Archives-Trails History

Our favorite? If you would like to escape the sizzling summer days on the plains, discover the diverse cooler vegetation at Caribou Ranch Open Space. Caribou Ranch Open Space is located on County Road 126, approximately two miles north of Nederland. Horse trailer parking is available ONLY at the Mud Lake Open Space (turn left off CR 126 near the Peak-toPeak Highway) and enjoy the short ride from Mud Lake to Caribou. Car parking is available both at Mud Lake and about 1.2 miles up CR 126 at the actual Caribou Ranch trailhead. The 2,180-acre property offers visitors a rich tapestry of wetlands, meadows, streams, forests and woodlands. Caribou Ranch is a haven for wildlife where 50 species of mammals could potentially live and/or travel through the open space annually. This represents nearly half of all mammal species found in Boulder County. The most common ungulates are elk and mule deer. A moose group has been observed on portions of the property in the past two years. Also, signs of mountain lion, black bear, bobcat, coyote, red fox, marten, and short-tailed weasel have been found. This open space also includes the Switzerland Trail railroad grade, which is on the National Register of Historic Places.  Mining began at the Blue Bird Mine complex in the 1870s and operations followed the boom and bust cycles of the industry until the 1960s. In the early 1900s, Blue Bird became a tourist destination, a “whistle stop” during the summer months to a growing demand by city dwellers who wanted to […]

WILLIAM FREDERICK HAYDEN PARK ON GREEN MOUNTAIN By Suzanne Webel Whew. There is some controversy over how Green Mountain itself received its name. In the early spring, perhaps, the grasses up there might provide a flash of green, but for the rest of the year it’s pretty much a tan prairie. A member of the William Frederick Hayden family, which donated or sold many acres to the the park, claims that it was named after an early local postmaster named Greene. The Rooney family, which once owned 10,000 acres in the area and still owns the ranch across the road (now C-470), claims that it got its name from the once-abundant green cedars that covered the slopes. Early surveys show that it was once named “Hendricks Mountain” after a surveyor who worked in the area with Capt. Edward L. Berthoud. There was also a famous (unrelated) Hayden Survey of the west. In any case, it’s Green Mountain now, it’s huge (2,400 acres), it’s the second largest park in the City of Lakewood’s Open Space program, there are lots of trails, horses are welcome, and it’s worth checking out. Take C-470 south of I-70 to Alameda Parkway. Turn east and proceed about 3 miles to one of two adjacent trailheads (P-1; one was full but the other wasn’t, on the day we went). There is also a trailhead on the west side of C-470, but it means crossing high above this busy highway on a sort of aerial bridge, and I didn’t even want to investigate doing

HESSIE TO LOST LAKE TO WOODLAND LAKE, WITH “ONE COOL DUDE” By Suzanne Webel Poor Hessie. In all the research I’ve done I haven’t been able to learn if there once was a maiden named Hessie for whom this tiny gold-mining community west of Nederland was named, or what. In any case, she’s famous now, because the Hessie townsite is one of the most popular jumping-off points to many beautiful trails in the Indian Peaks Wilderness. As a result of Hessie’s newfound popularity, there is no longer anywhere to park a horse trailer near the trailhead (P-2). While we used to be able to park in the small, bumpy meadow near the townsite, beavers have built dams that flood the access road and the Forest Service likes it that way. There is no place to park anywhere along the narrow, steep shelf road up to Buckingham Park, either. Therefore, consider parking in the town of Eldora, where you may be lucky if you don’t have the NIMBY neighbors call out the posse against you. The main road will bear left but you should go straight onto Klondyke Road, a dirt road with adequate room to park somewhere along it (P-1). Ride through town and up the unpaved road a mile and a half to the Hessie junction. Instead, turn left (down the hill) and ride through the flood created by all those zealous beavers, to the actual Hessie trailhead. In its infinite wisdom, Boulder County purchased a large piece of land (called the “David Property”) behind