Colorado Explorer

Raptors and hayrides

By Linda DuVal

Activities

The rafting season's over, but you can still experience whitewater thrills at the new Glenwood Springs Whitewater Park. The $900,000 attraction gives kayakers a chance to hone their skills. Rafters, surfers, boaters and folks who just want to cool off in an inner tube are also welcome to play in this section of the Colorado River. Life jackets are required and helmets are recommended for all users. 970-945-6589.

Double your fun in Snowmass Sept. 12-14 with the Snowmass Balloon Festival, paired with the Snowmass Wine & Jazz Festival. The balloon fest, with perfect morning and evening light and fall colors as a backdrop, will delight photographers. Then sample some fine Colorado wines and smooth jazz to finish the day. Ask about the gala winemaker's dinner. 800-766-9627.

The Pueblo Raptor Center provides a chance to see and help rescued eagles, hawks and other birds of prey that have been rehabilitated there. About half are released back into the wild; the others are given a permanent home. It's near the Pueblo Greenway & Nature Center, where you can take a hike and perhaps see some of these same species in the wild. 719-549-2327.

Break out the lederhosen and get ready for one of Denver's happiest free events: Oktoberfest, Sept. 19-21 and 26-28. You don't have to drink beer to appreciate the great German food, music and dancing, plus games and activities for children. It's held in the Ballpark Neighborhood (20th and Larimer).

Long after the aspens have dropped their leaves, there's wonderful fall color to be seen among the red, gold and orange cottonwoods that thrive along the scenic Unaweep/Tabeguache Byway, which follows the Dolores and San Miguel rivers on the Western Slope. You'll also see such tiny towns as Uravan, Nucla and Naturita. You won't run into traffic jams here!

Love scary stuff? Take a Haunted Hayride at Miller Farms in Platteville (between Greeley and Fort Lupton), evenings Oct. 10-31. A tractor-drawn hay wagon creeps through ghostly fields, complete with scary stories, sights and sounds, and ends at a corn maze. Enter if you dare! Reservations required. 970-785-6133.

Linda DuVal is former travel editor of The Gazette in Colorado Springs and a freelance writer.