CSU’s Mountain Campus is a hub for research, teaching, and a wide range of experiences. It’s one of the uniques aspects of the university.

Mountain Campus is a critical and unique part of Colorado State University, one that takes a lot of teamwork to keep up and running for students and visitors.  

 I had the pleasure of sitting down with Seth Webb, director of  the Mountain Campus, and Rob Novak, director of communications for Warner College of Natural Resources, which holds classes and programs on the Mountain Campus. Both are CSU alumni who want to continue providing more resources and opportunities through this unique space.  

 Built in 1914, the Mountain Campus has been a part of CSU’s history for over 100 years. It has served many, and those who work there strive to fulfill CSU’s land grant mission of education, research, and outreach, especially in environmental and natural resource disciplines. 

Range of experiences

One of the popular experiences is the challenge course at the Mountain Campus. Its designed to encourage team building and leadership.

The Mountain Campus, up the Poudre Canyon 53 miles west of Fort Collins, provides a range of outdoor experiences for CSU faculty and students but also for the community. The season begins after spring commencement and has students coming from Warner to study ecology and forestry in two- or four-week classes.  

 In addition to Webb, the full-time Mountain Campus staff includes Tess McGinty, assistant director; Jessica Smolenske, conference coordinator; Larry Hennessy, dining services manager; and Tom Lorenz, general maintenance. The summer staff includes faculty and graduate students who teach as well as undergraduates who help staff conferences and group outings to the challenge course. 

 One annual event that both Webb and Novak mentioned fondly is the Eco-Week. CSU partners with schools in the Poudre School District and beyond to bring fifth- and sixth-grade students to the Mountain Campus in the fall and help them experience learning in a different environment.  

 Webb and Novak agreed that these types of partnerships are extremely valuable, and they would like to see more of these experiences made available to other groups.  

 Research facilities 

Although there has not been any new academic classroom or research-focused building constructed at the Mountain Campus in 50 years, several CSU colleges in addition to Warner conduct research projects there.  

 This will change soon, however, as private donor and University funding has been secured to construct a new building that will serve as both a classroom and space for research. “This funding is helping bring a modern facility to the campus,” Webb said.  

 One of Novak’s favorite things is that the campus is a “tight–knit community, oriented around the environment,”  and it represents a lot of what CSU stands for as a university.  

 Employee getaways 

The Mountain Campus is the perfect environment for employees to get away and enjoy Colorado and also a place to conduct research.

CSU employees can experience the Mountain Campus on three holiday getaway weekends: Memorial Day, May 23-25; Independence Day, July 3-5; and Labor Day, Sept. 5-7. These are the only getaway dates in 2020; registration opens April 1 at the mountaincampus.colostate.edu website; after April 1, call (970) 491-6222 to be added to a waitlist if your preferred date is not available. 

 The Mountain Campus is surrounded by public land and US Forest Service trailheads where public parking is available. With its beautiful scenery, I would recommend going up and checking it out and enjoying the amazing facility we have. 

Be sure to check out the Mountain Campus website to keep up to date on all the happenings there, and see the current conditions through the webcam and weather station.