Nice to see some of you this past weekend — paint night, Oktoberfest, and the Broncos game at The Library Co (I think we’re hitting Great Divide this Sunday night for the game — email me if you want the FB invite).
Beyond all those goodies, I was able to get out on a bike ride (yes it was an e-bike, I know the purists are looking down on me) from the Meadows to Miller Park. First time crossing the bridge over Wolfensberger. It was a beautiful day and besides the grazed shin 3 minutes in, it was a great time. If you haven't had a chance to just chill by the water features by the Millhouse at Miller Park, would 10/10 recommend. Thanks to crew member, Josh, for taking me out for the ride!
PSA — while downtown on Saturday, we stopped by Sugar Spoon Candies which has recently been taken over by the owners of Rock Liquors across the street. They have been making some changes like moving the ice cream to where you can see it (Magill's), but are very intent on keeping one thing the same — the prices. I met the owner Megan while I was there, so be sure to stop by and say hi to her. They are expanding the hours and will be open every day of the week, closing at 8pm on weekdays and 9pm Fri-Sun.
And other than some of the fall events listed below, I'll definitely be hitting The Colorado Highlands Games which I covered in DougCo Drop last week. This is the 50th annual and it's just a short drive over to the Denver Polo Club…kilts, fish and chips, car shows, live music, dog shows, highland cows, and more (read the DougCo Drop issue here).
Fall is in the air
Have been holding off on the PSLs and other fall goodies as a matter of principle (like I have any) and because the weather wasn't even close to feeling like fall. Well, that seems to have changed over the past week. The morning walks have been an absolute delight with the crisper air. And here are some events that you'll want to leave home for:
Gilly's Pumpkin Patch — 1433 Lake Gulch Rd · Sept 25-26, Oct 2-3, Oct 9-10 · 10am to dark · $5, or $20 per family
Six days all season, Fridays and Saturdays only — miss a weekend and you've burned a third of it
An 1889 homestead, with cottonwoods already turning
Walk the patch and pick your own specialty pumpkins
Free for 3 and under
Lone Creek Farms Fall Festival — 3879 N State Hwy 83, Franktown · opens Fri Sept 25, then Thu-Sun to Nov 1 · Thu 10am-5pm, Fri-Sun 10am-9pm · $27.95, $25.95 military and senior, $23.95 Thursdays
New this year: a nighttime light show included with admission, Friday to Sunday nights only
20-plus attractions, corn maze, hay rides, farm animals, jump pad, live shows
Mutton bustin' only runs Oct 17-18, Oct 24-25 and Oct 31-Nov 1
Thursdays are cheaper for a reason: no add-on attractions and no light show
Saturday the 26th is a pileup with different types of events for you to mix and match:
Harvest Day at CALF's Lowell Ranch — 10am to 2pm, pay what you can. The old-school farm one.
Big Jack arrives at the Outlets — 11am to 2pm.
Oktoberfest at 105 West — all day, 11am to 10pm. Stein hoisting at 3, best-dressed at 5, Mike Maurer Band at 6:30.
Douglas County Fall Festival — Sandstone Ranch Open Space, 8309 S Perry Park Rd, Larkspur · Sat Sept 26 · 10am to 3pm · free, no registration
Guided hikes with Open Space Rangers, and hay rides through the historic parts of the property
A fire safety showcase with the county's firefighting helicopter on the ground, plus wildland firefighters and Sheriff's deputies
Food trucks, games, and people who can actually answer your questions about the county's trails and open space
Front Range GSD Rescue and German Shepherd Rescue of Colorado will have a tent
Parking is free but limited, so carpool if you can, and the roads out there are narrow
The fall menus are already out
Every coffee shop in town dropped theirs. The two at the top of my list are both LaLa's — a Butterscotch White Cocoa and a Salted Caramel Peanut Butter Latte. Longtime readers will remember I grabbed one of those last time before the winter menu took it away, and it's back. Oo•de•Lally and Apres are both running full fall lineups, COFF33 dropped a new one recently, and Griddled at the Outlets has some fall goodies out as well.
Then it keeps going
Fall Fest at Alidade — Sat Oct 3, noon to 6pm
PumpkinFest at The Grange — Sat Oct 10, noon to 3pm. Every household picks one pumpkin free, extras are $5, cash only.
Happy Dog Ranch Fall Festival — Sun Oct 11, 11am to 3pm, free, out in Sedalia. Carriage rides, and you get to meet the 100-plus rescued animals that live there.
