Liberty Community Giving has shown continued support to Friends of Castlewood Canyon State Park projects.  We have successfully raised funds to build Wildcat Canyon Bridge over Cherry Creek at the junction of the Lake Gulch and Inner Canyon trails.  We are thankful for Liberty Community Giving's early contribution to this effort that will allow hikers of all capabilities to complete this popular hiking loop through all four of Castlewood Canyon's ecosystems.  Construction will begin in 2023. 

Friends of Castlewood Canyon State Park, together with Friends of Roxborough State Park, announce the award of a grant from Partners in the Outdoors for expansion of the Leave No Trace Program. The $5,000 grant will help to advance the partnership effort between Friends of Castlewood Canyon State Park, Friends of Roxborough State Park, Colorado Parks and Wildlife, and the Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics to expand Leave No Trace programming, education, and messaging throughout Colorado State Parks, Recreation Areas, and Wildlife Areas. 

In 2019, Friends of Castlewood Canyon State Park received grant funding from both Colorado Parks Foundation and Liberty Community Giving that provided assistance in widening the Lake Gulch Trail. TeamWorks provides a paid educational work experience which aims to connect youth to nature and their community. Crew members work among a diverse group of both urban and rural youth, fostering the development of inclusive communication and leadership skills. 

KCCR is dedicated to improving the world "one child and one community at a time."  The Wonders Program enables socioeconomically diverse schools to introduce students to the wonders of nature by getting them outside and away from technology. It is an excellent opportunity to enhance the students’ understanding of wildlife and how people’s actions affect wildlife and wildlife habitat.  This is accomplished through a high quality place-based environmental education experience.

Castlewood Canyon State Park Visitor Center is visited by many of its over 200,000 visitors each year.  Thanks to a grant from Liberty Community Giving, the park rangers are planning some new displays that will interpret many of the natural features - geology, wildlife, plants, and history -

that makes our park unique in Colorado.

By 2016, many of the park's interpretive signs were sun faded and cracked after years of exposure to the elements.  Many were illegible.  Thanks to Colorado Parks Foundation (CPF) we were able to begin replacing the worn out signs and even add some new ones.  Next time you're at Castlewood Canyon State Park, look for the signs at the Homestead, Dam ruins, Native Garden, and East Canyon Preserve that include CPF's lovely Columbine logo. 

In 2014 after the emergency well repair work in the Native Garden adjacent to the Visitor Center was completed, several park volunteers got together to redo the garden.  This grant allowed us to purchase 25 tons of pea gravel and several tons of cobblestones which was used to establish the basic hardscape underlying the garden.  Pea gravel makes a great natural water conserving mulch in our garden which is only watered by Mother Nature.  We also thank Quality Landscape Materials, Pioneer Sand & Gravel, and C&C Sand and Stone Co. for donating materials or providing the materials at a discount. 

Every year, Castlewood Canyon State Park can host underserved school groups in our naturalist-led environment education programs by paying for bus transportation to the park, up to $300 per year per school.  A generous grant from Liberty Community Giving enabled eight schools to participate in this program. 

Verizon encourages their employees' passion to serve others.  And they support their efforts - through their Matching Gifts Program and by making donations to the nonprofit organizations they choose  to volunteer.  Dale Campbell, our current President, has dedicated countless hours at the park since 1995.  Read his bio.  We thank Verizon for their Matching Gifts Program and Dale for his countless hours of dedication to the park.

 You can see how these funds were spend when you enter the vestibule at the Visitor Center and see the lovely photograph of the falls that completely covers the wall immediately opposite the entrance doors. 

We thank NEEF for supporting two of our projects:  castlewoodfriends.org and Wonders of Castlewood.  As our organization evolved, the Board realized we desperately needed a presence on the Internet as a resource for the park, Friends activities, and public outreach.  NEEF granted $5,000 enabling us to develop our first website and pay its operating expenses for the first couple years of its existence. 

Another generous $4,000 grant enabled us to kickstart the Wonders of Castlewood program that hosted approximately 1,500 students.