PARADISE COVE — In our new series Adventures with Alan, we'll travel across Southern Colorado to show you everything from hidden gems to national and state parks to well known areas.
This week, we checked out the newly popular cliffs at Paradise Cove to take the plunge into the icy waters below.
Paradise Cove, also known as Guffey Gorge, is a recreation area located in southern Park County.
The hike from the parking lot to Paradise Cove isn't too difficult. It's about a mile long and takes us around 15 minutes.
Once we make it to the swimming hole, we sit back, catch our breath and watch a few people jump from the cliffs into the natural pool below.
After watching the scene and scoping it out, it's now my turn.
But first, I must warn you that cliff jumping can be very dangerous. Much like any activity here in Colorado, there are risks associated with it.
Brant Porter with the Bureau of Land Management tells News5 that there are certain risks that the public should know about before coming to Paradise Cove.
"When you add to just those risks of recreating in the outdoors to jumping from cliffs into cold water, that can lead to serious injuries and that sort of thing, and it doesn't really yield that positive healthy experience," said Porter.
With that in mind and my experience as a collegiate platform diver, I'm feeling pretty confident but nervous as I reach the edge.
Once in position, I feel the adrenaline kick in and just like that, I'm off into the waters below.
The jump was a lot of fun, but as I hit the water, I feel an icy rush all over my body. In fact, the water is so cold that it's hard to catch my breath until I find myself back on land.
Since I was unfamiliar with the area, I jumped off one of the lower cliffs. The higher cliffs here reach dizzying heights up to 80 feet. Those are the ones that Porter warns are most dangerous.
"And we just ask that folks use the area responsibly, not only to preserve their own health and safety, but also to preserve that of others that are recreating at the site, and also to preserve their experience there as well," said Porter.
Paradise Cove was a blast! What a great start to our adventure series! Make sure to tune in next week to find out where our next adventure will be.