Fall Festival at Festival Park — Sunday Oct 18, 10am to 3pm, free
You can watch it tip over as the month goes on — the first half is harvest and pumpkins, and by the back half it's gone spooky. More events and the full Halloween rundown in a couple weeks once the trick-or-treat maps and the haunted stuff are locked in.
Next dinner is Wednesday, September 30 in Lone Tree, and both of them are running again. Couples Dinner (55+) will be at Cranelli's!
Dinner Club is the one where we sit you down at a table of neighbors you haven't met yet. Couples Dinner is the same idea with your person, a few other couples at the table. Earlier this month in Castle Rock we had 70 of you out across the two of them, and a good chunk ended up at Wild Blue Yonder afterward.
Grab a seat for the Dinner Club → Use LT5 for $5 off
Grab a seat for the Couples Dinner (55+) → Use TABLE10 for $10
Signups close Monday the 28th at 6:30pm.
Humane Colorado
or Brown Sugar?
My answer is…yes!
La Roche Academy of Dance
From tiny twirls to big leaps
At La Roche Academy of Dance, our mission is to bring the art of dance to students of all levels through a supportive environment promoting confidence, self-accomplishment, and physical well-being. Our new dance season has begun, and there's no better time to join our studio family.
Offerings include Recreational Classes as well as Company Programs, for dancers ages 3-18 plus Adults! Through quality training while developing artistic expression, we hope to pass on our passion as our students become family in the world of dance.
Sports
Broncos — We got one back and I hate to say I'm surprised (they did hand it to us last year). Beat Jacksonville 20-13 on Sunday, and Bo Nix looked a lot more like it, throwing for 288 with Jaylen Waddle going for 138 receiving. Glad to see the asset we got this summer paying off! And the rookie Coleman with the TD! That puts us 1-1 after the Monday night beating in Kansas City. We host the Rams Sunday at 6:20pm.
Nuggets — Media day is this week in Denver and then camp opens up in Boulder. First pre-season game against the Jazz on Oct 4.
Avalanche — Hockey is back. The Avs trimmed 11 players over the weekend, sending a group down to the Eagles and leaving 45 on the preseason roster. We dropped last night's trip to Winnipeg 3-1. Two more preseason games this week, Winnipeg at home Friday and Utah on the road Saturday. The regular season opens Wednesday, September 30 at home against the LA Kings.
Rockies — Rough one to close the homestand, losing 2-1 to Seattle on Sunday to sit 57-99. Three with Arizona at Coors this week, 6:40pm Tuesday and Wednesday and a 1:10pm finish Thursday, then we head to the White Sox on Friday.
Rapids — Tough week. We went out of the U.S. Open Cup in the semi-final, losing 3-0 to St. Louis CITY SC on Wednesday, then drew 3-3 with Seattle on Saturday. That leaves us 11-12-3 with 36 points through 26 matches, 7th in the West. One match this week: we head @ LA Galaxy Saturday at 8:30pm.
Summit FC — Four points out of two matches. Drew 2-2 at Bay FC on Wednesday, then beat Seattle Reign 2-1 on Saturday. We're 9-8-8 with 35 points through 25 matches, 10th in the NWSL. We head @ Kansas City Current Saturday at 10:30am.
Sabercats Football — the Sabercats took down Pine Creek at home (40-27) to open league play and are 3-1, winners of two straight. They host Valor Christian on Friday, September 25th at 6:30pm. Check out their schedule.
Huskies Football — the Huskies are 4-0 after holding off Horizon (41-35) at home in their league opener. They travel to Highlands Ranch on Friday, September 25th at 7pm. Check out their schedule.
Want your business in front of 6,000 locals? Reach out if you're interested in sponsoring the newsletter.
Noteworthy
The Crowfoot Valley Road widening is finished
The Town wrapped up the Crowfoot Valley Road widening this month, the stretch between Knobcone Drive and Macanta Boulevard, and it came in on budget and on schedule. Work started back in summer 2025, so if you've been routing around it for the last year, you can stop.
What you get out of it: two through lanes in each direction, a new traffic signal at Sapphire Pointe Boulevard, dedicated turn lanes where they were warranted, sidewalk, and on-street bike lanes. They also went with taller medians and deliberately narrower travel lanes, because narrow lanes get people to slow down on their own.
Douglas County finished the signal at Crowfoot Valley and Macanta on their end. Construction ran about $8.7 million, with the County chipping in $1.5 million, and road projects here are mostly paid for out of new development impact fees and taxes on construction materials.
Castle Rock Jobs
Looking for more? Every open job we track across the county lives at dougcosocial.com/jobs.
Best of Douglas County
Don't forget to get your vote in. You can always change it or add more as you try new places.
