CPW calls Staunton's amphitheater perfect for outdoor wedding ceremonies. Its reservation day wraps before sunset, so plan your golden hour portraits somewhere else in the park once the vows are done.
Check your dateStaunton is a Colorado Parks and Wildlife (CPW) park off Elk Creek Road, and paid photo and video here needs CPW's written permission. The park has one reservable space CPW pitches for ceremonies, a small amphitheater, and its day ends before sunset. So marry there in the afternoon, then find the evening light elsewhere in the park.
From CPW's own pages
It's a big, trail-heavy state park with granite landmarks, daily hours that run past sunset, and a handful of named parking lots. Everything in this list comes from CPW's own pages, linked at the bottom, so you can read more on any line as you plan.
Sources: CPW's park page, event space page, trails page and weddings page. Each one is a good place to dig deeper as you plan.
CPW lists four reservable spaces, and the Marmot Burrow Amphitheater is the one it recommends for ceremonies. It's sized for a small wedding. For a bigger guest list or a reception, the Ranch Hand Group Picnic Area is the space CPW names for receptions. The table has guest counts and hours for all four.
| Space | Guests | Hours | Notes from CPW |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marmot Burrow Amphitheater | Up to 60 | 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily | Lions Head views. Guests park in the upper Meadow lot. |
| Visitor Center Multi-purpose Room | Up to 70 | Mon to Thu, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. | The one indoor room on the list |
| Davis Ponds Group Picnic Area | Up to 35 | 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily | A small pavilion at the Davis Ponds fishing lakes |
| Ranch Hand Group Picnic Area | Up to 100, seats 75 | 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily | Pavilion and 36 parking spaces. CPW names wedding receptions here. |
For a ceremony outside these four spaces, the park team is the one to ask. Davis Ponds and Ranch Hand also stay reservable three hours past the amphitheater, so both make the park list further down.
| Date | Sunset | Last light (civil twilight ends) | Portraits from |
|---|---|---|---|
| May 15 | 8:08 PM | 8:38 PM | 7:08 PM |
| June 15 | 8:30 PM | 9:02 PM | 7:30 PM |
| July 15 | 8:28 PM | 8:59 PM | 7:28 PM |
| August 15 | 7:57 PM | 8:26 PM | 6:57 PM |
| September 15 | 7:10 PM | 7:37 PM | 6:10 PM |
| October 15 | 6:22 PM | 6:49 PM | 5:22 PM |
These are flat-horizon times for the park's coordinates from sunrise-sunset.org. Ridges and trees take direct light before the weather app's sunset, so walk your spot at your portrait hour. We start portraits about an hour before the app's sunset, as the right-hand column shows.
From May through September, that hour starts after the amphitheater reservation is over. In October, portraits start at 5:22, inside it, so keep the mid afternoon ceremony and go straight from family photos to portraits.
We haven't photographed a wedding at Staunton yet. We do run its trails all the time, and the places we'd walk you to first are the meadows, Davis Ponds, the amphitheater's view of Lions Head and, for a hiking elopement, the granite landmarks along the trails. Walk them in the evening, close to the time you'd be there.
For an elopement with a real hike, the Elk Falls Trail is 12 miles, CPW puts it at four to five hours, and it's marked dog friendly. The Historic Cabins Trail is another named route on CPW's map.
The park's 2020 photography permit form asks permit holders to stay on designated trails, so plan portraits from the trail. We'll confirm the current form with the park when we pull the permit.
Portraits are prompt-based. We give you something to do together, and it plays out on its own. The rest of the day stays candid, and you always know where we are.
Sample photo + video timeline · Wednesday, September 15, 2027
Here's a sample for an amphitheater ceremony and a Ranch Hand reception on a Wednesday in mid September. The ceremony sits earlier than our usual 2.5 hours before sunset because the amphitheater reservation ends at 6 p.m., and portraits follow the light table somewhere else in the park. Use it to see how the pieces fit, then we'd build yours around your own date.
Other months slide with the sun. In mid June, sunset is 80 minutes later, so portraits start at 7:30. A small elopement usually fits Half Day. A day like this sample is what Full Day is for.
Yes, for paid photo and video. Staunton's own permits page says anyone paying to get their photos taken, weddings included, needs a photography permit, and each permit covers one quarter of the year. Weddings are on the park's list of events that usually need a Special Activity Agreement, and the park says it usually needs at least 3 weeks notice for those and for reservations.
CPW's statewide commercial use rule asks for event permit applications at least 90 days ahead, though the park manager can consider later ones. Starting about 90 days out covers both, which for the sample date means June 17, 2027. For Special Activity Agreements, the park asks you to email staunton.park@state.co.us. Sources: Staunton's permits page, CPW's commercial use regulation and weddings page.
