Bud Werner Memorial Library

The second annual Yampa Valley Crane Festival takes place September 6-9, 2013 in Steamboat Springs and Hayden.

The Greater Sandhill Crane is an iconic species of the Yampa Valley. Returning in the spring, cranes nest and raise their young in wetland areas throughout the valley. In late summer and early fall, hundreds of cranes from the Rocky Mountain flock join the local birds to rest and feed before continuing their journey south.

The festival will include daily crane viewings,expert speakers, films, art exhibits, workshops, family activities & more. All community activities and events are free! Check back for daily schedules.

March 2013: WELCOME HOME, SANDHILL CRANES!

The Colorado Crane Conservation Coalition is sponsoring a First-Crane-Sighting-of-the-Season contest.

The contest is now finished.
WELCOME HOME CRANES!
Check out the winners and their photos!

The return migration of the Sandhill Cranes has begun. Evey Horn, one of last year's featured speakers at the Yampa Valley Crane Festival, has already spotted a pair of cranes near Eckert in Southwestern Colorado. Cranes are leaving their wintering homes in New Mexico and Arizona and heading north. Many will stop to rest for a short time in the San Luis Valley at the Monte Vista National Wildlife Refuge. We can expect the first arrivals here in the Yampa Valley sometime during the first or second week of March.

Send us your photo to win! Document your sighting of the first Sandhill Crane spotted in the Yampa Valley. Email your photo  or snail mail it to CCCC headquarters at 40625 County Road 69A, Hayden, CO 81639. Include your name; the date, time and location of your sighting; and any other pertinent details.

A fabulous prize will be awarded to the individual with the photo of the earliest sighting. And, at the end of March the winner’s name and photo will be posted here. (Photo pictured here courtesy Gerhard Assenmacher)

About the festival sponsor
The Colorado Crane Conservation Coalition (CCCC) is a non-profit organization dedicated to the conservation and preservation of Sandhill Cranes in Colorado -- and lead organizer for the Yampa Valley Crane Festival each fall.

Help support CCCC and the 2013 Yampa Valley Crane Festival by printing and submitting the donation form (A pdf, "CCCCSupport") at  the bottom of this page.

The 2012  Yampa Valley Crane Festival was presented by the Colorado Crane Conservation Coalition and co-sponsored by American Kestrel Press,  Audubon Rockies, BookTrails, Bud Werner Memorial Library, Colorado State Council of the Humane Society of the United States, The Nature Conservancy, Klauzer & Tremaine, LLC, Mangelsen Images of Nature, Off the Beaten Path Bookstore, U.S. Forest Service, Yampa Valley Birding Club, Yampa Valley Land Trust and Yampatika.

Questions about the Yampa Valley Crane Festival? Please send us an email.