Charming Castle Rock has a lot to recommend it. Despite a period of unprecedented growth in recent years, this historic township has been able to maintain its sense of community and of place. Pretty old buildings and landmarks provide a connection to the town’s pioneering past and numerous parks provide ample opportunities for recreation and relaxation.
Castle Rock has some of the best golfing in Colorado, with courses of the caliber of famous Castle Pines, one of the nation’s best private clubs. Castle Pines hosts the International Golf Tournament, which draws visitors from across the country.
Locals are horse lovers on the whole and there are plenty of equestrian events throughout the year.
The town’s yearly arts festival attracts artisans from all over America, and there are a growing number of fine art galleries and studios in Castle Rock. Additional annual events include a wine festival, a fair and parade, a special Christmas holiday celebration, and a comprehensive and popular trade show each spring. Street festivals and cultural events occur throughout the year, including an OktoberFest, which pays tribute to some of the early farming families in the region.
Castle Rock enjoys all the advantages of its central location between Denver and Colorado Springs, and the local economy is thriving, boosted by the housing boom and the town’s historic downtown which has museums, fine dining and specialty stores.
The affordability of recent housing developments relative to neighboring towns is an added draw to Castle Rock, and families also appreciate the top schools in the region, which come under the care of the high rating Douglas County School District. There are several top outlet stores in Castle Rock and nearby Park Meadows has a huge mall.
Shoppers and sports and culture lovers alike also appreciate Castle Rock’s proximity to Denver, and all the sporting, cultural and entertainment opportunities that this sophisticated city provides.
LOCATION
About twenty-five miles south of Denver on I 25, the city of Castle Rock enjoys ease of access to the metropolis.
is in Douglas County, Colorado. On Route 83, Parker is accessible to the region’s important highways and interstates. Route 83 journeys north into Denver and south through neighboring towns before terminating at I 25 about forty miles away.
Just north of Parker, Highway 30 makes up part of the ring of highways that encircles Denver; key highways and interstates journey out from this ring for destinations across the state. Highway 30 becomes Highway 121 east of Parker, passing through Highlands Ranch before turning north.
Highlands Ranch is about fifteen miles from Parker and Castle Rock is about fifteen miles south west.
TRANSPORTATION/AIRPORTS
Parker is closest to Denver International Airport, the tenth largest in the world and a notably efficient facility. With flights to across the country and the globe, Denver International brings tourists to this popular recreational destination and connects travelers and business people.
The Regional Transportation District (RTD) has a comprehensive public transport system that links Parker to surrounding towns and to Denver.
BRIEF HISTORY
Before their first contact with European outsiders, Indians lived a nomadic existence on the land between the Arkansas and Platte Rivers. The pine forests provided lodge poles and wild game, and the plains supported buffalo herds, as well as antelope and deer.
The first outsiders met these people, who were primarily Arapahoe and Cheyenne, and relations were typically wary, with periods of open hostility on both sides. White settlers tended to pass through, but after the discovery of gold in Colorado in 1858, many stayed and set up homesteads and cattle and dairy farms. A quarry was dug on the site of present day Castle Rock, and it soon became known as "The Rock."
In 1874, an early homesteader gave one hundred and twenty acres to be used for a town near the quarry, asking that it be called “Castle Rock." Streets were laid out, the Courthouse Square designated and housing lots auctioned off. Castle Rock was designated county seat in the same year.
Rhyolite was discovered on the outskirts of town in 1872 and the resulting building stone industry developed Castle Rock considerably. A new train depot was established and trains from Denver began unloading supplies for ranchers and shipping out rhyolite and local dairy cheese. Today the depot is home to the Castle Rock Historical Museum.
Since its earliest pioneer days, Castle Rock has continued to prosper as an agricultural and mining center. Today over thirty thousand people live in the town, and a further sixty-five thousand live in the surrounding countryside.
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