Yampatika's Environmental Learning Center at Legacy Ranch

Since 1992, we have served as the Yampa Valley’s first Environmental Learning Center, operating out of the historic Legacy Ranch in Steamboat Springs. Our naturalist guides lead group and private hikes that reveal local wildlife, history, and ecology, while our facility itself demonstrates sustainability through solar power, composting, and organic gardening. We deliver a full continuum of education from PreK to senior levels, offering summer camps, school field trips, and service learning for youth, including specific programs for at-risk students via the Boys and Girls Club. Adults explore the preserved hay meadows through self-guided walking tours or guided snowshoe excursions. Operating under a special use permit with the Routt National Forest, we have been recognized with a 2009 New Pioneer award, a 2010 State Honor Award, and a 2011 Sustained Contributor Award for our environmental stewardship efforts across Routt, Moffat, Rio Blanco, and Jackson Counties.