Contact Information Contact Information
Dept Director
- John Stokes
- bmF0dXJhbGFyZWFzQGZjZ292LmNvbQ==
- 970.416.2815
- 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. (M-F, except for holidays)
Natural Areas Newsletter Natural Areas Newsletter
Natural Areas History
Arapaho Bend Natural Area
Click on the links below to learn more about the history behind Arapaho Bend Natural Area
- Photo of original Strauss cabin from Denver Public Library Digital Collections.
- Video history of Robert Strauss (1.47 min.) by local historians Wayne Sundberg and Ken Jessen.
Plan your next visit to Arapaho Bend Natural Area by clicking the link below.
Bobcat Ridge Natural Area
Bobcat Ridge Natural has a rich history prior to becoming a natural area. Check out the documents below to learn more about this special place:
- Working the Land: Creating a Life a booklet about Bobcat Ridge's history.
- Pieces of the Past: The Story of Bobcat Ridge Natural Area is a historical record by Carol Tunner.
- Video overview of Bobcat Ridge posted on YouTube
Click the link below to plan your next visit to Bobcat Ridge Natural Area
Gateway Natural Area
Gateway Natural Area is more than meets the eye. Learn more below:
Plan your next visit to Gateway Natural Area by clicking the link below.
Soapstone Prairie Natural Area
There is an extensive and diverse human history at Soapstone Prairie - exceeding 12,000 years - from PaleoIndians of the Ice Age to millennia of American Indian groups, to more than a century of homesteaders and cattle and sheep ranchers. The most famous cultural site at Soapstone Prairie is the Lindenmeier archeological site, a National Historic Landmark. Excavations in the 1930s by the Smithsonian and Colorado Museum of Natural History conclusively dated human habitation in North America to at least 10,000 years ago and gave new insight into the Folsom culture. Needles, beads and stone tools were found, making the Lindenmeier site the most extensive Folsom culture campsite yet found. Learn more about the excavations in this booklet about the excavations. Other human history at Soapstone Prairie includes possible Clovis complex sites, numerous stone rings, sheep camp rock cairns, ruins of historic homesteads, ranches and their associated buildings, the foundation of a schoolhouse, and roads and trails.
Check out these other resources to learn more:
- Homesteads of Soapstone Prairie Story Map
- Speaking History video (Fort Collins Museum's Soapstone Prairie Oral History Project)
- Meeting in the Center with Respect video
- Pioneer History of Soapstone Prairie, book by Suzy Riding
Soapstone Prairie Natural Area is remote and expansive. Plan your visit to Soapstone Prairie Natural Area by clicking the link below.