Comment on National parks free this weekend

The best Colorado campground you never saw might be a remote spot on BLM land at the foot of the Sangre de Cristo range near Great Sand Dunes National Park, 35 miles north of the New Mexico border. At least that’s how one might envision the Sacred White Shell Mountain campground after reading about it on a list of 10 best places to camp in the mountain west that was assembled by The Dyrt, a popular camping website and app with millions of visitors annually. Sacred White Shell Mountain rated second on the list, which was derived from users of The Dyrt, and was one of two in Colorado to make the list.

United Airlines loyalty members can now use their perks to buy tickets to Red Rocks Amphitheatre, the company said this month, reinforcing data that shows travel and tourism as vital to revenue at the city-owned venue. United’s MileagePlus members can redeem their miles for concert tickets — not all shows, of course — instead of simply sending them out of state on other flights.

North Fork ranchers move their stock between pastures in early summer, so don’t be surprised if cowboys are leading cattle drives the very same weekend local winemakers are kicking off their 2024 season with North Fork Uncorked, a series of viticultural events held June 8 to 9. Colorado’s North Fork is a federally designated American Viticultural Area (the West Elks AVA) fed by a tributary of the Gunnison River.

The Glenwood Hot Springs Pool’s claim to fame is that it’s the world’s largest outdoor mineral pool. At 405 feet long, with steam lifting from the water, the Yampah Spring-fed Grand Pool is larger than a football field. Still, there’s room to grow: Glenwood Hot Springs will open a collection of five new pools at the end of May, including a cold plunge, an infinity pool, and a hot spring pool with a waterfall feature. An architect’s rendering of part of the expansion to the Glenwood Hot Springs pools.

Early indications suggest Colorado could have a very good rafting season through spring and into the summer, especially in the northern half of the state. Predicting seasonal rafting conditions is difficult because factors besides snowpack depths always come into play, such as temperature trends, which affect the rate of runoff, as well as the amount and timing of monsoon moisture in the summer.

The time has arrived to build your summer schedule around the jazz festivals returning to the mountains. How fortunate are we to have so much natural beauty intersecting with so many people obsessed with bringing you excellent music at altitude? Boney James will perform at this summer’s Winter Park Jazz Festival.