Dragonfest Has a New Location in 2010!

After well over a decade at the beautiful Wellington Lake, Dragonfest will begin its 25th year in a new location, a few miles northeast of the old site. Read the announcement below.

View Dragonfest 2010 in a larger map or set your GPS coordinates to 39°20'59.07"N 105°22'20.57"W (39°20.980166N, 105°22.347666W).

Directions

From the Denver area:

From C-470 and US-285 in Lakewood/Morrison, take US-285 South 27.7 miles south to Bailey.
At the bottom of Crow Hill, turn left (southeast) on Park County Road 68/Wellington Lake Road. (Dfest entrance is 8.0 miles from Hwy 285 following FSR 549, and 6.8 miles from the end of the paved portion of County Road 68)
After approximately 5.7 miles, turn left onto County Road 70/FSR 549. You will see a sign indicating Pike National Forest (Travel Restricted). The left turn is about 500 yards from that sign. A sign at the intersection points towards Buck Gulch and Miller Gulch. The FSR sign is also low to the ground. Once on FSR 549/Cnty Road 70, keep to the right and follow signs for Eos Mill. At the intersection of FSR 549 & FSR 553, stay right to continue on FSR 549. After 7.9 miles from Hwy 285, you will come upon a triangular intersection where FSR 549 & FSR 550 joins together. Go to the stop sign.
If you miss the turn onto FSR 549 from Cnty Rd 68, you can travel onto FSR 550 (which is a bit bumpier and a harder turn for RVs). After approximately another 1.5 miles, turn left at Forest Service road 550/Jefferson County road 860. A sign at the intersection points to Buffalo Creek left and Wellington Lake right, you want the Buffalo Creek direction. After approximately 2 miles, turn right at the T intersection.
At the STOP SIGN, continue on for 1/10th of a mile. Dragonfest will be the first driveway to the right. You made it!
If you reach a sign for Camp Fickes Rifle Range, turn around, you went one driveway too far.

Photo points to help you find your way there from Bailey.

From Colorado Springs:

From I-25 and US-24, take US-24 West 18 miles to Woodland Park.
Turn right (north) at Colorado 67, traveling 23.1 miles.
At Deckers, turn left on county road 126.
After approximately 11.1 miles, turn left at Redskin Creek Road/Forest Service road 550.
After about 7.4 miles, look for the Dragonfest sign on the left side of the road, shortly after the Camp Fickes Rifle Range sign. You made it!
If you reach the "Leaving Buffalo Creek Recreation Area" sign, turn around, you just missed the driveway.

This site affords Dragonfest new flexibility in several regards, including the opportunity to drum later into the night and a more centralized layout. but it also comes with some important restrictions. Dragonfest attendees are not allowed to dig in the ground, which means no fire pits. If you want a fire at camp, start thinking now about devices that will keep the fire above the ground. Our goal should be to Leave No Trace, so the land is as pristine when we leave as when we arrived.

This site is at the same elevation as Wellington Lake (and 2000 feet lower than the site proposed earlier this year). Expect sun, rain, warm, and cold.

Photos of the new Dragonfest site and an interactive Google Earth view.

More information coming soon! Watch the forum for more announcements.

Announcement of the new site:

Dear Dragonfest members and the extended Colorado Pagan community,

Dragonfest has a new home. Earlier this year we announced a new location for Dragonfest in South Park near Fairplay. As plans developed, we found that site did not fit the needs of our event. Instead, Dragonfest 2010 will be held at Myers Ranch, private land surrounded by Pike National Forest, less than 10 miles from Bailey. The elevation, vegetation, and weather are all similar to what we're used to from Dragonfests of the past. For directions, maps, and photos of the new site, visit http://dragonfest.org/FI/location.html

Myers Ranch will accommodate our diverse community's desire for longer drumming hours, fewer wardrobe requirements, more flat areas, and good RV spots. The elevation varies from 8,000 to 8,200 feet (equivalent to Wellington Lake). It features tall stands of pine trees, aspen groves, wildflowers, and several beautiful meadow areas. There is a stream and a small pond, but neither are suitable for swimming. It addresses concerns about altitude, wind, shade, and distance that many members expressed. (Remember that Colorado weather is unpredictable and it's been a wet year. Expect heat, cold, rain, and dry.)

Since we're changing the location late in the process, we are offering a full refund to anyone who can no longer attend the retreat. We are also extending the registration deadline: registration forms and payment must be received (not just postmarked) by July 17th. Prices will remain at the middle tier (marked 6/07/10 on registration forms, e.g., $90 per adult).

Several rules announced earlier this year are still in effect:

Leave no trace. Pack out what you pack in. When you depart, no one should be able to tell that someone camped in your space. Our ability to use this site in the future depends on us treating the land well.
Keep all fires fully contained and above the ground. Use a burn barrel or elevated fire pit. If a fire ban is in effect, don't burn anything.
No digging. Tent stakes are fine, but don't dig a trench for water diversion.
No potable water is available. Bring all the water that you will need (1 to 1.5 gallons per person per day).
No pets. Four dogs and two llamas live on the property. They are friendly, but additional animals are unwelcome. (Trained service animals excepted.)
Drum circles will run later into the night and there is no imposed midnight curfew. Please be polite to your neighbors and keep voices at a reasonable level late at night.
Bare country will be larger, but beach-appropriate clothing is still required within sight of youthfest and the community center.

We are looking forward to a wonderful retreat in this amazing new location with lots of workshops, new rituals, and old traditions. Come help us turn the wheel and celebrate 25 years of Dragonfest.

If you have any questions, please visit the Dragonfest forum or email dragonfest@dragonfest.org. We will post further details on the Dragonfest forum as they are finalized. Please share this message with your friends and community members.

Merry meet, merry part, and merry meet again,
Dragonfest Staff and Board