USFWS · Colorado

Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge

The Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge is a 15,988-acre (24.981 sq mi) National Wildlife Refuge located adjacent to Denver and Commerce City, Colorado, in the United States. It is approximately 8 miles (13 km) northeast of downtown Denver. The refuge is on the grounds of the former Rocky Mountain Arsenal, a United States Army chemical weapons manufacturing facility. The site was designated a national wildlife refuge in 1992 by the United States Congress, and underwent a costly environmental cleanup in order to remove pollutants. The refuge is managed by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service. More than 330 species of wildlife inhabit the refuge, including raptors, deer, raccoons, coyotes, white pelicans, black-footed ferrets, black-tailed prairie dogs, and bison.

From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

National Wildlife Refuge15,971 acresUSFWSCO
Official page at U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service ↗
Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge
Photo by Oborseth, licensed CC BY-SA 3.0, from Wikimedia Commons.
1 fire
active
Harris Park Broadcast Rx (prescribed burn) · 41 mi from the center · 390 acres
Interagency incident data as of 2026-11-01
Incident details ↓

Facts

Where each comes from ↓
DesignationNational Wildlife Refuge
Managed byU.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
StateColorado
Size15,971 acres
FWS regionRegion 6
Center point39.83° N, 104.84° W
Night skyBright skies nearby (Black Marble reading 155)

Boundary map

1 outline

Boundary, simplified to about 0.005 degrees

The outline is the agency boundary simplified for display, so small parcels and inholdings may not show. The agency page has the authoritative map.

Weather by month

NOAA climate normals →
Weather by month near Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge30°40°50°60°70°80°January: 0.46 inches of precipitation, 6.4 inches of snowFebruary: 0.53 inches of precipitation, 7.6 inches of snowMarch: 1.12 inches of precipitation, 8.8 inches of snowApril: 1.67 inches of precipitation, 6.2 inches of snowMay: 2.29 inches of precipitation, 1.4 inches of snowJune: 1.68 inches of precipitation, 0.0 inches of snowJuly: 2.12 inches of precipitation, 0.0 inches of snowAugust: 1.83 inches of precipitation, 0.0 inches of snowSeptember: 1.51 inches of precipitation, 0.8 inches of snowOctober: 0.98 inches of precipitation, 3.9 inches of snowNovember: 0.70 inches of precipitation, 7.3 inches of snowDecember: 0.47 inches of precipitation, 6.6 inches of snowJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDecJanuary: 32.1°F averageFebruary: 33.4°F averageMarch: 41.8°F averageApril: 48.1°F averageMay: 57.6°F averageJune: 68.5°F averageJuly: 74.8°F averageAugust: 72.5°F averageSeptember: 64.2°F averageOctober: 51.2°F averageNovember: 40.2°F averageDecember: 31.8°F average0 in2 in4 in6 in8 in10 inTemp °FInches
The line is the average temperature and the bars are average precipitation at Denver-Stapleton, 5 miles from the center point at 5,286 feet, station USW00023062 in the NOAA monthly climate normals for 1991 to 2020. Precipitation totals about 15 inches a year. The dotted line is average snowfall, about 49 inches a year on the same inches scale.

Large units span more than one climate. The station stands in for the center point, and the outer parts of the boundary can be warmer or colder.

Fire nearby

Within 50 miles · as of 2026-11-01
  • Prescribed
    Harris Park Broadcast Rx

    41 mi from the center point · 390 acres

Distance is to the reported incident point, not the fire edge, and is measured from the center of a boundary that may be many miles across. Check the agency page for closures.

Explore

Nearby on the other atlases

National Register listings within 15 miles · 317 in all · Register Atlas

Landmarks are listed first, then by distance from the boundary.

Guidebooks for Colorado

We earn a small commission if you buy through these links. It does not change what we list.

  • Best Dog Hikes Colorado
    Emma Walker, 2019
    Find at Bookshop.org
  • Best Backpacking Trips in Montana, Wyoming, and Colorado
    Mike White and Douglas Lorain, 2019
    Find at Bookshop.org
  • Scenic Driving Colorado
    Stewart M. Green, 2019
    Find at Bookshop.org

Titles come from Open Library's catalog, matched by subject heading or by title.

Reference

Questions people ask

How big is Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge?

15,971 acres.

Source: How acreage is computed

Who manages Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge?

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

What state is Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge in?

Colorado.

Source: How states are assigned

How do I get to Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge?

A point inside the boundary is at 39.834° N, 104.839° W. The official page carries directions and the office address.

Source: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

Is there a fire near Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge right now?

1 active incident within 50 miles as of 2026-11-01, the nearest Harris Park Broadcast Rx at 41 miles. Distance is to the reported incident point, not the fire edge.

Source: Fire nearby

Are there historic places near Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge?

The National Register has 317 listings within 15 miles, including Central Promenade, Denver Civic Center and Fuller, Granville, House.

Source: Register Atlas

Sources

  • Boundary, name: the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service refuge boundary layer.
  • States and territories: computed by intersecting the boundary with Census state polygons and coarse outlines of the territories and outlying islands. A place is listed when it holds at least one percent of the area. A boundary that touches no outline is listed under the nearest one.
  • Acreage: geodesic area of the published polygon. The agency’s official acreage can differ where the boundary includes water, easements or inholdings.
  • Photograph: the image Wikidata records for this refuge (Q7355870), the item linked to its Wikipedia article. Author and license come from the file page on Wikimedia Commons.
  • Description: Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge on Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. The article was accepted because its title contains this unit’s name.
  • Campgrounds: the Campsite Atlas index of federal campgrounds, matched to this boundary at build time.
  • Night sky: NASA Black Marble (VIIRS, 2016 composite) sampled at zoom 6 around the center point.
  • Weather, alerts, air quality, river flow and earthquakes load live in your browser from NWS, AirNow, USGS and iNaturalist when you open the page.