Colorado, with its alpine scenery, ski resorts, whitewater rivers and rugged canyons, attracts visitors from across the globe. But most of these tourists, and perhaps most Coloradans, are unfamiliar with North Park, my favorite part of the State. Relatively undeveloped, this scenic, intermountain "parkland" teems with a fascinating diversity of wildlife.
Bordered by the Never Summer Mountains and Medicine Bow Range to the east, the volcanic Rabbit Ears Range to the south and the Park Range to the west, this broad valley opens to the north, drained by the North Platte River and its high country tributaries. While much of the Valley is covered with sage grasslands, the upper river channels are lined by extensive willow thickets and rich, riparian woodlands. Moose were reintroduced to these mountain wetlands in 1978-79; numbering more than 600 by the mid 1990s, these large herbivores spread across the southeastern border of North Park, colonizing the Upper Colorado and Fraser River Valleys. Other stream and wetland residents include beaver, mink, muskrats, MacGillivray's warblers, willow flycatchers, Lincoln's sparrows, hermit thrushes and American dippers (not to mention trout).
The sage grasslands of the valley floor (which has an average elevation of 8300 feet) once attracted seasonal herds of bison, causing Native Americans to refer to North Park as "the Bull Pen." The Valley is now home to the Arapaho National Wildlife Refuge, the highest NWR south of Alaska. Established in 1967, this 13000 acre preserve straddles Colorado 125, between Rand and Walden. Numerous ponds dot the Refuge, attracting birds such as eared grebes, soras, American avocets, Wilson's phalaropes, common snipe and a variety of waterfowl. The grasslands of the Refuge are home to mule deer, pronghorn, sage grouse, Richardson's ground squirrels, white-tailed prairie dogs and white-tailed jackrabbits; golden eagles, prairie falcons and coyotes patrol the grasslands throughout the year and herds of elk winter in the Valley.
North Park is accessed via Colorado 14 (westward from Ft. Collins) or Colorado 125 (northward from Granby). Wyoming Route 230 crosses the northern end of the Valley, southwest of Laramie.
