As part of your registration, in order to participate in a Denver Field Ornithologists, Inc. (“DFO”) trip or other activities designated by the Board of Directors, each adult participant and the parent of a minor participant (those under 18 yrs. of age) are required to review and sign (either electronically or manually) a DFO Acknowledgment and Assumption of Risks & Release and Indemnity Agreement (sometimes “Agreement”) Completing this document involves your acceptance of binding contract terms. This online registration system allows you to review and electronically sign the Agreement if you do not have one on file. If you would prefer to manually sign a printable version of the Agreement, you may access it here, and present it to the leader before trip start. If you choose this option, please contact your leader to assure you are signed up for the trip.
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Meet Your Trip Leader
Manitou Lake
—And a visit to the Manitou Experimental Forest
7/23/2026
6:00 AM - 3:30 PM
Leader:
Gary Witt gdwitt61@gmail.com or 303-905-6985
Linda Purcell purcellzz@hotmail.com or 13035037989
Trip Difficulty: Moderate
Directions
Meet at Lowe's in Castle Rock near the outlet stores. I-25 south, exit at Founders/Meadows Pkwy (exit 184), turn right (west), then right on Santa Fe Dr (Hwy 85), then right on New Beale St. Exact address 1360 New Beale St, Castle Rock, CO 80108
View Meeting Place on Google Maps
This trip is limited to the first 8 registrations.
Habitats to bird: Aspen, Conifer Forest, Grassland, Oak Woodland, Reservoir, Riparian, Scrub, Wetland
This trip has been created to an eBird hotspot with many checklists (Manitou Lake (2500+ checklists) and its less visited neighbor the Manitou Experimental Forest (only 310 checklists). A recent trip to these locations tallied 52 species. We will have a permit to enter the Experimental Forest with a larger group as we bird a part that is very under-birded. There is a $11 per vehicle day-use fee to enter the Manitou Lake Picnic and Recreation Area. We will visit a variety of habitats as we spend the first part of our trip birding Manitou Lake (a site that has a list of 259 species). We likely will bird the lake in the morning and grab lunch just inside the Experimental Forest,. We will carpool in two vehicles from the meeting spot in Castle Rock. In the Experimental Forest we can explore at will although we will focus our efforts on Hotel Gulch. There are restrictions at the Forest regarding disclosing locations of any audio/video taken, and ecotourism is not encouraged. There are bathrooms at Manitou Lakes, but no facilities in the Experimental Forest.
6 people have registered for this trip. There are 2 spaces left.
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