Labs & observatory

To help researchers and students with their work, two labs and an observatory are located on the station's campus and another lab high up on the alpine tundra. All are open year round, have WiFi access, and are configured for both research and teaching. Services include printing, library, classrooms, meeting center, herbarium, insect collections, and more. 

Reservations are required. Contact the Station Manager at least three business days before your arrival at the MRS. Cancellation of a reservation within 2 weeks of your intended use may result in a fee. Users will be invoiced after their stay, and payments are due within 30 days. See user fees for latest costs. 

For locations of labs, see Facilities map

 

John W. Marr Alpine Laboratory

Several people walk up the steps of the covered entrance to the Marr Lab at the Mountain Research Station

The John W. Marr Alpine Laboratory is the largest and most prominent research building on campus. Often referred to as the Marr Lab, it is open throughout the year and serves as the main administrative center of the MRS 8am-4pm M-F.

The offices of our Station Manager and Station Director are connected to the entrance lobby. Also in the lobby are a natural history display, and the Columbine Bookshop where you can purchase MRS gear like t-shirts and hats (open upon request. Cash or check only). 

The Marr lab includes lab rooms and private offices for fieldwork preparation and sample processing as well as a seminar room with a capacity for 15 people. These rooms and offices are available to rent. The building has WiFi access throughout. 

Open year round.

Click any image to zoom
A small group of people gather around a speaker pointing at a map kiosk outside of a laboratory at a research station in the mountains
Five researchers sit in a small lobby of a mountain lab, facing large south-facing windows
Framed by an office door, two people stand closely and talk
A small bookshop room with shelves holding t-shirts, hoodies, and other goods
Narrow main hallway of a mountain research laboratory
A windowed room with 6 desks and computer stations
A large group of grad students gather around a conference table, with an instructor showing a presentation at the front
A group of grad students gather around a big conference table
A mostly empty lab room with tables, desks, and cabinets.
A mostly empty lab room with tables, desks, and cabinets. Storage includes bikes and a 3D topographic model
A small office room with window, shelves, and two desks
A classroom laboratory room with tables, workbench, fume hood, and tables

Kiowa classroom & lab

Several people walk up the steps to a classroom and lab building at the research station in the mountains

The Kiowa classroom and lab are a combined space designed for student instruction. Located directly across from the Marr Lab, the Kiowa building contains a classroom and a lab that can be reserved independently or as a combined classroom/lab teaching space.

The classroom has a capacity of 24 students and features a pull-down projector and WiFi access. The laboratory has 15 lab stations, 3 sinks, a deionized water source and WiFi Access.

Open year round.

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Wooden lab building with a metal roof
Wooden building with metal roof and gravel parking lot in front
A group of students sit in the Kiowa classroom
An empty classroom with long tables, chairs, whiteboard etc
A small lab with benches, sink, vacuum pump, gas tanks, and more
Small lab with lab benches, sinks, etc

Tundra Lab

The Tundra Lab, a quonset-style beige hut high on the Colorado tundra. A small group of researchers stand on a dirt path near the hut.

Researchers preparing to enter the Tundra Lab

 

The Tundra Lab is located far above the station's campus, on the south side of the Saddle research site at 11,575 ft (3528 m) elevation. It serves as a staging area for research in all weather conditions.

The Tundra Lab is only accessible on foot. It is designed for researchers doing work on Niwot Ridge, primarily serving as shelter from summer hail, lightning storms, winter snow and extreme winds during field observation and data collection in the alpine. The lab's footprint is 10,000 sq ft (930 m2). 

The lab has AC line power, solar power, and fiber optic data lines.  The Tundra Lab cannot be reserved, please contact the station manager with your specific research needs to learn about access.

Want to get a look at current tundra conditions without the strenuous trek? Check out our TundraCam (hosted on the Niwot Ridge LTER website). It's mounted high on the tower next to the Tundra Lab and is steerable by website visitors. If you cannot connect, please try again later. The cam is sometimes temporarily offline due to damage from the extreme winds and weather conditions.   

Open year round.

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A 3D satellite view from Google Maps looking to the west and showing the Mountain Research Station near the bottom and the Indian Peaks near the top. The location of the Tundra Lab is labelled.
Hikers walk along a thin dirt path in the alpine tundra toward a military-style alpine shelter
Groups of researchers use the inside of the Tundra Lab, a quonset-style hut high in the Colorado alpine
Two men in winter gear stand on a bare patch of tundra with a snowy research station in the background
On a blue sky day in the alpine, a group of researchers prepare ecology equipment outside of the Tundra Lab, a quonset-style hut
A rocky path cuts across the tundra and leads to the Tundra Lab, a quonset-style hut.

Alpine Observatory

White observatory sits on snow, with conifers in the background

The dark nighttime skies observed at the MRS make it an excellent site for both casual star-gazing and scientific observation. The Alpine Observatory is on the station's campus and available for various research and outreach activities. 

The observatory is being upgraded to a 16” telescope in summer 2026. It will be outfitted with an H-alpha filter for solar viewing, and accessible WiFi. The telescope's imaging quality is equal to the power of a telescope with a mirror at least twice as large located in a light-polluted city.

The telescope is sophisticated yet simple enough to operate that undergraduates can use it. On evenings when the public has been invited to visit the observatory, additional, portable telescopes are set up.

Open year round

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Several people stand outside of a small telescope observatory, with conifer trees, white clouds, and bright blue sky in the background
The 12.5 inch telescope in the Alpine Observatory
Collage of photos in and outside of a small observatory

  Want to see more facilities?

Learn how our infrastructure can support your research and education goals, enabling you to live and work in a high-elevation montane setting.

Laboratory space, classrooms, housing, and dining services are all located within a compact, walkable campus.