Barbara Lawlor, Peak to Peak. Besides walking into meadows and forests of our mountain neighborhoods, there is no better way to experience Colorado than on the back of a horse. Not only do you get to see the wildflowers off the beaten path, there are the views and the breathtaking feeling of being part of a large, muscular, gentle-eyed animal who does what you want it to do. Most of the time.

Tourists come a long way to climb into a saddle and be transported into the wilderness. Children clamber onto buses in Boulder more than willing to endure the commute to their summer haven in the hills.

Both the Sundance Stables in Nederland and the Colorado Mountain Ranch in Gold Hill offer riding in the summer and have become the highlight of many children’s vacation.

Lynn, Gail, and Mike Walker of CMR operate the camp, which began with Coach and Norma Walker, a gym coach and elementary teacher from Texas. They had directed residential camps in Texas and Oklahoma and also operated the Camp of the Rockies near Estes Park before they opened the Trojan Ranch, now the CMR, in 1947. The day camp was added in 1952.

Since 1973, the second-generation Walkers have run the summer camp, and for the past decade have offered the Horse! Focus camp for ages 10-16. The kids spend at least half a day riding the trails with views that overlook the Continental Divide. They care for the horses, working with them from the ground up.

Previous experience is necessary to participate in the Horse! Focus Program. Campers should be able to walk, trot, and canter and have a desire to get out and ride the open range. This is not follow-the-leader riding, but a partnership of rider and horse working independently with each other.

Lynn Walker says that last week the camp was attended by a larger number of children than in many years; and with all the rain, the meadows are lush with grass and wildflowers and streams. There is, however, room for more campers.

The Sundance Stables, across from the Sundance Lodge and Restaurant, has been owned and operated by Cindy McCollum, who has a ranch in Wellington where she winters her horses. Rain kept the stables from opening on Memorial Day, but with sunny weather settling in, the horses have been kept busy taking from two to 12 people out at a time.

The trails are located on National Forest Land and although the landscape changed with the fire mitigation work two years ago, the trails have been re-established and wander in and out of the forest and the new wildflower growth in the cut area. The views are more spectacular than ever.

The Sundance Stables opened more than 30 years ago. When Cindy was 12 years old, in 1969, she worked at the Oxbow Stables in Nederland. The stables were located where the Nederland Post Office now stands. After that, she worked for the stables at the Arapaho Ranch until 1973.

When Cindy was 16 she leased six horses and began her own business, Horses R Us, out of Eldora and then the Hessie Townsite. She hired on with Indian Peaks Outfitters about four years ago.

Thirteen years ago, Hans von Mende, the owner of the Sundance, asked Cindy to run the stables for him and she has been there ever since. Her daughter Stephanie began wrangling at the stables when she was 12, and now Cindy’s granddaughter Rylee has jumped into all aspects of the stable business.

The Sundance is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. seven days a week, with breakfast and dinner rides by reservation. There are no age or weight limits. The stables will be open through the golden leaf season of October.

For more information on horseback riding camps and stables contact Colorado Mountain Ranch at 303-417-9114 and the Sundance Stables at 303-324-6550.