Denver's Natural Areas Program is providing places where people can experience the city's original legacy and natural history. Native remnants of past landscapes offer great outdoor classrooms and convenient locations for hikes and exercise. Here in an urban setting, natural areas present the opportunity to experience the surrounding world of our natural roots. Throughout the city, the Natural Areas Program has sites that retain or have the potential to re-establish fundamental natural features that existed prior to early development.

 

Care and good stewardship of these areas will guarantee for future generations the opportunity to understand and experience important native plant communities, wildlife, and geology. Rebuilding these areas not only restores the unique character of our prairies, it enhances our existing parks by providing a variety of uses and themes for everyone to enjoy. [read more about how Natural areas is improving these areas]

Denver is located along the western edge of the mixed prairie grasslands in the shadows of the Rocky Mountains. The transition from mountain to prairie supported a complex tapestry of native grasses, riparian trees and shrubs, and wildflowers that provided food and habitat for diverse wildlife. As Denver grew, becoming a city, over 80% of the original land, with its accompanying plants and animals, has been developed and altered. Natural open spaces became developed parks with broad expanses of lawn bordered by trees, similar to those in the eastern U.S.

 

Now, as Denver nears the 150th anniversary of its founding, Denver Parks and Recreation is committed to protecting and rehabilitating what remains of its undeveloped open space through its Natural Areas Program.