Annual ‘Get Outdoors Day’ in Colorado Springs encourages the community to get outside June 3

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (KRDO) -- It's time to enjoy the great outdoors! The annual 'Get Outdoors Day' festival is back on Saturday, June 3 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Prospect Lake in Memorial Park.

Since 2016, the first Saturday in June has been a day for all ages in the community to explore sports and other outdoor activities they can do around the area.

"Colorado Parks and Wildlife, the City of Colorado Springs, and Pikes Peak Outdoor Recreation Alliance all teamed up to inspire outdoor participation," Pikes Peak Outdoor Recreation Alliance Executive Director Becky Leinweber said. "We wanted to provide free activities to inspire them to try something new, to get outside. It's so good for our health and well-being."

Whether it's connecting new people in the area to outdoor opportunities, or introducing locals to learn something different, there's a wide variety of options available in the region.

"Colorado Springs is a central hub for outdoor recreation in our state," Anglers Covey Director of Services Jon Easdon said. "We've got tons of access to trails, a lot of good fishing, and this is a celebration of that. It brings all sorts of outdoor recreation facets together and exposes that to the public. And the public can come dip their toes in each of those things."

There will be paddle boarding, kayaking, archery lessons, biking, rifle shooting, fishing classes, and so much more. All of which have many benefits.

​​​​​​​"We all know about the physical benefits, getting outside and getting active is good for all of us," Leinweber said. "But the emotional benefits, the good mental health of just getting outside, breathing the fresh air, being in nature. Areas that don't have good access to green spaces don't have as good health outcomes. So we've seen a connection with being outside and enjoying the outdoors, and overall good health and life expectancy."

"Flyfishing for me has very little to do with the fish," Easdon said. "For me personally it's a way I can disconnect. It's impossible for me to think about anything else while I'm doing it, and in this day and age that's a coveted thing."

Twenty-five various vendors, businesses, and nonprofit agencies will be set up to educate the community and act as a resource. They'll also be giving out freebies. Such as bike helmets and 800 free fishing poles and bait for kids, among many more.