CSBJ Daily

Retirees who enjoy wilderness preserves and landscaped parks are increasingly choosing cities like Colorado Springs, Austin and Raleigh, N.C. for visits and relocation.

That’s the latest news from the U.S. News and World Report online, which released its list of the “Ten Greenest Places to Retire.” Published on April 25, the report identified Colorado Springs’ 1,600-acre North Cheyenne Canon Park as a place where “you might encounter a black bear or mule deer where the mountains meet the plains.”

The article also spotlighted Monument Valley Park as “a tamer urban escape … with its bridged ponds and wildflower gardens and the city’s 14.7 square miles of parkland.”

Additionally, the magazine noted that the area’s mild climate classifies it as an “Alpine Desert,” located at the base of Pikes Peak, “America’s Mountain.”

Paul Butcher, director of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services in Colorado Springs, viewed the ranking as both an affirmation “that we’re doing the right thing with our park system, and in a roundabout way, we’re an economic driver.”

“In the national press, somebody may read about our reputation as a ‘bicycle friendly city’ or our ranking as the ‘fittest city in America,’ and decide to move their business or family here,” he said. “I’ve had calls from American Airlines’ American Way magazine and National Geographic both in the last two months wanting to run stories on our parks and sponsored activities. I know our park inventory was a factor in the USOC’s recent decision to stay here.”