History
It Started With a Vision
In 1948, an idealistic young couple, Sandy and Laura Sanborn, founded Sanborn Western Camps on 480 acres near Florissant, Colorado.
Sandy had been a member of the Tenth Mountain Division during World War II, and he and Laura wanted to create a place where young people could learn to live together and experience the joys of living in the natural world.
They began with a summer camp for boys named Big Spring Ranch. Then, in 1962 they opened a summer camp for girls named High Trails Ranch. In 1967, they opened High Trails Outdoor Education Center, a residential environmental education program for school children from many schools in Colorado. Colorado Outdoor Education Center was incorporated as a non-profit organization in 1973 for the purpose of operating the school programs.
Laura and Sanday reconginzed that aduilts also benefit from time spent in the outdoors. The Nature Place Conference Center was built in 1978 and began offering programs based on leadership and team development, as well as natural history programs and reunions of all types.
In 1999, Sanborn Western Camps and Colorado Outdoor Education Center merged and operate today as Colorado Outdoor Education Center. In its history of over 75 years, COEC has provided summer camp programs for more than 35,000 campers and staff, and more than 100,000 students have attended the High Trails Outdoor Education Center.
The Nature Place continues to build on its reputation for exceptional hospitality, pairing warm, attentive service with world-class leadership and team development programs and opportunities to explore natural history. Our setting invites guests to connect, recharge, and discover, while our staff creates a welcoming, personalized experience that brings groups back year after year.
More than 80% of our groups are returning clients. Of those, the majority have been joining us for 10 to 20 years or more, with some visiting multiple times each year. These lasting relationships reflect what makes The Nature Place special: a remarkable setting and people who make every guest feel welcome, valued, and cared for.