Every June, more than 31,000 hams throughout North America set up temporary transmitting stations to demonstrate ham radio’s science, skill and service to our communities and our nation. It combines public service, emergency preparedness, community building, and technical skills all in a single event. Field Day has been an annual event since 1933, and remains the most popular event in ham radio. This year, Field Day will be June 27 & 28. For official ARRL rules and other info about the most popular on-the-air event of the year, click here.

Mission

There are many different ways to do Field Day and different radio clubs approach it with different priorities. Field Day for CLARA is focused on these main objectives:

  • Community building: a key element of having a radio club is building and promoting a community of radio amateurs that enjoy getting together to do things. Have Fun Doing Field Day
  • Emergency preparedness: a key aspect of Field Day is setting up in a remote location and making radio contacts, using off-grid power.
  • Training/education opportunity: There are many ways for people to learn during Field Day, including but not limited to being part of the station setup, participating in educational workshops, and getting on the air.
  • Field Day score: one important way to measure success at Field Day is by the score achieved by the club. We look at our score through the lens of continuous improvement. How well did we do last year and what can we improve this year?

Location

We plan to set up near Trout Creek Pass, on highways 285 and 24. Lat/Lon:  38.90928, -105.98413

Schedule

Wed/Thurs June 24/25

Claim campsite, set up tents & RVs.

Friday June 26

1 PM: Setup Field Day stations 7 PM: Finish setup

Saturday June 27

10 AM: Final checkout of stations
Noon: Begin Field Day radio operations
Noon: Start Educational Program
Noon to 1 PM: Winlink 101 – Mike KE0PWR
– Demonstration and discussion on using WinLink for disaster response.
2 PM to 3 PM: Satellite communications – Matt KG0AT
– How to make SAT contacts with basic equipment
3 PM to 3:30 PM: National Traffic System – Sam W5CU
– Overview of the National Traffic System (NTS) and the Radiogram.
3:30 PM to 4 PM: How to be a Fox – Tom W9TR
–  How to be the Fox in a transmitter (Fox) hunt
4 PM to 5 PM: Winlink demonstrations  – Mike KE0PWR

6 PM Dinner

6 PM Radio operations continue into the night

Sunday June 28

Morning: Continue Field Day Operations

Noon: Tear down stations and campsite

Why Should I Go To Field Day?

We know some of you have never attended Field Day and may wonder what’s all the fuss? There are lots of reasons to be there and it will vary with the individual. Let me give you a few things to consider:

1. Field Day is the biggest ham radio event in North America. Last year, 31,919 participants made about 1.2 million contacts. There were 4,373 entries from clubs, informal groups, and individuals. So there will be lots of radio activity that weekend.

2. Field Day lets you see how a portable station gets set up in the field. We will be setting up three stations (including a VHF station). You are welcome to come out Friday night and help set up.

3. Field Day is a great event to meet other club members, while we are working together to participate in the event.

4. We will have a BBQ dinner on Saturday night, served up by Executive Chef Doug/K0ILO and helpers.

5. We will be at a dispersed camping area in the San Isabel National Forest, right off Trout Creek Pass. The radio stations will be set up in RVs and there will be plenty of camping spots for your tent or RV. So come out and camp with the group.

6. You can get on the air using one of the stations we’ve set up. Experienced hams will coach you on how to make contacts. (If that is too scary, you can always just watch and learn.)

7. See the educational activities on Saturday afternoon.

8. Feel free to stop in for just an hour or two. Or stay the entire weekend.

Ammenities

Whether stopping by for a few hours, or pulling an all-nighter, come prepared for fun! In addition to operating a multitude of radios, we will be enjoying a great meal Saturday evening, prepared by our very own K0ILO!  Field day is a great time to ask questions about equipment setup and get advice from our more experienced operators.

Stations

Operations will include a CW station, a phone/digital station, a VHF station and a Get On The Air (GOTA) station. We plan for all operations to occur on battery power, with solar charging capabilities. We will operate using a variety of antennas, with plenty of hands-on antenna setup. Each station will have a station lead to assist operators with questions about operation of various equipment.

Communications

If you are planning to attend, we recommend you subscribe to the CLARA groups.io. If the plan changes (which can easily happen), it will be communicated via that email list. For onsite communications, please bring a handheld radio set to 146.55 MHz simplex (CTAC 1).

Detailed Plan

If you want more detail on the plan, look here: CLARA Field Day Plan 2026 – Jun 11. If you still have questions, use our Contact page.