Tons of categories. Best burger, best green chile, best cinnamon roll, etc. Takes a minute or two. No wrong answers.
Events
Last Supper Club of the Season
The last Sunset Supper Club of the season is Tuesday, September 29, out at KB Ranch on Mountain View Road. Four courses on a working ranch, and this one is the beer pairing, with a craft beer from Alidade Brewing here in town matched to each course.
Note the time moved up. It runs 6 to 8pm, earlier than the summer nights.
Tuesday, 9/22:
Dawson Butte Ranch Open Space Trail - Autumn Equinox Hike at Dawson Butte - 9am–11am - Free
Cherokee Ranch & Castle - Castle Tour at Cherokee Ranch & Castle - 10am–11:30am - $21-$24
The Oaks - District 6 Town Council Open House - 4pm–6pm - Free
Cherokee Ranch & Castle - Elk Bugling Sightings & Sounds at Cherokee Ranch - 5pm–7:30pm - $44
Pines Bar and Grill - Trivia Night at Pines Bar and Grill - 6pm–8pm - Free
The Whiskey Lodge - Tuesday Trivia at The Whiskey Lodge - 7pm–9pm - Free
Wild Blue Yonder Brewing Co. - Geeks Who Drink Trivia at Wild Blue Yonder - 7pm–9pm - Free
Wednesday, 9/23:
Cherokee Ranch & Castle - Castle Tour at Cherokee Ranch & Castle - 10am–11:30am - $21-$24
CALF's Lowell Ranch - Business Unwind: Building Bridges with Nonprofits - 4:30pm–6:30pm - Free
Wide Open Saloon - Bike Night with The Groove Makers at Wide Open Saloon - 5pm–9pm - Free
Alidade Brewing - Music Bingo at Alidade - 6pm–8pm - Free
Pines Bar and Grill - Karaoke Night at Pines Bar and Grill - 6pm–9pm - Free
105 West Brewing Company - Trails N' Ales Mountain Bike Ride at 105 West - 6pm–7pm - Free
The Whiskey Lodge - Wednesday Bingo at The Whiskey Lodge - 6:30pm–8:30pm - Free
Sinners & Saints - Weekly Bingo at Sinners & Saints - 6:30pm–8:30pm - Free
Thursday, 9/24:
Sandstone Ranch Open Space (Guided Side) - September Plein Air Gathering at Sandstone Ranch - 9am–11am - Free
Cherokee Ranch & Castle - Castle Tour at Cherokee Ranch & Castle - 10am–11:30am - $21-$24
HomeSmart Realty Office - Larkspur Chamber Lunch & Learn: Practical Organizing Systems - 11:30am–12:30pm - $10 (chamber members free)
Douglas County Fairgrounds and Event Center - LANFest Colorado 2026 - 12pm–6pm - Free for spectators; $60 GA / $140 premium / $20 board games
Cherokee Ranch & Castle - Afternoon Tea at the Castle - 1pm–3pm - $74.95
Douglas County Libraries - Philip & Jerry Miller Library - Medicare Made Easy with Jim Garey - 4pm–5pm - Free
Cherokee Ranch & Castle - Elk Bugling Sightings & Sounds at Cherokee Ranch - 5pm–7:30pm - $44
Crowfoot Valley Coffee & Crowbar - Trivia Night - 6pm–8pm - Free
105 West Brewing Company - Trivia Night at 105 West Brewing - 6pm–8:30pm - Free
Wide Open Saloon - Thursday Line Dancing at Wide Open Saloon - 6pm–10pm - Free
The Emporium - Plant Bingo at The Emporium - 6pm–8pm - $42
The Whiskey Lodge - Free Whiskey Tasting & Poker Night at The Whiskey Lodge - 7pm–10pm - Free
Honnibrook Craft Meadery - Poker Night: Castle Rock - 7pm–9pm
Friday, 9/25:
Cherokee Ranch & Castle - Castle Tour at Cherokee Ranch & Castle - 10am–11:30am - $21-$24
Gilly's Pumpkin Patch - Gilly's Pumpkin Patch 2026 - 10am–Dark - $5 individual / $20 family
Lone Creek Farms - Lone Creek Farms Fall Festival 2026 - 10am–9pm - $23.95-$27.95 (military/senior $25.95; 3 and under free)
The Grange - Food Truck Frenzy at The Grange - 6pm–8pm - Free
Pines Bar and Grill - Live Band at Pines Bar and Grill - 6pm–9pm - Free
The Stagecoach Saloon - Atomic Xperience at The Stagecoach Saloon - 6:30pm–10:30pm - Free
The Whiskey Lodge - Friday Karaoke at The Whiskey Lodge - 7pm–11pm - Free
