Archives-Trails History

On the Trails: What’s New!

By Randy Winter, BCHA Trail Advisor I recently met with City of Boulder Open Space staff on a variety of topics. We covered a lot of ground—so to speak. Here is a April update on trails around Boulder County. Hall Ranch Thanks to trail maintenance crews, it’s smooth sailing into the horse trailer parking area at the Hall Ranch in Lyons.  That huge hole that rocked your trailer has been fixed. Monarch Trailhead You no longer have to hassle with those spring loaded gates. The car gates have been unlocked so you can now safely pass through on or off your horse without getting slapped in the butt! There is just a chain over a post, but please be sure to CLOSE the gate! Lagerman Preserve Plans are in the works for a 6 to 8 horse trailer lot expansion at the Lagerman Preserve in Longmont. Funding still needs to be acquired as money was diverted due to the Heil Ranch fire last year. Boulder Valley Ranch I brought up the issue of addressing the North TSA (Trail Study Area) Plan recommendations to add or update horse trailer parking at three access points to Boulder Valley Ranch. These would include the: Degge trail Eagle trail Left Hand trail [divider style=”solid” color=”#cccccc” opacity=”1″ icon_color=”#666666″ icon_size=”15″ placement=”equal”]It is important that we hear from you, so BCHA can understand how much this is wanted by our horse riding community. Please send me an e-mail today. (e-mail link)[divider style=”solid” color=”#cccccc” opacity=”1″ icon_color=”#666666″ icon_size=”15″ placement=”equal”] Left Hand Trail If you have […]

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Boulder County Launches Trails App

The Boulder Area Trails App is designed to connect local communities, enable users to find trails by use or type, allow users to plan routes, and link users to agency websites for more information. As the weather warms up you might find this new App useful in planning your next ride or hike on Boulder County Open Space. ONE APP ALL THE TRAILS Provides a single source for all designated public recreation trails and trailheads in and around Boulder and Broomfield counties. REAL TIME TRAIL CLOSURES Trails closures are posted as soon as they are announced by each participating agency. OFFLINE MAPS The app will continue to work even when there is no cellular service. SET FAVORITES Select your favorite trails and trailheads for easy access. The application includes trails from 12 agencies including: Boulder County City and County of Broomfield City of Boulder City of Longmont City of Lafayette City of Louisville Rocky Mountain National Park Town of Superior Town of Erie Town of Lyons Town of Nederland USFS Download the Boulder Area Trails App For more information visit Boulder Area Trails and/or read John Spina’s article.

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The New Grindstone Quarry Trail at Heil Valley Ranch

By Randy Winter There were lots of smiles all around at the grand opening of the Grindstone Quarry Trail at Heil Valley Ranch on October 9th. This is a 1.4 mile pedestrian/equestrian only trail beautifully winding it’s way up the east side of Geer Canyon Road. In addition, there are four horse trailer parking spaces at the new Corral Trailhead ready and waiting to be used. The Corral Trailhead is just a few tenths of a mile after you turn off Lefthand Canyon Road. My wife, Cheryl, and I checked out the trail last Sunday. The weather was perfect. Bright sunshine, cool temperature and a slight breeze at times. Saddling up, our horses were aware of the Sunday commotion of others preparing to enjoy the day as we were. We could see eyes looking our way with smiles and as Ranger Kevin Bradley passed by he shouted a “glad to see equestrians out here” greeting. The horses with their growing winter coats approached the trail with eagerness and ears pricked forward. A few well configured steps going down and up, across a dry creek bed quickly diverted our horses attention to the trail and the task ahead. We continued up a path well constructed with switchbacks supported by quarried layers of rock. Thanks to all those who volunteered and were part of the County work crew to create such a welcoming trail. A few bluebird boxes could be seen waiting for occupants next spring. Families with children were the major obstacle along the trail as we

