(EMAILWIRE.COM, January 28, 2009 ) FORT COLLINS, Colorado–Prominent and active outdoor enthusiasts are eagerly awaiting the public opening of Red Mountain Open Space and Soapstone Prairie Natural Area on June 6. This combined Rocky Mountains Front Range-to-the high plains zone, located 25 miles north of Fort Collins, will offer 42 miles of trails and three trailheads, a registered historic archeology site, a visitor center, and non-motorized recreation. This is access to 27,000 acres of open space not open to the public previously.
Helping to alleviate overcrowding at other nearby recreation areas, the Red Mountain-Soapstone Area will provide a “wonderful outdoor experience,” according to Cathy Jones, marketing director of the Fort Collins Convention and Visitors Bureau. “Shortgrass prairie, foothills and canyons provide a splendid backdrop for hikers, bikers and equestrians. This includes rock buttes and formations, rolling grasslands, red rock walls, stone circles and bison jumps and wallows – supreme geology.”
Jones also notes that Soapstone provides access to the Lindenmeier Archaeological Site, a significant historical site with the only extensive Folsom culture campsite yet found with artifacts dating from approximately 11200 BCE to 3000 BCE. The site was partially excavated during 1934-40 by the Smithsonian Institution and in 1935 by the Denver Museum of Natural History.
The Fort Collins Museum holds a significant collection of Folsom artifacts excavated from the Lindenmeier Site, along with the Denver Museum of Nature and Science and the Smithsonian Institution. The Lindenmeier was declared a National Historic Landmark on January 20, 1961.
Adventure enthusiasts can hike the Pronghorn Trail, a 7.7 mile loop that takes hikers through grassland vistas that also are known for excellent birding (burrowing owls, mountain plovers, McCownÂ’s longspur and long-billed curlews). Mountain bikers can race to Mahogany Trail, a 5.1 mile lollipop trail with connections to the 3.2 Canyon Trail and the 7.4 mile Cheyenne Rim/Big Hole Wash/Ruby Wash Loop. Equestrians up for a long ride will relish the more than 13 mile Cheyenne Rim Trail with several options for return loop routes.
For more information on Red Mountain-Soapstone and affordable lodging in Fort Collins, visit http://www.visitftcollins.com or call 1-800-274-3678.
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Fort Collins Convention and Visitors Bureau
CONTACT: Cathy Jones
TEL: (970) 232-3846
E-MAIL: cjones@ft.collins.com
WEB: www.visitftcollins.com
Click Here for Media Kit.
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