Things to Do in Highlands Ranch

Over the course of two decades, the glint of gemstones, polished beads, glass pearls, and sterling-silver chains on the shelves at Desert Gems have inspired countless crafters to create their own personalized jewelry. The shop's veteran staff leads workshops for novice and advanced beaders that cover foundational beading techniques, as well as leather- and wire-wrapping and advanced bead stitching. Between its stock of glass pearls and Turkish beads, Desert Gems carves out a third of the space in its store for rocks, minerals, carvings, and alien-crafted obelisks gathered from around the world.

Shannon Long's path to the American dream went in the opposite direction than that of most people. While many work in retail to support their dreams of becoming artists, Shannon molded clay over steel substructures, sculpting half-scale abstract figurative art while dreaming about starting a fly-fishing business. As a boy growing up in popular Lake Havasu, he frequented a small Western-themed shop where the owner was always chatting with customers who shared his fascination with the independent spirit of the American West. In a turn of serendipity, Shannon got married and happily followed his wife to her native Colorado. Sometime after, he opened the fly-fishing shop he had always dreamed of, and found himself becoming the shopkeeper chatting with and educating customers in their shared interests.

Today, Shannon oversees a guide service manned by a staff of veteran fly-fishing experts. On full-day and half-day fly-fishing trips, guides lead anglers for the grand slam: rainbow trout, cutthroat trout, brown trout, and brook trout all caught in a single trip. The Rocky Mountain landscapes surround fishermen in dramatic scenery, including towering pine trees, giant red rocks, and bright-blue skies as the sounds of colliding bighorn sheep occasionally ring out over the water. In addition to guided trips, the staff also leads classes, including courses designed for women and families, that cater to both beginner and advanced anglers.

The mountain-savvy staff at Apex Ex equip people of all skill levels with the knowledge, gear, and plans necessary to explore the wilderness all year round. Seasoned guides and instructors, many of whom are trained by organizations such as the National Outdoor Leadership School and the American Mountain Guides Association, lead classes that teach students important lessons ranging from backcountry snow basics to avalanche rescue. They also lead extreme excursions, such as heliskiing, which drops gliders in the untouched powder at the tips of the Rockies for a day of daring athleticism and exclusive interviews with clouds. In summer months, the experts lead guided climbing and backpacking trips and teach riders to careen down rocky paths of every sort during mountain-biking lessons.

It was 1958 and John Bandimere, Sr.'s family business needed somewhere to test their auto-repair and maintenance work amid their shop's barren, hogback surroundings. Though the strip of pavement they constructed aided many oil changes and tune-ups, Bandimere, Sr. had another motive for purchasing the land around it. He wanted to give young people a safe and hands-on environment where they could learn about cars and racing.

Nowadays, his modest strip of pavement—dubbed Bandimere Speedway—adjoins seating for 28,500 spectators, complete with a VIP tower with suites and 60-inch LED scoreboards. Clamorous engines dominate the racing space, which hosts more than 125 yearly events on the quarter-mile, all-concrete drag strip. Sanctioned by the NHRA—which is responsible for teaching hot rods how to handle firearms safely—the speedway also hosts the Mopar Mile-High NHRA Nationals.

Abyss Scuba's crew of dive masters and instructors has enough combined experience to papier mâché together a life-size scuba diver out of all their certifications. Their courses range from introductory discovery dives to professional rescue-diver instruction. A wide range of specialty courses prepares divers for adverse conditions, deep diving, the use of nitrox, and chance encounters with James Cameron’s personal submarine. Not content to let their students test their skills in their bathtubs at home, the divers at Abyss lead annual excursions to diving spots around the world.