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FRANKTOWN, Colo. (KDVR) — Castlewood Canyon State Park is now a Gold Standard site, according to the Boulder-based Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics.

Castlewood Canyon joins Roxborough State Park and just 10 other parks and outdoor areas in the country to have the honor.

“Those parks are exemplary parks,” Mike Thomas said, a volunteer naturalist with Colorado Parks and Wildlife. “They’re model parks for other parks to follow.”

They all follow the Leave No Trace Center’s seven principles to keep parks pristine. Those are all about making sure people leave the park they way they found it.

“One of the things that helped a lot, is we put dog bags on every trail head. So everyone who brings a dog can collect the waste and take it back out with them,” said Tommy Duff, a Colorado Parks officer.

“We love the parks,” Thomas said. “We’re passionate about protecting them. And we want to maintain them for future generations.”