Clare Tone

By Suzanne Webel I absolutely loved about 95% of this spectacular new trail system in Jefferson County. Curiously, the best part of this park for me was the “WOW!” experience upon arriving at the trailhead. Drive up Golden Gate Canyon Road about 8 miles to Robinson Hill Rd, turn left and continue to Camino Perdido, then follow signs to the park. You’ll feel as if on a clear day you could see forever, with sweeping vistas of many superimposed mountain ranges, canyons, meadows, homesteads, and pine forests. You’re on top of the world. This park is so new that both trailhead parking areas were still under construction when we arrived in the fall of 2008.  No horse trailers are allowed at the smaller, west one; the north one accommodates four rigs parked parallel to the railings. Both have rest rooms but there is no water – anywhere – in the park. A few springs were marked on the old topo maps but appear to have dried up completely. It’s hard to imagine how anyone could ever have made a living off this land, but the kiosk at the trailhead refers to “local folklore” about the area having been homesteaded by an African-American family. Remnants of farm equipment, foundations, and old barns bear mute testimony to someone’s hard work. The large 12-mile loop around Centennial Cone “rides best” in a counterclockwise direction. Proceed southwest on the Elk Range Trail, a wonderful old ranch road that traverses the upper meadows. Jefferson County is very talented at getting easements […]

by Suzanne Webel When it comes to the West Trail Study Area (and the ongoing task force of stakeholders who have spent years now studying the huge swath of City of Boulder Open Space & Mountain Parks real estate west of Broadway for its trail potential), I alternate between despair and elation. Despair, because OSMP has closed more than half of all the historic trails in this iconic area to horses — when we’ve had access to them for more than 150 years. (Reasons range from the trails being too steep and eroded to be safe and there’s no will power or budget to fix them, to horses upsetting the ecosystem, all the way to horses just not being politically correct in the People’s Republic.) Elation, when I discover trails up there that actually do “offer a quality equestrian experience” and survived the bureaucratic axe at the conclusion of the West TSA process. The complex of trails that loop in and out of the terrain near the top of Flagstaff Mountain is a case in point. These old roads and trails offer a unique combination of relatively easy terrain, fabulous views, and proximity to Boulder. Go on a day you’re very sure won’t be icy or muddy, and you’ll have a great time. You’ll avoid the crowd if you can go mid-week. Drive carefully up Flagstaff Road (it’s really not as scary as it looks!) about 3.5 miles west of Chautauqua. I was unsuccessful in getting OSMP staff to agree to “designated horse trailer parking” for

by Suzanne Webel Where?? Well, it’s South of the Border, about 25 miles or so. It’s Jefferson County Open Space’s newest park, about 1,500 acres tucked in between Chatfield State Park, the Denver Botanic Gardens at Chatfield, and the first hogback of Denver Mountain Park. It may eventually connect to Deer Creek Canyon Park trails to the north and to Chatfield State Park trails, including the High Line Canal, to the east. Take Hwy 93 to Golden, merging onto C-470 just past the “Taj Mahal” (JeffCo government building). Proceed south to Wadsworth Blvd (C-121), and turn immediately west on Deer Creek Canyon Rd. The newly completed trailhead is about 1.3 miles west of Wadsworth, and is “paved” with a durable concrete block system that won an award for excellence. The Two-Brands trail provides a five mile loop through three sandstone hogbacks (Jurassic and Cretaceous Niobrara, Lyons, and Dakota Formations) as well as grazing land and hay meadows. Physical geographic communities include the foothills-canyon riparian zone, foothills/shrubland, foothills-meadow, and ponderosa pine-savannah, which support raptors, prairie dogs, burrowing owls, mule deer, elk, mountain lions, and bears. The land was originally settled by Frank Hildebrand in 1866. Since at least 1950 the Chatfield Valley was recognized as having potential for massive flood control measures needed to protect Denver, but funds were not appropriated. In 1965, a torrential flood roared down Plum Creek, killing 13 people and leaving millions of dollars in damage. In 1971 the Army Corps of Engineers condemned over 300 acres of the Hildebrand Ranch and built