Colorado Tourism Office encourages visitors to care for environment with Leave No Trace partnership

Colorado is leading the way in sustainable travel in the USA and recently announced a jointly developed set of principles aimed at guiding travellers to show care for the state's water, land and wildlife whilst helping to protect Colorado's special places. The Leave No Trace – Care for Colorado Principles were developed by Colorado Tourism Office and Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics, through a first-of-its-kind partnership.

Through outdoor adventures, ranch holidays and eating out, visitors can help the environment on a sustainable Colorado stay in a range of ways:

Live on the wild side:

Travellers can get outside and explore Colorado's 11 national parks and monuments, 58 mountain peaks and dozens of beautiful lakes, with 39,000 marked trails and 13,000 designated campsites available. Visitors who keep to these areas – camping at least 200 feet from lakes, rivers and streams – are helping these natural areas stay natural, whilst experiencing the great outdoors. As well as Colorado being home to tens of thousands of furry, scaly and feathered creatures, those visiting in July and August will be able to walk amongst some of the 750 different species of wildflowers. Colorado's state flower, the Rocky Mountain Columbine, is one of these wildflower varieties, which should never be picked.

Campsites located by National Parks for easy access to trails include:

• Pinon Flats Campsite, Great Sand Dunes National Park: Pinon Flats Campsite is located within the Great Sand Dunes National Park, allowing visitors see imposing views of the USA's largest sand dunes as soon as they unzip their tent in the morning. The site provides campers with easy access to the Dunes Trail, a 4.5mile loop which is accessible year-round. Also nearby is Medano Creek, a beautiful stream with a mountainous backdrop for travellers to paddle in during the midday heat. The campground is open from April to October. nps.gov / colorado.com
• Glacier Basin Campsite, Rocky Mountain National Park: Located within one of the USA's most popular national parks – Rocky Mountain National Park – is Glacier Basin Campsite. Campers can admire views of rugged 14,000ft peaks of the Rocky Mountains each day and take advantage of the outdoor pursuits available nearby. The park has 355 miles of hiking trails, so visitors won't be short of options for places to explore. Campers can hike on of the waterfall trails close to the campsite, such as Adams Falls and Ouzel Falls, as well as the challenging 8.2 mile summit trail to Flattop Mountain for impressive panoramic views. nps.gov / colorado.com

Appreciate the agriculture:

Colorado's ranches are part of the state's engrained western heritage and offer guests an insight into the conservation efforts of the land and herds, as well as their advanced sustainability practices.

• Zapata Ranch: Zapata Ranch is one of the largest conservation projects in North America working to protect the environment and bison living on the land. The bison herd is a conservation species allowed to roam freely across the 50,000 acres of land. Zapata offers a range of programmes in which visitors can get involved in experiencing life on a cattle ranch, working alongside the ranch staff and wranglers, all whilst not emitting any carbon footprint. Guest can try their hand at horseback riding, moving and working the cattle, riding through the bison herd and exploring the beautiful San Luis Valley and Great Sand Dunes National Park. zranch.org / colorado.com
• Badger Creek Ranch, Canon City: The cowboy and cowgirl life can be sustainable and educational, which can be experienced at Badger Creek Ranch. Here, visitors can join cattle drives, help ranchers check fences and take long, peaceful horseback rides through the beautiful country of Colorado. Badger Creek Ranch visitors live on the land with the animals and practice regenerative agriculture, a farming technique that increases biodiversity, enriches soil, improves watershed and enhances the natural eco-system. In the evening travellers can settle into one of the eight guesthouse rooms and head out onto the porch for an evening amongst the stars. badgercreekranch.com / colorado.com

Eat sustainably:

From local pioneering of the farm-to-fork movement to restaurants leading the way in eco-friendly practices, Colorado's food scene is increasing its sustainable efforts.

• Alex Seidel, Fruition and Mercantile Restaurants, Denver: Award-winning Colorado chef, Alex Seidel, has led the farm-to-table revolution across the state for the past decade, managing his own Denver-based farm and restaurants, including Fruitionand Mercantile. The restaurants' cooks make everything using product from the restaurants' own farm, where Seidel spends time tending or milking 60 sheep which provide Fruition Farm Dairy's award-winning ricotta and sheep's milk yoghurt, Skyr. Foodies visiting Colorado can attend Fruition Farm's cheese or butchery classes which can include a hands-on preparation of a special farm dinner. mercantiledenver.com / fruitionrestaurant.com / colorado.com
• Larkburger, various locations: Larkburger has found a way to provide customers with take-away food packaging without damaging the environment, using biodegradable containers, utensils made from potato and corn starch and paper packaging made from unbleached paper pulp. Larkburger has 12 locations across Colorado, including Boulder, Colorado Springs, Denver and Fort Collins, meaning visitors can sample a tasty burger and fries without the guilt of damaging the planet. All locations are powered entirely by wind energy and the restaurant interiors are decorated with reused wood panelling. Larkburger goes one step further by repurposing the oil used to cook fries into bio-diesel. larkburger.com / colorado.com
• Root Down, Denver: Root Down is committed to practicing sustainable measures, making use of a 4,000ft garden which provides 20% of the seasonal vegetables found in the dishes they serve. Aside from the produce grown in its garden, all food is sourced locally and organically, leaving as little trace on the planet as possible. Visitors can rest assured that all meat used in dishes is certified as humane and all seafood is certified by the Marine Stewardship Council. Root Down is built using upcycled and recycled material and is powered solely by wind energy. rootdowndenver.com / colorado.com

Colorado is a year-round destination offering unparalleled adventure and recreational activities, an abundant arts scene, Western heritage, distinctive cuisine and 25 renowned ski resort areas. The state's diverse landscape boasts natural hot springs, the headwaters of four major rivers, numerous peaceful lakes and reservoirs, 11 national parks and monuments and 58 mountain peaks that top 14,000 feet, known as 'Fourteeners'. Colorado is the gateway to the West with direct flights from the UK to Denver served by British Airways, Norwegian and United, as well as indirect with Icelandair.

Further information can be found at www.colorado.com

Consumer social media handles www.facebook.com/coloradoukireland & www.twitter.com/coloradoukeire

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For further press information contact:

Polly Beech polly@blackdiamond.co.uk / 020 7845 6359 

Sarah Barnett sarah@blackdiamond.co.uk / 020 7845 6378