Rocky Flats
Superior, CO 80027
Plan Your Visit
National wildlife refuges provide an opportunity to unplug, recharge and connect with our natural surroundings. Take a nature escape and discover all that Rocky Flats National Wildlife Refuge has to offer and best of all it is FREE to visit!
Activities
The Refuge offers a variety of wildlife-related activities seasonally or year-round including hiking, biking, photography, wildlife watching, birding, archery, horseback riding, snowshoeing, and cross-country skiing.
Trails
Enjoy 15 miles of hiking trails through the rolling hills of the mixed and tall grass prairie. Trails are open year-round to hiking, wildlife viewing, photography, bicycling and class 1 e-bikes, cross country skiing, snowshoeing, and horseback riding. Restrooms are located at the Refuge main entrance. Please stay on the trail to protect habitat. Trail Map (English, Spanish)
- Rocky Mountain Greenway Trail (9.4 miles): Moderate terrain; connects with regional trail systems.
- Walnut Creek Loop Trail (1.0 mile): Connects with the Rocky Mountain Greenway Trail.
- Lindsay Ranch Loop Trail (1.4 miles): Features the historic Lindsay Ranch barn.
- South Woman Creek Trail (0.4 miles): Connects with Woman Creek Trail.
- Woman Creek Trail (3.0 miles): Offers views of South Woman Creek and Church Lake.
Rules and Policies
KNOW BEFORE YOU GO: To help make your visit safe and enjoyable, stay on designated trails. Only service dogs are allowed. Bicycles yield to hikers, and both yield to horses. No swimming or wading in Refuge waters, bicycles and Class 1 e-bikes are permitted on trails, off-highway vehicles (OHVs) are not permitted on trails. Recreate responsibly visit the Refuge Rules and Policy Page.
Visiting the Refuge is FREE!
From Highway 36
- Exit on Wadsworth Parkway
- Turn left onto Interlocken Loop/Wadsworth Parkway (0.4 miles).
- Turn right onto CO-128 W/Interlocken Loop.
- Continue on Interlocken Loop, which turns into West 120th Avenue. Take West 120th Avenue to the Refuge main entrance.
Activities
Get Involved
National wildlife refuges provide many opportunities for you to help your community and fish and wildlife by doing what you love. Refuges partner with volunteers, youth groups, and neighbors to make a lasting difference while providing rewarding experiences in conservation and outdoor leadership.
Working with others to conserve, protect, and enhance fish, wildlife, plants, and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people.
Services
Please contact Refuge Headquarters at Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge for details at 303-289-0232 or email rockyflats@fws.gov for the following public services:
- Special Use Permit (commercial, research, or educational activities)
- Special Use Permit - Commercial Photography
About
Established in 2007, this 5,237-acre refuge was created in part to preserve and protect more than 630 species of plants, as well as the globally rare xeric tallgrass prairie. It provides habitat for 239 migratory and resident wildlife, including prairie falcons, deer, elk, coyotes, songbirds and the threatened Preble’s meadow jumping mouse. The site also provides a protected corridor for migrating wildlife. The land has a rich history, from Native American occupation and 19th-century homesteading to serving as a Cold War-era manufacturing site for nuclear weapons components. Following a large-scale cleanup completed in 2005, the refuge officially opened to the public in 2018. Today, it offers visitors 15 miles of trails for hiking, bicycling, wildlife viewing, horseback riding, archery, and more among striking vistas of the Front Range.
