We’ve Broken Ground!

We celebrated the groundbreaking of our Campus Improvements Project with a gathering on Wednesday, March 12. Bluff Lake's team were joined by Councilwoman Shontel Lewis, our board of directors, major donors (including Keystone Families - see below for the list of major donors committed so far), Shape Architecture Studio, Superbloom Landscape Architecture, Howell Construction, owners representatives Cumming Group, past board and staff, and, of course, our Bluff Lake Explorers (Outdoor Homeschool Explorers and Forest Preschool kids), who shoveled the first dirt to break ground. It was an incredible day, filled with sunshine and excitement!

Thank you to Denverite and Front Porch for their coverage of the event! Check out more photos HERE.

As Bluff Lake Nature Center prepares to invest $8.5 million into this amazing property, we are constantly going back to our project goals of being the best caretakers of this land that we can be and creating a space where people and nature can coexist and thrive. This project will make Bluff Lake more accessible, less logistically challenging for families and groups, and will truly bring our team onsite in a way we’ve never had before.

Starting Monday March 17th, construction will begin and the "upstairs" area (including our main entrance, parking lot, stairs and ramp) will all be closed and off-limits to visitors. We have outlined site access during construction below and on the Construction Site Access page, and hope that it will help visitors plan their trip to Bluff Lake. We understand it may not answer every question or address every challenge, and ask that you have patience with us during this time of transition. We promise the finished project will be well worth any disruptions we have to face!

If you have any questions about how this may affect your access to Bluff Lake, please reach out at info@blufflake.org. We will update the website frequently with additional Q&A responses based on all of your experiences.

For some moments of pure joy, check out the photos from our groundbreaking ceremony below - including absolutely adorable photos of our Outdoor Homeschool Explorers and Forest Preschoolers breaking the ground!

A huge THANK YOU to everyone who has invested in this project so far: Keystone Families, partners, funding organizations, neighbors, and all our Bluff Lake communities, including Birders, Camper Families, Alumni (past staff, volunteers, and board), Explorers (Forest School and Outdoor Explorers Homeschool Program). We so appreciate your support of this community project!

Keystone Families:

Smith/Dobos Family

Barker Family

Ho/Zeigler Family

Valore-Caplan Family

Freyer/Walker Family

Konrad Family

Norris Family

Granting Organizations and Individuals

($15K+ as of February 2025)

Harvey Family Foundation

Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO)

Rocky Mountain Arsenal Natural Resource Damages Fund

Colorado Health Foundation

LARRK Foundation

Anschutz Foundation

Gates Family Foundation

Morgridge Family Foundation

Boettcher Foundation

The Care Fund (via Leota Pekrul Trust)

Renewable Energy Trust

City of Denver

Nichols Family

Skramstad Family

Robb-Davis Family

Merganser Fund

Walker Family

Levene Family

Fitzpatrick/Mason Family

Metro Denver Nature Alliance

Central Park Business Association

Adobe Employee Giving Program

And our board of directors and community donors who have given over $300K!