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Gunbarrel Hill Open Space

What is the future of our open space properties? By Linda Parks I had the opportunity to attend the first Gunbarrel Hill Open Space meeting in January hosted by Boulder Open Space and Mountain Park (OSMP) where OSMP has started asking for the community’s help in realizing the vision of this open space (many of us who ride this area may know it as Heatherwood). This area currently appears to be a healthy and balanced wildlife habitat, it is also an enjoyable recreational area for hikes and horseback riding. The Gunbarrel Hill open space is bordered west to east by 75th and 95th Streets, and north to south from Lookout Road to the White Rocks area. I affords one with spectacular views of the front range and the snow capped Longs Peak, along with rolling grasslands, songbirds and great footing for a lovely canter. The evening opened with an informative presentation about the history of the area, the work OSMP did on restoring it, and the ecosystem it created along the way. The reseeding of grasses to restore the fields (one of the longest prairie restoration projects in OSMP’s history), has assisted in the return of ground nesting birds, like the endangered grasshopper sparrow, which will only nest in healthy prairie grassland, to a species of butterfly that will only lay its eggs on two types of grass, and our beautiful meadowlarks. After the presentations concluded there was a Q + A period. I voiced my concerns to OSMP and asked if they had a defined plan to maintain the prairie

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A Good Resource on Trails in Indian Peaks Wilderness

Before heading out in the high country, whether on horseback or on foot, it is a good idea to check your local weather conditions, and carry an emergency kit for both you and your horse. I found the Indian Peaks Wilderness Alliance (IPWA), a Boulder-based nonprofit, a good source for information on trails in the Indian Peaks—just a short drive from the Front Range. This area is one of the most heavily used wilderness areas in the U.S. With 73,391 acres, the  Indian Peaks Wilderness is located primarily within the Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests and includes more than 50 lakes, 28 trails covering 133 miles, and six mountain passes across the Continental Divide. Elevations in the wilderness vary from 8,400 ft. to more than 13,500 ft. IPWA volunteers assist the U.S. Forest Service (FS) by going on hiking patrols during the summer and winter season’s to help protect our local wilderness areas. Their trail reports, which can be found on their website, list the conditions of the trails. For more on summer trail conditions or to volunteer for this wonderful organization please visit IPWA. Other resources: USFS Website  Backpacking information/permits, trail maps, and more visit: Indian Peaks Wilderness at USDA. Additional trail information, check out: Protrails.com. NOLS: For Wilderness First Aid offers classes locally. I took mine through REI here in Boulder, CO. Have a safe and surprising summer! LindaP

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Happy Trails – Hermit Park Update: Limber Pine Trail, Kruger Equestrian Campground

By Suzanne Webel Larimer County Parks and Open Lands has recently opened a brand new trail complex at its 1,362 acre Hermit Park Open Space near Estes Park. Time to go check it out! Stop near the entrance station and pay the nominal $6 entry fee. It’s worth it, because this is an exceedingly horse-friendly park. There is new, excellent, designated horse trailer parking at the Kruger Equestrian Campground (P-1). The CG itself is a well-designed facility with five level sites, each of which has two sturdy pens with buckets, and the area has a nice restroom complete with a hitching rail! There is also designated horse trailer parking at the end of the road, the Moose Meadow Trailhead (P-2). Assuming you start here, proceed down the road to the new trail junction, “Moose Meadow / Limber Pine” trails. (The previously-constructed trail connection from Hermit Park to Homestead Meadows has now been abandoned because it was hopelessly steep, rocky, narrow, and unsustainable.) Proceed up to the next trail junction. If you turn left on the Moose Meadow Trail you will find yourself on your way to Homestead Meadows (see revised Homestead Meadows trail log). Turn right on the Limber Pine Trail, so named for the tree whose needles are so pliable you can gather a bundle of them and tie them in knots. We didn’t notice any). The trail then meanders for 1.4 miles through somewhat boring piney woods to another junction, the 0.3 mile link trail down to the Equestrian Campground. Continue straight on Limber

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Happy Trails – Hermit Park / Moose Meadow Trail / Homestead Meadows

By Suzanne Webel Thank you, Larimer County, for Hermit Park!!! Goodbye, Lion Gulch, and good riddance. I have spent many hours over the past thirty years trying to find a better access to one of my favorite haunts: Homestead Meadows. And for 30 years I have been frustrated by the steep, rocky Lion Gulch Trail, by private property owners blocking access to the National Forest, by no-public-access conservation easements, and by impassable four-wheel-drive only roads. Then, in 2007, Larimer County stepped up to the plate in a magnificent way and purchased Hermit Park from Hewlett Packard, thereby opening up a very civilized, scenic, and historic access to Homestead Meadows. Even more miraculously, they took less than a year to open the entire property to the public, complete with trailheads, cabins, picnic areas, campgrounds, and – gasp – some nice trails! Land managers in the People’s Republic might note that Larimer County Parks and Open Lands feels that it is doing a good job protecting its natural resources and welcoming the public to enjoy those resources, and came to that conclusion without much drama in a reasonable amount of time! Access the property from Highway 36 just east of the crest in the road before it descends to Estes Park. At the time of this writing there is a nominal fee of $6 per vehicle. Stop in for a map, if you wish, and proceed up the dirt road to the Kruger Rock Parking Lot, the Kruger Equestrian campsites (!), or to the Homestead Meadows Parking Lot.  

