheep Canyon begins downstream of Salida and follows the Arkansas River east toward the Royal Gorge region. Highway 50 and the river share this narrow corridor, where steep granite slopes, rocky ledges, pinyon-juniper …
Independence Pass from Twin Lakes: A Driving Guide
There are Colorado drives where the road is simply how you get somewhere. Independence Pass is not one of them. From Twin Lakes, Colorado Highway 82 leaves the broad Upper Arkansas River Valley and climbs into the heart of the Sawatch Range, passing forests, rushing creeks, alpine tundra, old mining country, waterfalls, ice caves, and some of the biggest mountain …
A Simple Arkansas River Map Guide: Headwaters to the Royal Gorge
It is much easier to understand Colorado’s Arkansas River once you stop thinking about individual attractions and start looking at the river as one continuous corridor. The section most visitors explore begins high in the mountains near Leadville, passes Buena Vista and Browns Canyon, flows directly through Salida, continues through Bighorn Sheep Canyon and then cuts into the Royal Gorge …