A Rocky Mountain Arsenal for Nature Lovers

The name of the Rocky Mountain National Arsenal Wildlife Refuge, located just a 30-minute drive from Denver International Airport or Denver’s downtown, is an oxymoron. On this 15,000-acre parcel of Colorado wilderness, now being restored to its prairie natural state, the U.S. Army manufactured and experimented with chemical weapons during World War II and later leased the land to Shell Chemical Co. to manufacture herbicides, making it at one time among the most dangerous of all toxic waste sites. Legend has it that work done on the location at one time caused minor earth tremors in the area. In addition, part of what is now restored prairie on the southern fringes of the park was once one of the main runways for the original Denver International Airport, relocated in 1995 to its new location further east of the city. 

 

Today the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge makes for an intriguing short escape for those with a long layover, flight delay, or time to kill before or after a Denver visit. Colorado has so many eye-popping national parks and forests, it would be hard to recommend that travelers (other than committed bird-watchers or bison lovers) go out of their way to visit this place, but for those with a sense of curiosity or adventure it provides a unique way to pass a morning or afternoon. 

 

Located northeast of downtown Denver, just a short detour off I-70, the refuge offers emblematic views of the front range of the Rockies stretching all the way south to Pikes Peak, about 90 miles away, to the mountains behind Boulder and beyond to the north. The small trail network—maps are provided online and outside and inside the Visitor Center—meanders through land declared completely safe after years of cleanup, so that one can easily imagine in certain places what this view looked like 100 years ago. A network of man-made lakes surrounded by restored vegetation adds to the beauty. When there’s no wind and no flights arriving or departing from the distant Denver airport, the peacefulness is all-encompassing.

 

Don’t come here expecting a complete wilderness experience. The National Park Service has done an extraordinary job restoring the grasslands and maintaining a habitat for waterfowl and fish, so that in a few places one can see the distant peaks without any sign of civilization. The lakes are a big draw for bird migrations and bird watchers alike, and bald eagles still roost during the winter here in ever greater numbers. That said, the southern portion of the park sits in close proximity to the city and suburbs, and you’ll see power lines, distant slag heaps and buildings where the Denver International Airport once was located as you enter the park. With a location so near the city, and spectacular national parks in the mountains to the west, officials say they are primarily marketing the park to locals for its unique prairie habitat, educational opportunities for urban children and bird- and wildlife-watching (including about 100 bison in a large contained area through which visitors can drive at no cost.) 

 

This may be the only U.S. National Park founded by a pair of bald eagles. The land lay desolate and scarred after years of industrial use, which ceased in 1982. Then, in 1986, bald eagles were found nesting in the area, which gave rise to a community effort to have the 27-square-mile parcel targeted for cleanup. The area was designated a National Wildlife Refuge, and in 1987 a major cleanup effort began, funded by the U.S. Army and Shell Oil. It took 23 years before the refuge officially opened to the public in 2011. Prairie land restoration continues across the expansive area, and today about 15,000 of acres of prairie land and lakes are home to eagles and other raptors, songbirds in migration, many varieties of ducks and geese who winter here and the prairie dogs, coyotes, deer and bison being re-established in carefully controlled numbers. 

 

There is as much irony to the history of this place as there is to its name. Hunting grounds that were taken from Native Americans by white homesteaders, and in turn confiscated from the homesteaders by the U.S. government for the manufacture of chemical weapons, are now back in the hands of the wildlife that lived here even before man arrived. 

 

The park is located about eight miles northeast of Denver in Commerce City, CO. The park entrance is off of Prairie Drive just east of Quebec Parkway. The fastest way to or from the airport is by way of East 56th Avenue, which connects with Pena Boulevard, the highway to the airport, a drive that takes less than 30 minutes. 

 

If you’re looking for a nearby place to eat, check out popular El Jardin, a comfortable and friendly Mexican restaurant that has long lines at peak meal times; open for breakfast, lunch and dinner every day. 

 

Click here for a map of the park including walks and the wildlife drive. 

Click here for general information on the park.