Staunton's own Special Activities Agreement and Photography Permit form carries a 2020 date and is written for the photographer: a parkwide commercial photography permit, picked by quarter. We pull it for our coverage of your day, so that one isn't on your list. It asks for a 250-word summary of the event and liability insurance at a set minimum, naming the State of Colorado and CPW as additional insured. It also says permit holders get no reserved parking, and any signs or banners need staff approval 30 days out.
If your wedding also needs a Special Activity Agreement, the park may ask the person holding the event for liability insurance too. That's a normal part of planning here. In our experience, a one day event liability policy usually costs less than couples expect, and we can help you work out what the park is asking for well before your date.
Every vehicle needs a valid park pass. When you rent a space, you can ask for an event pass on the rental contract that covers your guests, billed once the day is over. A bus buys a transportation pass. For rideshare, plan the ride home: CPW says "Most request-a-ride services will drop off but won't pick up," and guests who are dropped off need a walk-in pass. Plan designated drivers or a shuttle for the ride home.
The only indoor event room CPW lists is the Visitor Center Multi-purpose Room, and its listed hours run Monday to Thursday only. That's part of why the sample sits on a Wednesday. On a weekend, the cover CPW lists is the covered pavilion at Ranch Hand and the small pavilion at Davis Ponds, so the rest of the plan is timing and layers.
Whether that room can be held as a backup for an outdoor ceremony is on the park list below. If you hear thunder, get everyone into a building or back to the cars and wait it out.
If storms take golden hour, the blue light between sunset and the end of civil twilight in the month table is a second try. Pack a jacket for after dark. We'll work it into the frames.
Your dog can come, on a leash 6 feet or shorter, kept on at all times on trails. For drones, plan on no (the FAQ has the rule). Climbing areas at Lions Head and Rough Neck close from March to July, so if climbing is part of your day, look at August through October.
Sources: the park brochure for the leash, CPW regulation P-1 (quoted in the commercial use regulation) and CPW's magazine for drones.
Call the park with these six before you book anything. The park team is the best source for these, and the answers decide where your ceremony can happen and how late your portraits can run. Bring what you hear to our call and we'll build the day around it, so you only have to have that conversation once.
Yes, if your photographer or videographer is paid. Staunton's permits page says anyone paying for photos, weddings included, needs a photography permit, good for one quarter of the year. We pull the photography permit for our coverage. Weddings usually call for a Special Activity Agreement as well. Starting about 90 days out covers the park's 3 weeks notice and CPW's statewide 90 day rule. Call the park at 303-816-0912 early.
Up to 60. The Marmot Burrow Amphitheater is the space CPW suggests for outdoor wedding ceremonies, and it can be reserved daily from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. through cpwshop.com or 1-800-244-5613. If your list is longer, the Ranch Hand Group Picnic Area holds up to 100 people with seating for 75, and CPW names it for wedding receptions.
On the 15th of each month in 2027, sunset at the park runs from 8:08 PM in May to a peak of 8:30 PM in June, then down to 6:22 PM in October. Those are flat-horizon times. Ridges and trees cut direct light sooner, so start portraits well before your date's sunset.
They can get there. Plan the ride home ahead, because CPW says most ride services drop off and won't pick up, and dropped-off guests need a walk-in pass. Plan designated drivers or a shuttle. Every car needs a valid park pass, a bus buys a transportation pass, and an event pass on your space rental can cover guest cars.
Plan your aerial look from the ground. CPW rules allow radio-controlled models only in designated areas, and the park can tell you if Staunton has one. CPW's own magazine says drone use in state parks is limited to parks with a designated model aircraft area. If aerial footage matters to you, ask the park about designated areas when you call.
Brandon's take
"We haven't photographed a wedding here yet. We run in this park all the time, though, and I grew up within walking distance of it. It opened when I was in high school, so I've watched it grow up right alongside me. If you're thinking about Staunton, we'd love to help you plan it."
We're Brandon and Aby, husband and wife, and we run Motus Weddings out of Bailey with the Motus team. Over 6 years we've covered more than 100 weddings, on digital and on real Super 8, 16mm and 35mm film. We help your day along without running it, and we talk with your planner, DJ, officiant and venue so you're never the go-between.
Bring your date, your guest count and whether you're picturing the amphitheater or a trail. The 30 minute planning call is free help with your spot, your timeline and your whole day: we'll line your sunset up against the park's hours, talk through permits and insurance, and figure out whether Half Day or Full Day fits.
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