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The Land
The Nature Place is situated on 6,000 acres of private land in Colorado, bordering Pike National Forest and the Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument in the western foothills of Pikes Peak. Designated by the National Park Service as a National Environmental Study Center, The Nature Place is a unique environmental laboratory spanning two billion of years of observable geologic history.
Located at an elevation between 8,500 and 9,200 feet above sea level, The Nature Place lies in a Montane Life Zone, which includes many mountain meadows, aspen groves, open pine forests, small mountain streams, spruce and fir forests, and several stocked fishing ponds. The forests are filled with birds, squirrels, coyotes, hawks, elk, deer and the occasional bobcat. The Center’s land is also home to outcroppings of the world famous fossil-rich shales of the ancient Florissant lakebeds, quartz crystal beds, jasper pits, rocks to climb on, copper and gold diggings.
The Nature Place includes two historic Colorado ranches: the Quick Homestead, built in the 1880s and the Witcher Ranch, which was a working cattle ranch for over 100 years and is in use today. The house, barn, tool shed and outbuildings of the Quick Homestead have been restored and filled with authentic furnishings and farming implements. The Witcher Ranch includes the original blacksmith shop, the slaughterhouse, and is now the headquarters of our cattle and horseback riding operations.
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