Back Issues

• Animals of the Alpine Tundra In this wild and wonderful photo essay, life begins at tree line for the plucky creatures that make their homes on the treeless summits of Colorado’s highest peaks. Story and photographs by Dawn Y. Wilson
• Going Diagonal, Part 2 Two years after traversing Colorado on a straight line between its southeast and northwest corners, a Boulder woman walks the state along its other diagonal, hiking an ‘X’ across the state map. By India H. Wood
• Pawnee National Grassland Towering sandstone buttes, singing birds and a sea of prairie invite explorers to a timeless stretch of the Great Plains in northeast Colorado. Story by Lisa Truesdale
• Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railway An amateur train crew lives out their dream of smoke, soot and steam as they learn to operate a historic locomotive in stunning southern Colorado scenery. Story by Tom HessPhotographs by Joshua Hardin
  

• The Milky Way over Colorado In this stunning photo essay, photographers venture into some of the most remote parts of Colorado to capture beautiful nighttime landscapes beneath the starry canopy of the Milky Way. By Matt Masich
• Colorado Creative Corridor A 331-mile trail traverses some of the prettiest parts of the Rocky Mountains with stops in five mountain towns filled with artists, public artwork and galleries. Story by Matt Masich. Photographs by Joshua Hardin
• Weminuche Wilderness Encompassing a vast tract of the San Juan Mountains three quarters the size of Rhode Island, the Weminuche Wilderness Area offers vistas of unspoiled grandeur. By Will Berger
• Burlington’s Old Town Museum The past comes to life in dramatic fashion at a recreated frontier village, where gunslinging cowboys shoot it out in Wild West fashion each summer in Burlington. Story by Tom Hess. Photographs by Joshua Hardin

ON THE COVER With the Milky Way above, a mountain biker rides over Independence Pass. Story begins on page 20. Photo by Brandon Huttenlocher

• The Five States of Colorado: The state’s arbitrary rectangular borders encompass five regions that each have their own distinct culture. A new documentary film explores the life and history of each of these five different Colorados. Story by Matt Masich.
• The sky is full of sandhill cranes and the fields are full of potatoes in the San Luis Valley town of Monte Vista, which has views of the San Juan and Sangre de Cristo mountains. Story by Leah M. Charney. Photographs by Joshua Hardin.
• A stunning photo essay covering Front Range Springtime explores city, state and national parks on the Front Range, from Garden of the Gods to Rocky Mountain National Park. Story by Matt Masich.
• Steamboat Springs is home to Yampa River Botanic Park housing more than 60 gardens along the Yampa River that provides a green and serene respite from the stress of daily life. Story by Marion Kahn.
• Lemon gives a special zest to this tasty selection of recipes. Recipes and photos by Danelle McCollum.

• As the cold freeze of winter sets in across mountains and plains, Colorado’s beautiful, natural Frozen Landscapes take on a new kind of grandeur when covered in blankets of snow and ice, as seen by our photographers. Story by Matt Masich.
• During World War II, elite winter warriors of the 10th Mountain Division learned to ski and scale mountains at Camp Hale in the Colorado Rockies, then put their skills to the test fighting Nazis in Italy. Story by Matt Masich.
• The beloved getaway of presidents, celebrities and regular folks alike, the historic Colorado Springs Broadmoor resort operates like a city within a city, complete with its own fire department. Story by Tom Hess.
• In the San Juan Mountains near Telluride, a hardy band of mountain dwellers make their home in Ophir, where an avalanche chute runs right through the middle of town. Story by Caroline Araiza. Photos by Barton Glasser.
• Kids Behind the Fossil Fight: The bones of two dinosaurs are displayed as though fighting each other at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science – fossils that were separately unearthed by Colorado schoolchildren. Story by Tom Hess.
• Appetizers take center stage with tasty recipes in our Kitchens Recipes by Danelle McCollum.

• Snowmobiles on Wolf Creek Pass. Backcountry snowmobile guides Forest and Jaclyn Bramwell of Pagosa Springs brave wintry terrain to lead guests through forests filled with pristine seasonal splendor. Story and photographs by Joshua Hardin.
• Ice and Steam in Ouray. Steam rises from the hot springs pool on one side of town, while on the other, climbers use ropes and axes to scale sheer walls of blue ice in Ouray, home of history, adventure – and an unforgettable bipedal dog named Dexter. Story by Matt Masich and photographs by Joshua Hardin.
• Behind the Scenes at Breck. We meet members of the small army of employees whose dedicated work keeps Breckenridge Ski Resort running, from lift maintenance, to snowmaking, to snowcat operators. Story by Matt Masich and photographs by Joe Kusumoto.
• Wildlife Pilots. Colorado Parks and Wildlife has a team of pilots who fly missions across the state to stock alpine lakes with fish and help biologists determine how many wild animals live in Colorado and what their migration patterns are. Story By Caroline Araiza.
• Holiday Candy Recipes. Christmas candy has made major leaps in the nearly 200 years since “visions of sugarplums” danced in the heads of the wee ones in A Visit from St. Nicholas. Story and photographs by Danelle McCollum.

