Visitor Center - Where the Story Starts

Photo: USFWS Mountain Prairie, public domain (cropped)

A stop on Rocky Mountain Arsenal Wildlife Loop, a free self-guided tour.

Welcome to a place with three lives. Until 1942 this was farmland. Then the Army built the Rocky Mountain Arsenal here to make chemical weapons for World War II, and later leased part of it to companies that made pesticides. By the time the Arsenal closed in 1985, its soil and groundwater were heavily contaminated. Today almost 16,000 acres are a national wildlife refuge managed by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

This Visitor Center opened in 2011. Inside, exhibits introduce the refuge's wildlife and the land's long history, and a live black-footed ferret exhibit lets you see one of North America's rarest mammals up close. Kids can pick up a Junior Ranger booklet at the front desk.

The building is open Wednesday through Sunday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., while the refuge itself is open every day from sunrise. Grab a Wildlife Drive map here, and note the closing time posted at the door before you set out.

Getting here: Enter the refuge at Prairie Parkway and Gateway Road, then follow signs to the Visitor Center parking lot.

Did you know?: The refuge drew a record 950,000 visitors in 2023, more than three times as many as a decade earlier.

Photo op: Step onto the back patio, where the Discovery Trail starts, for a wide view of the prairie stretching east.

More on Wikipedia: Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge · Rocky Mountain Arsenal · Black-footed ferret

Visitor Center - Where the Story Starts

Stops on this tour