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Happy Trails – Lagerman Agricultural Preserve

By Suzanne Webel It’s taken more than 25 years for Boulder County and the City of Boulder to cobble together a complex assemblage of nine properties comprising more than 2100 acres, now known as the Lagerman Agricultural Preserve – but it’s done. And the new trail system, comprising the existing 1.6 miles at Lagerman Reservoir and 4.9 miles at AHI (the former “Double Dove”) is now open. Park at the P shown on the attached map at Lagerman Reservoir, on the south side of Pike Road. This trailhead parking facility has a shelter, picnic tables and a boat ramp, as well as 27 vehicle spaces and 5 designated pull-through Horse Trailer/Boat spaces (!). For a short ride with amazing panorama views of the Continental Divide, proceed clockwise around the lake. Be aware that the western half of this trail is closed seasonally from April 1- August 31 for various bird species; the 2012 management plan included many comments from the public requesting that the seasonal closure be lifted, but the county decided to continue it “at this time” (meaning that if enough additional comments are received the decision might be reversed). As you ride across the dam, we hope you will appreciate the new spillway trail bypass that makes this trail a safer experience for everyone, especially equestrians. The Management Plan calls for another trail, approximately 1.25 miles long, that will connect Lagerman Reservoir south to Oxford Road. Stay tuned for that development, or help make it a reality sooner by lobbying for it with county

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Rabbit Mountain Open Space

By Suzanne Webel Prologue, written in October 2017. Recently I’ve spent a lot of time (again) learning about elk, this time in the context of Rabbit Mountain. In the past few years a growing herd of elk has decided that Rabbit Mountain is a great place to hang out. In spite of Boulder County Parks and Open Space’s mission of providing a haven for wildlife with no hunting, Colorado Parks & Wildlife (CPW) has decided there are too many elk. So they imposed an elk hunt that will close the park to the public for half of every week, for half of every year, so that two hunters a week can have the entire park to themselves while they “harvest” a couple dozen animals a year. The theory is that hunting will inconvenience the elk into migrating off Rabbit Mountain. Whether trails actually inconvenience wildlife seems to be a perennial debate. Over the years we have asked for new trails on many BCPOS parks, and been told repeatedly that trails inconvenience wildlife so we can’t have more trails. Here, we suggested that staff should build at least the trails that have already been approved, especially if the goal is to inconvenience the elk. The first Rabbit Mountain management plan was written in 1984, when the park consisted of about 560 acres, and the plan promised some really nice trails. One short trail was built. By 1995 when the next management plan was written, the park had grown to more than 2400 acres, and more trails were

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Happy Trails – Picket Wire Canyon

By Suzanne Webel This trail had been on my bucket list, for just about ever. It was reported to be enormous and gorgeous, with dinosaur tracks, prehistoric rock art, a Spanish Mission, and a historic ranch….. But it was always a bit too far, too remote, and too … well, just too unknowable. And then there was the small matter of the US Army declaring it wanted to expand its Fort Carson Pinon Canyon Maneuver Site (PCMS) by taking over the entire 400,000 acre Comanche National Grassland — including Picketwire Canyon — and turning it into a bombing range. Starting in 2003, the plan would have condemned an additional 6.4 million acres of land owned by private citizens, making the total project area three times larger than any other military base in the United States, larger in area than the states of Maryland and Massachusetts combined, and displacing more than 17,000 residents. Sight unseen, I figured that was a pretty bad idea, so I joined up with other trail advocates, geologists, archaeologists, and ranchers to oppose the Army’s expansion plans. After a decade of pitched political battles, on 25 November 2013 the U.S. Army announced that its plan to expand the Piñon Canyon Maneuver site had been cancelled. So, naturally, by early spring of 2014 I had organized an equestrian expedition to check it all out. Warnings: Picketwire is a very long drive from Boulder County, approximately 5 hours. The area is next to a bombing range There is no designated horse camping and no water

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