Colorado Symphony celebrates 50 years of "Rocky Mountain High"

Fifty years ago, John Denver sat down while camping in the middle of the Rocky Mountains and wrote what's now recognized as the second state song of Colorado.

Driving the news: Now, the Colorado Symphony is celebrating the anniversary of the chart-topping hit "Rocky Mountain High" with a special performance Thursday at Boettcher Concert Hall, featuring archival footage of Denver and performances with his former bandmates.

Here are a few more ways the beloved country music legend's legacy lives on in Colorado:

• Aspen — where Denver spent much of his life — is home to the John Denver Sanctuary, which includes a quiet walking path through granite boulders engraved with his lyrics.
• This past June, Gov. Jared Polis renamed the Mountain Lion Trail as "Rocky Mountain High Trail" at Golden Gate Canyon State Park.
• In 1974, Denver was honored as the state's poet laureate, and in 2012 he was enshrined in the Denver & Colorado Tourism Industry Hall of Fame.