Meyer Ranch Park

It's the time of year when the leaves start to change. In Colorado, that means that people flock to the mountains to see the aspen trees, with their leaves that change to a bright gold color. It's quite different than the fall colors I grew up with in the midwest.

There are many places you can go to see the aspen. This weekend, my family and I took a short drive to the small mountain community of Aspen Park in Jefferson County. There you will find Meyer Ranch Park, which offers some nice trails that give a great view of the aspens at this time of year.

The land was once the homestead of the Duncan McIntyre family in the mid-1800's.  In 1883 the land was purchased by Louis Ramboz who built a house that still stands today known as Midway House. It served as a stagecoach stop between Denver and Fairplay. There are reports that in the late 1880's the ranch served as the winter home for PT Barnum's circus animals. In the early 20th century the property became a working ranch and included a ski area known as Mount Lugo.

Today the property is a part of Jefferson County Open Space and is open to the public to enjoy. The trails are great for those who want something mountainy, but not too strenuous. The park is located at 10490 S Turkey Creek Rd, just off highway 285 near Aspen Park.

Mt Falcon Park - Castle Trail

Vacation is a very important time for my wife. She loves researching and planning all sorts of great places for us to visit. This past summer, we were supposed to go to Oregon, but, you know, COVID. We ended up doing a staycation instead, and my wife did a great job of finding places for us to visit here in Colorado, many of which we had never visited before. One day we ventured over to Jefferson County and Mt. Falcon Park. 

The park has many trails of varying lengths. My family enjoys hiking, but we are definitely short trail type of people. Luckily, the Castle Trail in the park is a pretty easy hike. There are some great views along the way, but the highlight of the journey is the ruins of the Walker "castle." Built in 1909, it was the home of millionaire John Brisben Walker. For a time, Walker was the owner of Cosmopolitan Magazine, before selling it to William Randolph Hearst in 1905. He also owned an early automobile company, the Locomobile Company of America.

I'm sure the house was quite impressive, but sadly it didn't last long. In 1918, a mere nine years after being built, the house was struck by lightning and burned to the ground. The ruins are all that remains of the "castle." The trail takes you right up to the ruins, so you can get up close to this piece of history. They are fenced off, though, so nobody hurts themselves or the historic remains. It's a nice simple hike that I definitely recommend.

South Valley Park

Last weekend was the first Saturday of 2020, and we had a beautiful sunny Colorado day with temperatures in the low 60's.  The perfect day to go out for a hike!  Now, my wife is the one who is always great at finding spots we've never visited before.  Somewhere in the back of her brain she had tucked away the name South Valley Park as a spot we needed to visit someday.  It's a great spot tucked away behind the hogbacks, just a stone's throw away from Chatfield State Park, off of C-470 in Jefferson County.

The park features several hiking trails that are easy to tackle. Actually, the only difficult part about the trails that we experienced was that they were quite muddy and had a few snowy patches. It is winter, after all! The trails weave around a number of rock formations that are quite impressive. 

I was blown away that I had never even realized this place existed! Twenty-six years and I didn't have a clue. I can be a bit slow sometimes. At work on Monday I told one of my co-workers about the park and he instantly knew of the place. "Oh, yeah...my kids and I saw a mountain lion there once." I was glad that wasn't part of my experience. I still get a bit weirded out by the thought that I live in a place where one can just happen upon a "lion" when out for a walk. Don't let that deter you, though. South Valley Park is a great spot to enjoy some of Colorado's signature beauty on a simple hike with the family.