The history of Colorado Youth Outdoors is a tale of two stories merging together: The Hewson brother’s belief in building relationships through outdoor education, and the Swift Ponds property.
Timeline
1969 – Louis Swift purchased what would become Swift Ponds — 220 acres on the east side of I-25, a mile south of Harmony Rd.
1970’s – Mr. Swift mined gravel on the property. Very specifically. The directions he’d give his dragline excavator operators would drive ’em mad. Why? He wasn’t just digging for gravel – he was building ponds. He had the foresight to think about fish habitat. And while we’re at it . . . what about the folks that might fish there? Can we make it wheelchair accessible?
1980’s-1990s – Mr. Swift met a CSU aquatic biology professor named Steve Flickinger. Together, they stocked the ponds and hypothozed about what fish species would thrive — and had to fish ’em out every spring to find what survived. Pretty sweet gig!
Louis had a soft spot for veterans groups and groups that supported folks with physical & mental disabilities. If you had a group that he could get behind, you had access to a key three trees down from the gate — and standing permission to bring your group to Swift Ponds.
2001 – Tom and Bob Hewson founded Colorado Youth Outdoors. Their favorite childhood memories were tied to helping provide for the family: Chopping wood, catching fish, hunting game. Spending time with their parents and siblings in the outdoors. Yet – values were changing. Their own kids didn’t enjoy the same access to the outdoors. Tom and Bob believed the outdoors provided everything needed to build great family relationships — and they set out to teach others.
2001 – 2009 – CYO operated mostly out of Thompson Valley High School: archery on the football field, shooting sports at any range with a vacancy, moose calling in a classroom. But the goal was the same as today: parents and their kids spending quality time together.
2007 – Louis Swift had passed away five years previous, and his family decided to donate Swift Ponds to a nonprofit.
2008 – Tom & Bob reel in the big one! The Swift family choose CYO to manage Swift Ponds. The property is acquired under a conservation easement held by Colorado Open Lands. The easement restricts development, permanently conserving the property and its twelve ponds. CYO purchased an additional 50 acres on the South side of the property.
2009 -2012- In addition to road maintenance and water flow, CYO starts building! First the front gate (the road expanded, but parts of the original gate remain), next Erion Pavilion near the front entry. It’s a teaching spot, a welcome area, and a pretty sweet place to fish from a wheelchair. Next, we built our trap range, Richardson Hall (our 8000 sq ft office and classroom space), and finished with a half-mile 3D archery range. We maintain 50 acres dedicated to farming.
Between 2008 to today, CYO has invested over 10 million dollars into Swift Ponds. We continue to honor Louis Swift’s dream of an oasis for all who visit. The secret key three trees from the gate is no longer, but veterans groups and those working with the mobility impaired — including our friends at Outdoor Buddies — still bring their guests to Swift Ponds.
2024 – we start the search for a campus in Colorado Springs . . . .
Thank you CYO Partners
