A warm 'Fresh Air Friday': A free day to explore state parks

DENVER — For the seventh year in a row, Coloradans can take advantage of free admission to any of the 42 state parks on Friday, November 26. This year will be different since getting outdoors on the day after Thanksgiving comes with sunny skies and very little-to-no-snow on the ground. 

Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) started the program, "Fresh Air Friday," as a way to encourage families to get outdoors and make new memories.

This year’s weather is very different from the typical Colorado late November forecast. In 2021, Denver broke the record for latest first measurable snow, which is at least 0.1 of an inch or more. Meanwhile, the number of days Denver hasn’t seen snow is among the top five longest streak of days on record. The last day it snowed in the metro area this year was April 22. 

Up in the high country, the ski resorts have seen a little more snow, but not much. On the Snow reports just a couple of inches falling recently at the resorts in Colorado. Many are still open with man-made snow.  Arapahoe Basin, for example, has only had three inches of snow over the last week and a half while the average snow total for the month of November is 28 inches there.  

More snow fell on Wednesday, November 24 in the high country. Some areas just saw a dusting while others had at least a few inches. So there may be some state parks with that typical sparkle of white snow around the edges.

By the next Fresh Air Friday, Coloradans will have another state park to explore. In October 2021, CPW and Governor Jared Polis announced the state’s 43rd park: Sweetwater Lake. White River National Forest purchased Sweetwater Lake earlier this year and the 488 acres of land surrounding it meaning the area would be saved for public access and not be used for residential development. 

At the moment, there is very little infrastructure currently in place at Sweetwater to handle public recreation. Improved facilities, including a new boat launch, will be available to the public by June 1, 2022. CPW will announce a grand opening event next summer. 

For this "Fresh Air Friday", you can find the closest state park to you here or use a website like this one to find a trail to hike.