This is an archived article and the information in the article may be outdated. Please look at the time stamp on the story to see when it was last updated.

PINE, Colo. (KDVR) — Staunton State Park is accepting reservations for Coloradans who’d like to “hike” the trails in one of Staunton State Park’s two track chairs.

“Being able to offer the therapeutic benefits of the outdoors to all of our visitors is truly rewarding,” said Zach Taylor, park manager for Staunton. “We now have four track chairs and one grit freedom chair.”

Trips will start Friday, June 4 and run through the end of October. Individual trips are run on weekends and group trips for organizations are run on weekdays, Monday-Thursday. If an organization is interested in running a group trip they can email Staunton.trackchair@state.co.us to set that up.

“Anybody that isn’t able to walk on their own two feet, that’s who the track chair program is for,” said Natalie Burnside-Bostow with Colorado Parks and Wildlife. “We have people from 90 years old to 5 years old come out and use the track chairs.”

Reservations for individual track chair “hikes” can be made online. Track chair users will be given a brief questionnaire to ensure their individual needs can successfully be met. A Staunton volunteer will accompany all excursions and a suggested checklist will be provided at the time of the reservation.

“We have people who cry when they get in them for the first time, we have people who haven’t been outside in over 15 years and this is the first time that they’ve been out in a really long time,” said Burnside-Bostow. “It’s paramount to make sure everyone can do that, not just those that can step out of their cars and pull their backpack on and go a hike.”

Natalie Burnside-Bostow runs the track chair program at Staunton State Park in Pine, Colorado

The Friends of Staunton-provided track chairs will provide access to all disabled individuals wishing to partake. Currently there are three trails designated for the track chairs, two of which will be open immediately. They are approximately 2-5 miles long and will take 2-5 hours:
 –Davis Ponds Trail (2.1 mile loop) – open immediately
 –Mason Creek (2.5 miles round-trip) – open immediately
 –Staunton Ranch Trail (5 miles round-trip) – access to this trail is not currently open

This year the park will have its first Adaptive Recreation Weekend, June 12-13 from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. This event is to showcase all that Colorado has to offer for adaptive recreation and will feature fishing, track chair trips, archery and more. To learn more about Adaptive Recreation Weekend, please call the park office at 303-816-0912.

Staunton State Park is the legacy of Frances H. Staunton. As her beneficiaries, present and future generations are entrusted with this land to enjoy, protect and treasure as she did.