Sweitzer Lake State Park outside of Delta just added one more way to enjoy what the park has to offer, bicycles you can borrow to ride the trails.

Sweitzer Lake State Park is one of Colorado's best kept recreation secrets and often overlooked by those seeking outdoor family fun in favor of other more well-known areas.

The land for the lake was donated to the state of Colorado by fruit grower (Louis) Morgan Sweitzer to be used to create a recreation area.

Unlike many other lakes in Colorado which are used for water storage, irrigation, or flood control, Sweitzer Lake was built for the singular purpose of recreation.

With the focus on recreation, it shouldn't be a surprise the park now has bicycles that can be borrowed to take a ride on the trails around the lake.

According to a story published in the Montrose Mirror, Scott Rist, Colorado Parks and Wildlife senior ranger for Sweitzer, Crawford and Paonia state parks, is the person responsible for the loaner bikes.

The article says when Rist learned 50 percent of Delta County children don't own a bicycle, he applied for a grant from the Colorado Parks Foundation and used the $2,500 grant to purchase bikes and helmets people can use for free for an hour at a time to ride trails in the park.

Now, in addition to boating, water skiing, sail and paddle boarding, swimming, fishing, picnicking, hiking, horseback riding and a multitude of other activities at Sweitzer, you can borrow a bike and wheel around for an hour.

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