City of La Junta eyes new opportunities with southern Colorado's annual 'tarantula trek'
Coloradans who visit La Junta and Comanche National Grassland this month will have their best opportunity to see some popular eight-legged creatures: tarantulas.
September is typically the golden month when tarantulas roam across southeast Colorado. It’s led to an influx of visitors to the area over the past few years, many of whom want to catch a glimpse or two of the spiders.
It isn’t a tarantula migration as many believe, but rather mating season for male tarantulas.
“Largely what you will be seeing is the males looking for females to mate,” said Pamela Denahy, director of tourism for the city of La Junta.
Denahy’s office is promoting and providing educational information about the annual phenomenon, calling it “Tarantula Trek: A Mating Expedition.” La Junta began promoting it to inform people where exactly they could spot tarantulas and to educate them on preferred viewing practices.
“We want to encourage people to come see the tarantulas, but don’t pick them up,” Denahy said. “Let them be in their natural habitat and appreciate where they’re at. Don’t try to take them as pets.”
Visitors are also encouraged to not block roadways — tarantulas are known to trek across roads, but stopping in the middle can impede traffic, Denahy said. Though the tarantulas don’t present any immediate danger to humans, it’s best to keep a distance when you spot one, she added.
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Four recommended viewing spots are Sierra Vista, Timpas and Iron Springs (both of which are southwest of Sierra Vista) and Vogel Canyon, which is southeast of Sierra Vista and a popular recreation area. Each area has a mix of trails and viewing spots for visitors.
The opportune time to see a tarantula at each location is typically an hour before sunset, according to the Visit La Junta website. A warm day with little to no wind is best.
Peak viewing opportunities usually last through September with activity still possible in October and November before a hard freeze.
Denahy and Visit La Junta are in their fourth year promoting the tarantula trek. Denahy’s office, after some marketing training and consultation from the Colorado Tourism Office, identified the trek’s potential to spur visitation to the area.
Denay believes the marketing decision paid off. La Junta has seen a spike in its collected lodging tax in September each year since 2018. The city collected $38,674 in lodging tax during September in 2021, according to the city’s latest lodging tax report, which was a seven-year high for the month and highest monthly total in all of 2021.
The city’s sales and use tax collection during September hasn’t dipped below $300,000 since at least 2017, when the total was $299,852.
“I think (tarantula trek) has opened it up to people that can come down for a day trip to see something that is in a different part of Colorado,” Denahy said.
Denahy and her team built a webpage with information on the trek and after the first season, interest grew. The group conducted a rebrand for this year’s season, which influenced the “Tarantula Trek: A Mating Expedition” slogan.
“(The trek) is just different and something you can do with your family or on your own,” Denahy said. “You can go out and explore and add (the trek) to other activities like hiking or biking. It’s very flexible and interesting.”
Visit La Junta also promotes farmers markets within La Junta and the surrounding area as part of "tarantula trek."
Visit La Junta will host its first La Junta Tarantula Fest on Oct. 7-8 at the La Junta Senior Citizens Center that will feature an information pavilion and guided tours. The tours on Oct. 8 will highlight the Comanche National Grassland and Santa Fe Trail with the possibility of spotting tarantulas mixed in, Denahy said.
For more information or safety tips, visit visitlajunta.net/tarantula-trek.
Chieftain reporter Josue Perez can be reached at JHPerez@gannett.com. Follow him on Twitter @josuepwrites.
This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: La Junta eyes new tourist opportunities with annual 'tarantula trek'
