REI Joins Outdoor Recreation Hub in Dillon, Colo. this Spring

SEATTLE – This spring, local outdoor co-op REI will open a new store in Dillon, Colo., offering a wide assortment of quality gear and local REI experts to one of the nation’s top outdoor recreation hubs. Located just 65 miles west of Denver and within 25 miles of six large ski areas, REI Dillon will help the more than 365,000 co-op members in the state—and the thousands of visitors to Summit County and the surrounding areas—get outside year-round.

“REI has been a part of this community for decades, with more than 8,000 members residing in area. With this new location we’ll be surrounded by some of the country’s most iconic outdoor places and adventurers will more easily be able to get the best gear and expert advice to explore them. Summit County is a special area in that outdoor recreation really fuels the local economy, so we’re looking forward to continuing to partner with local nonprofits and our outdoor peers to get more people outside,” said Julie Lochner, REI retail director for the Mountain district.

REI Dillon will be located at the intersection of US Highway 6 and Dillon Dam Road. The 25,000 square foot store will carry the best gear and apparel for the most popular outdoor activities in the area, including skiing, snowboarding, hiking and biking. The store’s ski and snowboard shop will offer maintenance and repairs from highly trained experts. REI Dillon will be the co-op’s ninth store in Colorado, with nearby locations in Denver (67 miles away) and Lakewood (68 miles away).

REI Outdoor School will offer a robust in-store schedule of educational programs about hiking, climbing, biking, backpacking, snowsports and more. In addition the store will host presentations by well-known authors and athletes. The majority of programming will be free, as is the case at REI stores across the country. Across the Front Range, REI Outdoor School’s programming increased by more than 28% over the last year in its focus to help people live a life outside.

REI has been a part of the Colorado outdoor community since first opening its Denver Flagship store in 1983. Over the past 34 years, the co-op has established strong relationships with outdoor nonprofits throughout the state, and invested $198,000 in 14 local nonprofit partners in 2016. The impactful work completed by REI’s partners last year include:

• Volunteers for Outdoor Colorado (VOC) – VOC used the co-op’s $40,000 investment to support stewardship projects at Lawn Lake Trail in Rocky Mountain National Park, Hermit Park Open Space Trail in Larimer County, and South Valley Park in Jefferson County—which was a Yay Day service project completed by local REI employees.
• Wildlands Restoration Volunteers (WRV) – REI’s $15,000 investment supported restoration of trails in the most popular recreation areas on U.S. Forest Service lands, flood and fire devastated areas, heavily used Denver Mountain Parks, Georgia Pass in Summit County, and many more.
• Colorado Mountain Bike Association (COMBA) – The co-op’s $15,000 investment helped COMBA continue to construct and maintain mountain bike friendly multi-use trails throughout the greater Denver area, including Jefferson, Douglas, Park and Denver counties.
• Colorado Youth Corps Association (CYCA) – REI’s $20,000 investment supported the CYCA’s mission by empowering their corps to employ youth, young adults and veterans for trail accessibility projects at Rocky Mountain National Park, Sand Dunes National Park and Preserve, and Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument.

Join the REI Team<

Candidates interested in joining the REI team at any local store can apply online at rei.jobs. The co-op expects to hire 50 employees for the new store, who receive a variety of benefits, including generous product and service discounts, competitive pay and retirement contributions. For 19 consecutive years, REI has been recognized as one of FORTUNE magazine’s “100 Best Companies to Work For.”

About the REI Co-op