Today I spent the day hiking and photographing in the Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife refuge. This was the first time I visited the place and I was surprised about where it was located.

The Arsenal was a WWII through Cold War era chemical weapons manufacturing facility. It was decommissioned in the mid '80's and has been reclaimed and turned into a wildlife refuge. The 15,000 acre park is surrounded by Denver and its suburbs. BUT once you're in the park, you quickly forget that.

I hiked around 8-9 miles and seen tons of wildlife, from mule and whitetail deer, to coyotes, owls, geese and ducks. During the spring and summer, the park is supposed to be great for birding and waterfoul. I'll definitely have to go back during the spring and summer as I have seen others photos of the wildlife during those times and can't wait to capture my own images.

Well enough talking, here's the pics. All photos where shot with my 50 year old Takumar 200mm F3.5 Preset.

Here is the Denver Skyline towards the entrance of the park.




A couple miles into the hike, there was a pretty large herd of whitetails. There was a couple walking behind me talking (the only people I saw all day), so I couldn't get close to the deer as they were scared.










There are many lakes in the park surrounded by large cottonwoods, I can't wait to go back during the summer to get some waterfoul shots.







I came up on a small herd of mule deer in the later part of the day. I was able to get close to these deer as no one else was around and I could take my time getting close.



















There weren't many birds present, most are south for the winter, but I can see this place being full of birds during the summer months.







Well, that's some of the photos I took. It was a change of pace for me hiking the Arsenal as I am usually in pretty remote areas in the high country. This area is right next to Denver, and it is relatively flat, making a long hike very easy. I only spent about 4 hours there today and was able to cover a lot of ground. I was also surprised that there wasn't any people there. I only seen two people the whole day, I though it would be more crowded being so close to the city. I'd definitely recommend a visit to the Arsenal if you are in Denver. A couple hours of easy hiking and you will see and be able to photograph a lot of wildlife.

[riff]

Lovely set CJ thanks for posting.

[Bob Harris]

CJ, that lens reproduces color very well, the deer are spot on. I have never read about this area, but will take a look now, possibly there is a campground near. Thanks for taking us along on your successful wildlife hike.

[WWIFA]

Love the rendering of this lens. I have the F4 version. Very nice shot of Long's.
I can't count how many times taking the back way to the airport I've driven by here on 96th Ave.
Next time I'm stuck at the airport for a while I know where I'm going. Lot's of hawks in this area and prairie dogs I'd like to photograph.
Thanks for sharing these. Great set!
Bruce

[rbefly]

Hey, CJ, great photos...that 200mm has a beautiful color rendering, very "60's" look to it, with excellent sharpness.
I've also seen the refuge while driving along 56th Avenue, occasionally a mule deer or hawk will be near the road.
Where's the entrance? Is there a charge to get in?
Thanks
Ron

[Dice]

I love the idea of losing oneself in a park that is so close to the city. Great images. I get a sense of peace and tranquility.

[Colorado CJ]

Lovely set CJ thanks for posting.

Thanks Riff! I'm always happy to share photography,

[Colorado CJ]

CJ, that lens reproduces color very well, the deer are spot on. I have never read about this area, but will take a look now, possibly there is a campground near. Thanks for taking us along on your successful wildlife hike.

Yeah, it is now my favorite lens. I can't believe the quality and IQ of this lens, especially for the price I paid for it.

I think there is camping near by. I know there is a picnic area in the Arsenal, but I'm not sure of a camp in the park itself. I've seen some great photos of the Arsenal on another forum, and that is what interested me in going there. During the spring and summer months, it looks like there is a huge amount of bird activity, from bald eagles, to burrowing owls, and a lot of different water foul. So, it looks like I'll be going there more often!

[Colorado CJ]

Love the rendering of this lens. I have the F4 version. Very nice shot of Long's.
I can't count how many times taking the back way to the airport I've driven by here on 96th Ave.
Next time I'm stuck at the airport for a while I know where I'm going. Lot's of hawks in this area and prairie dogs I'd like to photograph.
Thanks for sharing these. Great set!
Bruce

Yup, I talk up this lens as much as I can, it REALLY IS that great!

I've driven past the Arsenal many times before as well, don't know what took me so long (10 years) to finally go in.

[Colorado CJ]

Hey, CJ, great photos...that 200mm has a beautiful color rendering, very "60's" look to it, with excellent sharpness.
I've also seen the refuge while driving along 56th Avenue, occasionally a mule deer or hawk will be near the road.
Where's the entrance? Is there a charge to get in?
Thanks
Ron

The entrance is right past the new Dicks Sporting Goods Field in Commerce City, just east of Quebec street on 64th. There was no charge, not even a sign in gate.

[Colorado CJ]

I love the idea of losing oneself in a park that is so close to the city. Great images. I get a sense of peace and tranquility.

Thanks, yeah, it was very easy to forget you're basically surrounded by city. Once you get into the trees, or behind the swells in the land, its like you are out on the open prairie or river bottoms.

[Colorado CJ]

For those interested in the Arsenal, here is their website: Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge Home Page

[WWIFA]

The entrance is right past the new Dicks Sporting Goods Field in Commerce City, just east of Quebec street on 64th. There was no charge, not even a sign in gate.

Thanks. I wasn't sure where the entrance was either. There's supposed to be a buffalo herd there somewhere too, I remember reading in the paper.

[pickles]

Absolutely beautiful images.
As some-one who is interested in WW11 "memorabillia" etc, is there anything of a historical nature left, of the WW11 facility?
Cheers, Pickles.

[Colorado CJ]

Absolutely beautiful images.
As some-one who is interested in WW11 "memorabillia" etc, is there anything of a historical nature left, of the WW11 facility?
Cheers, Pickles.

There are many places still closed off, so I'm not sure. I think a few of the buildings are still there. I seen a large 5-6 story building that I believe was the original WWII headquarters to the south. When I was hiking, there were many old roadways that were grown over and a weathered sign stating something to the effect of "field exercises beyond this point". Other than that, I really didn't see anything.

The Arsenal itself has had a pretty colored past as it manufactured many types of nerve agents and made munitions filled with them. They also decommissioned huge amounts of nerve agents there. The way they got rid of the hazardous waste byproducts were to dump them down a 12000 ft. well called Basin F, as well as open air pits that where used for liquid hazardous waste.

Here's a small read if you are interested, there are many more I'm sure. Rocky Mountain Arsenal (RMA) - United States Nuclear Forces

All that said though, it was a superfund site that seems to be well on its way to being fully recovered. I didn't see any mutated animals anywhere, although I probably wouldn't eat the fish caught out of the lakes there