Summit Trail
Winter and Summer Playground
For travelers driving west from Denver, Summit County offers the first taste of the West Slope. Famous for ski resorts like Breckenridge, Arapahoe Basin, and Copper Mountain, it’s also home to well-preserved natural areas that offer good wildlife watching at any time of year. Right in the town of Silverthorne, one can find nesting Ospreys all summer and Barrow’s Goldeneyes all winter. The county’s mountain wetlands support Wilson’s Warblers and Lincoln’s Sparrows in summer, and in any season, weather permitting, the more adventurous travelers can walk the Continental Divide from Loveland Pass in search of ptarmigan. But high elevations are not the area’s only charm; to the north, this trail descends into the arid semi-desert ecosystems of southwestern Grand County and the Colorado River canyons, where southwestern species like Black-chinned Hummingbirds and Juniper Titmice can be found. This trail offers something special for every season.