Visit Glenwood Springs Promotes Inclusive Travel and Care for the Land
The area’s warm welcome includes a focus on accessible travel and land stewardship
With its renowned hot springs and breathtaking Hanging Lake, Glenwood Springs offers visitors a warm welcome and abundant natural beauty. The destination is taking its hospitality further with new initiatives highlighting responsible travel and engaging guests in land stewardship. Through updated messaging promoting accessibility, sustainability, car-free travel and volunteer projects that allow visitors to give back, Visit Glenwood Springs is embracing a more inclusive and responsible tourism model that aligns with the CTO’s Destination Stewardship Strategic Plan. By tapping into a range of CTO programs, Visit Glenwood Springs is advancing these initiatives and paving the way for more responsible tourism practices statewide.
Visit Glenwood Springs Joins CTO’s Pilot Accessible Travel Program
In 2023, Visit Glenwood Springs took a strategic step to improve accessibility for all travelers. After hosting tourism partners who use wheelchairs, the team recognized both the challenges and the opportunities in making the destination more accessible.
In fall 2024, Visit Glenwood Springs was selected as one of three tourism partners for the inaugural year of the CTO’s Accessible Travel Program. In partnership with Wheel The World, this program includes on-site accessibility assessments, training for hospitality professionals, and a booking platform that helps travelers with disabilities find the most suitable experiences. As part of the initiative, local businesses are mapping accessible dining options, offering accessible experiences such as rafting, and improving transportation and trail access. The program is a direct response to the CTO’s Statewide Destination Stewardship Strategic Plan, which aims to position Colorado as an inclusive and accessible tourism leader.
Visitor Center Welcomes Guests with New Kiosks, Messaging and Maps
The Glenwood Springs Visitor Center has recently undergone renovations that make it even more welcoming. Highlights include a new wheelchair-accessible kiosk, vibrant new signage and updated creative branding, featuring the Do Glenwood Right messaging in both English and Spanish. The center now boasts colorful panels, posters and photos that reflect the diversity and inclusivity of the community.
A 2023 CTO Tourism Management Grant supported this creative, which aligns with the Rockies Playground regional plan’s strategy to champion destination stewardship messaging and engage visitors and residents. The refreshed visitor center not only enhances awareness of Glenwood Springs as an inclusive and accessible destination but also promotes responsible tourism practices in line with the CTO’s stewardship goals.
Guests can now access a variety of resources, including tear-off maps in English and Spanish, and three new kiosks that help them navigate the area. A partnership with Wander, an app that allows travelers to create personalized travel maps based on social media content, encourages visitors to explore the area on foot or by bike. Through the app, the Visit Glenwood Springs website and QR codes in the visitor center, guests can discover local attractions, plan their routes and explore cultural heritage through the historic walking tour and video content.
Promoting Car-Free Travel
Advancing a strategy of the regional plan to encourage car-free travel, Visit Glenwood Springs uses its blog and social media to raise awareness of rail and bus options along the I-70 mountain corridor.
Glenwood Springs is served by two Amtrak trains daily and the luxury Rocky Mountaineer, which operates between Denver and Moab from spring through fall, offering an overnight stop in town four times a week. Additionally, the Bustang bus service runs regularly between Denver’s Union Station and Grand Junction Airport, providing an affordable and convenient option for travelers to access the area.
Regional Alliances to Advance Land Stewardship
In the summer of 2024, Visit Glenwood Springs launched its first land stewardship workday at the historic Linwood Cemetery, partnering with other tourism organizations in the region to give visitors a chance to give back to the land.
Five destinations—the Aspen Chamber Resort Association, Snowmass Tourism, Basalt Chamber of Commerce, Carbondale Tourism and Visit Glenwood Springs—make up the Roaring Fork Valley Destination Alliance (RFVDA). The alliance establishes a unified voice for the tourism industry within the valley and advances solutions for tourism industry barriers and opportunities in their region. The CTO supported the creation of the RFVDA in 2021 with Destination Development programming.
In 2024, the alliance partnered with local land managers and the Roaring Fork Outdoor Volunteers, which engages community members in volunteer land stewardship, to offer seven volunteer stewardship projects throughout the valley. This initiative supports the Rockies Playground regional plan strategy to collaborate on recreation management and trail connectivity, as well as to engage people in caring for the land.
Learn More about Stewardship Efforts at Visit Glenwood Springs
Visit Glenwood Springs is dedicated to fostering responsible tourism, promoting environmental stewardship, and embracing inclusive practices that benefit both visitors and the local community. To learn more about their ongoing efforts and exciting destination stewardship initiatives, visit VisitGlenwood.com.
Share Your Success Story
Do you have a destination stewardship success story to share? We’d love to hear about the impactful work you’re doing in Colorado! Please reach out to the CTO and let us know how you’re making a difference.