• Devils of Colorado: In this photo essay, we explore the Devil’s Punchbowl, the Devil’s Backbone and other locales blessed with heavenly beauty yet saddled with downright diabolical names. Story and Photographs by Dawn Y. Wilson.
• Visitors walk a mile-long pedestrian bridge rising 30 feet above lions, tigers, bears and other carnivores that have found a home at Wild Animal Sanctuary near Keenesburg on the Eastern Plains, all thanks to one man’s vision and the help of volunteers. Story by Tom Hess.
• People ride the cog railway to the brand-new Pikes Peak Summit Visitor Center to eat donuts at the 14,115-foot pinnacle of one of America’s best-loved mountains. Story by Tom Hess, Photographs by Joshua Hardin.
• Beneath Grand Mesa, multigenerational family farmers in the Western Slope apple capital of Cedaredge celebrate the fall harvest with apples by the bushelful and plenty of locally made cider at the townwide celebration known as Applefest. Story by Leah M. Charney, Photographs by Joshua Hardin.
• Our potato recipes give spuds their turn in the spotlight.

• Canyons on the Plains: In the southeast corner of Colorado, Baca County’s surprising and scenic natural landscape boasts a stunning array of hoodoos, petroglyphs and wildlife. Story and photographs by Joshua Hardin.
• On the steep slopes of Mount Antero near Salida, prospector Brian Busse raised six children while hunting for gemstones at his Thank You Lord Aquamarine Mine. Story by Tom Hess. Photographs by H. Mark Weidman.
• At Mulberry Community Gardens a band of green-thumbed volunteers cultivates a bumper crop of friends while growing vegetables at a beloved community garden in Fort Collins. Story and photographs by Valerie Mosley.
• On each Wednesday night in summer, amateur racers burn rubber at Bandimere Speedway, a nationally renowned professional drag strip in Morrison known as Thunder Mountain. Story by Tom Hess. Photographs by Joshua Hardin.
• Ice cream recipes offer a flavorful way to keep cool.

• Travel through the eastern San Juan Mountains on a Silver Thread Scenic and Historic Byway road trip that makes stops at waterfalls, mining boomtowns and some truly spectacular mountain vistas.
• Two Ponds, one of the United States’ smallest national wildlife refuges sits in the middle of Arvada, where it provides habitat to birds and other native species, thanks to the citizens who banded together to preserve it.
• A Boulder woman set off on an extraordinary journey to traverse Colorado diagonally, hiking from the southeast corner to the northwest corner.
• Denver neighborhood RiNo, originally known as the River North Art District, strives to bring art into everyday life while undergoing constant change.
• Flank steak offers grilling-season versatility in these recipes.

• More than Mallards: Some 20 different duck species live in Colorado. As this photo essay shows, many of the rarest and most beautiful ducks can be found at lakes and ponds in the major population centers of the Front Range. Story by Matt Masich, photographs by Dan Walters.
• Colorado Life’s 10th Anniversary As the magazine celebrates 10 years of exploring life in the Centennial State, we share the saga of how we launched Colorado Life and revisit some of our favorite stories and photos from our first decade. By Matt Masich.
• One of Breckenridge’s most colorful characters shares stories of the wild adventures and misadventures he had in the 1970s during the early days of the ski resort. By Jeffrey Bergeron.
• Just north of Garden of the Gods is Glen Eyrie Castle, a spectacular Tudor-style manor house built by Colorado Springs’ founder, Gen. William Jackson Palmer. Story by Tom Hess, photographs by Joshua Hardin.

• Steamboat Springs’ Olympians. Kids learn to ski at the Steamboat Springs Winter Sports Club, which has sent 95 of its alumni to the Olympics – more than any single town in the nation. By Matt Masich.
• Pueblo Sandwiches. The melting pot of ethnicities that came together in Pueblo’s steel mills is responsible for the distinctive flavor combinations in the city’s unique sandwiches. Story by Tom Hess, Photographs by Joshua Hardin.
• Meow Wolf Denver. Dozens of Colorado artists spent four years working together to create a five-story interactive dream world that recently opened in downtown Denver. Story by Leah M. Charney, Photographs by Joshua Hardin.
• Hazel Dell Mushrooms. Outside of Fort Collins, a team of fungus farmers uses tender care and scientific techniques to cultivate sought-after varieties of gourmet mushrooms. Story by Lisa Truesdale, Photographs by Joshua Hardin.
• Kitchens. Trout recipes offer ways to cook Colorado’s freshest fish. By Danelle McCollum.

• eTown. Boulder-based radio show eTown celebrates 30 years on the air.
• Ptarmigan. Small, white birds known as the “ghosts of the alpine tundra” thrive above treeline.
• Fremont’s Frozen Fourth Expedition. A frontier explorer’s ill-fated journey that ended in frostbite and cannibalism.
• Roxborough State Park. Dramatic red rock formations are the hallmark of this peaceful enclave of nature near Littleton.
• The Brown Palace. The grand dame of Denver hotels springs back to life after the pandemic.
• Kitchens. Cabbage recipes make creative use of a versatile but overlooked veggie.

• Top of the Rockies Scenic Byway. A leaf-peeping mountain drive across the Continental Divide passes Colorado’s highest peaks.
• Breckenridge Brewery. How a brewpub launched a beer empire while retaining its quirky, hometown soul.
• Nature Photographer Vic Schendel. A stunning photo essay featuring Colorado wildlife and landscape images.
• Forney Museum. A Denver museum boasts a world-class collection of rare cars and trains.
• Colorado Camping. Expert tips on tent or RV camping along southwest Colorado’s San Juan Skyway Scenic Byway.
• Cherry Recipes. Fall recipes for pies, cobblers and more.