Mission and History

HIGHLANDS: Where Christ, Creation, and Community Connect

 

Highlands is a Presbyterian Camp and Conference Center located on 293 acres in the magnificent Rocky Mountains of Colorado.

 

Our Conference Center is the locus for meetings large and small, with generous guest rooms that can accommodate as few as one guest or as many as four.  All meals are prepared and served in the Conference Center.  Every meeting room offers breathtaking views of the mountains as well as local flora and fauna, which include deer, moose, big-horn sheep and black bears.  The variety of birds that call Highlands home is nothing short of spectacular.

A Brief History of Highlands

In the early 1900s, Miss Augusta Mengedoht managed a cluster of summer rental cottages close to the mountain community of Allenspark. She probably never dreamed that many of her cabins would still be in use 100 years later!

After World War II, convinced of the positive benefits of camping and outdoor recreation for children and youth, Presbyterians in northern Colorado began searching for a permanent camping facility. The Rev. Andrew Hollars, and his daughter Ola, found just the right place. The presbytery purchased Miss Mengedoht’s 49 acre mountain retreat and ten cabins in 1945, and Highlands Camp was born.

Little by little, Highlands has grown. As neighboring properties have become available, the church has sought to purchase them, both in order to preserve the beauty of our site, but also to expand the options available for our programs and our friends. Many of the facilities that Highlands now uses—whether it is one of the lodges or our large meadow—have been added slowly to our site through the years.  In 2002 we added our new Retreat Center.  This beautiful facility includes 24 sleeping rooms, an administrative suite, reception lobby, conference room, and kitchen and dining facilities. 

Today, Highlands Presbyterian Camp and Retreat Center encompasses 285 acres, has 42 buildings, zip-line, archery range, gaga ball pit, rock climbing, a low-elements challenge course, and access to the wilderness areas of the Roosevelt National Forest and Rocky Mountain National Park.

Highlands is extensively used by Presbyterians of all ages from the front range, high plains, and Nebraska panhandle. It serves as a valuable extension of our region’s local Christian Education, evangelism, and ministry programs. Highlands is used by various nonprofit organizations, churches of many denominations, public schools and family groups.