Archives-Trails History

By Suzanne Webel They did it! They finally did it! Thanks, Open Space and Mountain Parks! Lest anyone think that the only news I ever report is bad news, here’s some great news: the City of Boulder Open Space and Mountain Parks has just expanded, and reopened, both trailheads at Doudy Draw and Flatirons Vista – and they now contain designated horse trailer parking. Ta da! These parking areas are the result of many years of patient (and sometimes not-so-patient) negotiating with OSMP over equestrian access to some of our favorite habitat: the Eldorado Mountain/Doudy Draw area south of Boulder. This area has provided, for me, countless hours of wonderful riding both on the existing trails and off them. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the solitary experience of exploring the old haunts of miners and ranchers, railroad workers and road builders, dinosaurs and bears. Like almost everything else, the world at Doudy Draw has changed.   Gone is the old trail at the bottom of the valley – too close to the babbling brook, too close to the bushes where a variety of birds chirp merrily year round – gotta protect some bushes and some birds. Gone is the fun access to the Lindsay Pond, the old railroad watering hole where our horses could get a much-needed drink – gotta protect some frogs. Gone is the privilege of riding off-trail through meadows and woods on Spring Brook Mesa, Bull Gulch, and the Sound of Music Saddle – gotta protect, well, something up there. Gone is the old bridge across […]

By Suzanne Webel Ready for another foray to the North Country? Any time is a good time to explore this part of Larimer County, but “off-season” offers solitude and a sheltered foothills environment. Best of all, it’s an amazingly horsey environment. I rode this lovely park recently and there were more equestrians on that random day than all other visitors combined. It has been more than ten years since my first trail log for Lory, and in view of the many new trails and improvements that have been made since then, it’s high time for an update. Lory State Park was established by the State of Colorado in 1967 and encompasses 2,492 acres. It was named after Charles A. Lory, president of Colorado State University from 1909-1940 (imagine that — 31 years!). Lory shares many similarities with Eldorado Canyon State Park in Boulder County: both are very scenic, ranging from hogbacks and meadows to deep red rock canyons to densely forested granite mountains. Both are also relatively small but offer a wide range of recreational opportunities. Finally, both parks dovetail with a variety of other public lands on all sides. Lory’s many neighbors include Larimer County Parks and Open Lands’ Horsetooth Mountain Park to the south, the Bureau of Reclamation/Northern Colorado Water Conservancy District’s Horsetooth Reservoir to the east (which is in turn managed by Larimer County Parks), Arapaoh Roosevelt National Forest to the west,and the City of Fort Collins’ Reservoir Ridge and Campeau Open Space Parks to the northeast. But all these agencies cooperate in