Where Wylder’s been wylin’ out.
Summer 2026 has been the busiest yet for Wylder.
We started off with a father son duo off to Wellington Lake, a privately owned campground near Bailey, CO. They were celebrating the end of the school year and were kicking off summer break with a crew of other soon to be 2nd graders. The weather was starting to get warm, they hitched a rack on the back and brought their bikes. Looks like a pretty ideal start to the summer, and pretty ideal renters.
Then Wylder cruised to all 4 National Parks in Colorado. A week in at the end of June our renters hit up Rocky Mountain, the closest to Denver and most well known. Then scooted own to the Black Canyon of the Gunnison- a way less known gem of a spot. Not crowded, some amazing views- considered Colorado’s Grand Canyon. Very intense if you’re hiking down- there’s lots of posts about how dangerous it is. Not for the faint of heart, but lots to do and see without getting deep down and dirty.
Mesa Verde we have personally yet to hit, but are excited to one day. It’s in the southwest by the 4 corners, and is some of the best preserved ancestral pueblo cliff dwellings- and it’s the largest archaelogical preserve in the US. It’s a solid 7 hours from Denver- so maybe hit up Telluride in the San Juan Mountains, Durango or Pagosa Hot Springs when you’re down there.
The final National Park in Colorado is The Great Sand Dunes. In the south central area- 4.5 hours from Mesa Verde and aroudn 4 from Denver, this National Park has America’s tallest sand dunes. Another dark sky park with minimal light pollution you’ll get some beautiful starry nights, and during the day you can thrill seek til your hearts content boarding or sledding down the dunes. Pretty excited to get ourselves down to the last two National Parks.
4th of July Wylder headed north into the Dakotas and Wyoming for some national and state park exploration with a dash of kayaking. 5 hours from Denver they hit up Badlands National Park in South Dakota, with two pups in tow. The pictures are unearthly- with eroded buttes and pinnacles, and views of massive prairies. Originally on Oglala Sioux territory- the history, like many other National Parks, tells the tale of promised protection and eventual stolen land. Another hour up the road they got to Custer State Park in the infamous Black Hills- a 1.2 million acre National Forest. They drove to Mount Rushmore but ** didn’t know they needed a reservation! So yall, plan accordingly!!
They then crossed the border into Wyoming to stop at Big Horn National Forest and finally get some kayaking in at Alcova Rservoir.
Right now, Wylder is actually across the other border into Canada! Renters have done the roughly 20 hour trek from Denver to Salmo River Ranch in British Columbia for Shambhala Music Festival- Canada’s premier annual electronics and arts fest. For this specific pilgrimage our renters have been to Shambhala before and were ready to upgrade from a tent- and chose so wisely. Can’t wait to hear how the accommodations altered their experience this year!
And finally, Wylder has had our first repeat renters!! And this is my favorite, they rented Wylder to take down to Gunnison for their 20th high school renuion- so they would be able to watch the stars🥹 They love how easy it is to travel in, and how Wylder has all the amenities- including a super comfy bed, to make the star gazing even more comofrtable.
Half way through summer with 5 national parks, 5 states, 2 countries, one festival, and a high school reunion later… Can’t wait to see where the rest of Summer takes Wylder!!
