Denver Urban Wilderness Surprise! Wildlife in the City?! 🦌🏙️
Booked a last-minute hotel in the middle of nowhere for a work trip—ended up discovering this gem on a jet-lagged morning run ! 📍 Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge Just 15 mins northeast of downtown , this empty sanctuary offers: - Wild deer + ducks grazing with the Rockies as their backdrop 🏔️ - Bison herds at dawn (keep 30m distance !) 🦬 - Bald eagles diving in winter 🦅 - Herons hunting in hidden marshes 🌊 Trail Options : 🚗 Easy : 2.6-mile Wildlife Drive (spot coyotes from your car!). 🥾 Hardcore : 7.5-mile Bluestem Loop (grasslands + wetlands). 🌙 Secret : Pre-dawn Iron Horse Trail for badger tracks! Gear Up : - Hiking boots (rocks + poop terrain 💩) - Foldable seat (metal watchtower = FREEZING ) - Windproof jacket (30mph gusts !) - Offline maps (no signal zones !) Best Times : 🐣 May-Jun : Baby bird season! 🦬 Sep : Bison mating roars! ☕ Dec-Feb : Eagle party—bring cocoa! Weird Warnings : - Parking lot marmots chew car hoses (no food inside!). - Highway 6 = bison poop landmines (bikers need fenders!). - Old munitions in restricted zones —back away from metal scraps! Golden Hour : Catch Denver’s skyline + bison silhouettes at sunset. 🌇🐂 #Denver #Colorado #RockyMountains #WildlifeMagic