Other Activities at Hartsel Springs Ranch and the Surrounding Areas
River Rafting
The mighty Arkansas River’s headwaters
start in nearby Fremont Pass to form the fourth longest river
in the country as it travels 1,450 miles to the Mississippi
River. But the Arkansas may be most famous for the tremendous
quality of white water rafting than for its length. Best of
all it is only a short distance from the Ranch.
Heading
south into Brown’s Canyon, through the town of Salida,
and through the spectacular Royal Gorge, the Arkansas is largely
considered amongst the best white water rafting in the world.
There are numerous outfits so competition has
kept the price of rafting fairly reasonable.
Hiking/Biking
You’ll find plenty of casual hike or bike routes along the Ranch with
buttes, canyons, prairies and foothills. For biking, there are back roads as well as the trails in the Pike National Forest and Lost Park Wilderness area. You can choose from
perfectly flat hikes to more rigorous ones. Of course, if you
want more adventure, you only have to look at the surrounding
mountains and the infamous Sawatch Range which boasts Colorado’s
highest peaks and is often referred to as the “backbone
of the Continent”. Fifteen of Colorado’s 54 Fourteeners
including the three highest peaks in the Rockies comprise this
massive collection of granite towers. Snow covered peaks rising
6,000 feet above the Arkansas Valley provide such a dramatic
background that words simply can’t describe.
And
as massive and as breathtaking as these mountains appear, they
are not as extreme or as rugged as other mountain ranges.
The terrain lends itself perfectly to world-class hiking.
There are trails to the top of these mighty mountains and
in some cases, such as neighboring Mt. Belford and Mt. Oxford,
you can bag two summits in one day.
While you will certainly want to be in good health,
well acclimated
and knowledgeable about venturing into Colorado high country,
most routes do not involve more than a long hike over rough
terrain. In other words, you don’t have to be a technical
rock climber to access these spectacular summits.
Now
if you don’t want to hike to the top of a Fourteener
there are easier options. Take for example the toll
road up Colorado’s most famous mountain, the incomparable
Pike’s Peak. Located to the south east of the Ranch,
Pike’s Peak’s summit, standing at an impressive
14,110 feet can be reached by automobile. And
if the thought of negotiating the winding mountain road is
still too much for you, climb aboard the Pikes Peak Cog Railroad
and let a train haul you to the summit. If only the late Zebulon
Pike, for whom the mountain is named, were alive to witness
that. After all, Mr. Pike was the one who went on record saying
that no man would ever reach the summit.