Wide Open Saloon - Giovannie and The Hired Guns at Wide Open Saloon - 7pm–10:30pm - $23.18+
Sinners & Saints - Jordan Yewey — Live at the Altar - 8pm–10pm - Free
Saturday, 9/26:
Douglas County Fairgrounds and Event Center - Castle Rock Farmers Market - 8am–12:30pm - Free
Douglas County Fairgrounds and Event Center - Colorado Pit Bike Series at the Fairgrounds - 8am–5pm
Denver Polo Club - The Colorado Highlands Games - 9am–8pm - $20-$45 (under 7 free)
Lost Canyon Ranch Open Space - Public Lands Day Volunteer Project at Lost Canyon Ranch - 9am–12pm - Free
Castle Pines Market Place Shopping Center Parking Lot - Slash Collection Day - 9am–2pm - Free
Cherokee Ranch & Castle - Castle Tour at Cherokee Ranch & Castle - 10am–11:30am - $21-$24
Sandstone Ranch Open Space (Guided Side) - Douglas County Fall Festival at Sandstone Ranch - 10am–3pm - Free
CALF'S Lowell Ranch - Harvest Day at CALF's Lowell Ranch - 10am–2pm - Free
Gilly's Pumpkin Patch - Gilly's Pumpkin Patch 2026 - 10am–Dark - $5 individual / $20 family
Outlets at Castle Rock - Big Jack Gives Back Coat Drive - 10am–8pm - Free
Castle Rock Museum - Walking Tour of Downtown Castle Rock - 10:30am–11:30am - Free
105 West Brewing Company - Oktoberfest at 105 West Brewing - 11am–10pm - Free
Outlets at Castle Rock - Big Jack Arrival at the Outlets - 11am–2pm - Free
The Stagecoach Saloon - Wags and the Boys at The Stagecoach Saloon - 6:30pm–10:30pm - Free
105 West Brewing Company - Live Music: Mike Maurer Band at 105 West - 6:30pm–9:30pm - Free
The Whiskey Lodge - Saturday Live Music at The Whiskey Lodge - 7pm–10pm - Free
Sinners & Saints - Live Music at The Altar: Tanya & Skye - 7pm–8:30pm - Free
Sinners & Saints - Live DJ in the Lounge with 'DJ Marvin' - 9pm–12am - Free
Sunday, 9/27:
Lost Coffee - Lost Runners Run Club with RNK Running - 8am–9:30am - Free
Denver Polo Club - The Colorado Highlands Games - 9am–5pm - $20-$45 (under 7 free)
Festival Park - Festival Park Farmers Market - 9am–2pm - Free
Downtown Castle Rock - Walking Tours of Downtown Castle Rock - 10:30am - Free
Teaology Tea Cafe - Watercolor Class with Raelene at Teaology - 1pm–3pm - $42
Cherokee Ranch & Castle - Princess Party at the Castle - 1:30pm–3:30pm - $56.95
The Whiskey Lodge - Sunday Karaoke at The Whiskey Lodge - 6pm–9pm - Free
Monday, 9/28:
Alidade Brewing - Mah Jongg Monday at Alidade Brewing - 5pm–8pm - Free
105 West Brewing Company - Trails N' Ales Run Club at 105 West - 6pm–7pm - Free
The Whiskey Lodge - Monday Bingo at The Whiskey Lodge - 6:30pm–8:30pm - Free
Looking for more? Every Douglas County event we track lives on our events calendar: dougcosocial.com/events.
Heads up on events that are further out:
Philip S. Miller Building - Courageous Conversations: Well-being of Our Youth - Wed 9/30, 6pm–7:30pm - Free
Cantril School Building - 2026 State of the Town - Thu 10/1, 6pm–7pm - Free
Castle Rock Museum - Ghostly Stories and Tragic Tales Walking Tour - Thu 10/1, 7pm–8pm - Free
Cherokee Ranch & Castle - Murder Mystery: Ultimate 80's Party at Cherokee Ranch - Fri 10/2, 6pm–9:15pm - $84.95
Wide Awake Eatery - Dinner and Dueling Pianos - Fri 10/2, 6pm–9pm - $28.52
Miller Park - Castle Rock Trail Festival and liveBIG Family Adventure Run - Sat 10/3, 6am–3:30pm - $33.42-$113.75
Worth the drive: other Douglas County events can be found in our sister newsletter, DougCo Drop — subscribe below.
⚠️ Please verify event details and availability with the respective venues or organizers, as schedules may change.
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