About
Colorado Discover Ability (CDA) was created by special education teachers 45 years ago to provide outdoor recreation to people with disabilities. CDA started initially to provide opportunities for skiing, and has since expanded to add cycling, summer camps, sled hockey, river rafting, and other water sports.
Program Details
We believe in the transformative power of recreation. Our mission is to provide inclusive outdoor opportunities that empower individuals of all abilities to experience the joy and freedom of adventure. Our programs include skiing and snowboarding, cycling along the scenic Riverfront trail, sled hockey, rafting the Colorado River, and summer adventure camps. The latter includes paddle boarding, kayaking and other water sports, disc golf, horseback riding, river rafting, and camping.
Every individual has unique needs, so we provide specialized adaptive equipment and trained volunteers to make participation in each of these activities possible. All of our programs weave instruction, safe practices, and stewardship of our public lands into fun activities. Our participants report experiencing greater mental health, confidence, friendship, and—above all—joy.
Cost to Participate
These participation costs are set to be affordable to our participants. Over 75% of our participants pay little or no cost thanks to grants and scholarships. Below are the costs for each activity:
- Cycling - $25
- Hockey program - $25
- Summer adventures - $20
- Overnight camping - $460
- Rafting - $85
- Team Powderhorn - $400 (season)
- Skiing - $200
Our budget reflects gap costs for our programs to include the administrative, equipment, and overhead costs for running our highly specialized programs, which are considerably higher than what we can charge participants. We use those numbers in our grant writing, and are available on request.
Contact Kady Ostowick, Executive Director kady@cdagj.org (970) 257-1222 Colorado Discover Ability
Populations Served
All people with disabilities, including children, youth, adults, and veterans.
Staff Composition
Executive Director
Operations Manager
Program Director
Program Manager
100+ Volunteers
As the number of participants continues to grow, we will need to add an additional program manager and a volunteer coordinator to our staff. We currently have a waiting list for all of our summer programs.
Services Offered
Activities include:
- Skiing and snowboarding
- Cycling
- Summer adventures, including horseback riding, rafting, and other water sports, disc golf, cycling, and camping
We provide adaptive equipment and one-on-one coaching and assistance to each individual.
Research Connections
We have recently started partnering with the Occupational Therapy and Physical Therapy programs at Colorado Mesa University. Although they have not used our program for research, they have reached out to our participants for other research such as adaptive travel.
