RAW, remote, tucked deep in Colorado's rugged Rockies, the high valley of North Park and its County of Jackson literally scream FRONTIER and a past fast-held in present days.

Isolated North Park, a high mountain valley encompassing Jackson County, requires resilience from those who choose to live here. It is a place where rugged ways of life have endured the test of time. No matter the season, you’re likely to still meet cattlemen, cowgirls, forest rangers, and loggers.Timber harvesting in the region began in 1905 with the creation of the National Forests and the first timber sale on the Routt National Forest in 1906. Growing northwest Colorado towns created a demand for saw timber and railroad ties. The Laramie, Hahns Peak & Pacific Railway reached North Park in 1911 and hauled coal from nearby Coalmont.

Like early explorers who ventured into the valley and across the Continental Divide to camp and hunt along its creeks and deep forests, today locals, guides, outfitters and photographers still hunt, fish, hike, and camp.

Often spotted browsing among the willows of North Park, visitors can honestly see moose anywhere in Jackson County, including downtown Walden!

Encircled by mountain ranges, North Park is a secluded and pristine region. Much like the early explorers, visitors today find room to roam. Moose, antelope, deer, elk, big horn sheep, and black bear abound, beaver and fish thrive in our waters, and great flocks of migrating waterfowl pass through every autumn and spring.

Illinois River is a tributary of the Michigan River, approximately 71 miles long, in Jackson County in north central Colorado. It drains part of the North Park basin south of Walden.

The Illinois River starts in the Never Summer Mountains near the continental divide, just south of Farview Mountain. It descends northward through a winding gorge, emerging into North Park at approximately 8,000 feet above sea level. It flows northward through the valley as a winding stream, past Rand. It passes under State Highway 14 just southeast of Walden and joins the Michigan from the north just north of Walden. A portion of the valley of the river south of Walden is located within the Arapaho National Wildlife Refuge.