View of Pikes Peak from the new open spaceHere's some good news for hikers looking for new terrain to explore: Catamount Ranch Resource Protection Area, a Teller County open space, opened with a ribbon-cutting ceremony Friday at the trailhead. The open space features about 13 miles of trails on 1,320 acres of forest and meadow west of Woodland Park. It will be open year-round for hiking and mountain biking.
To reach the trailhead, take U.S. Highway 24 west past Woodland Park; turn left on Edlowe Road and follow to trailhead parking near road's end.
In unfortunately bad timing, the North Slope Recreation Area closed for the season Sunday. Why does this matter to visitors at the new open space? Because part of its appeal is its connection to trails that connect with the recreation area, including a great section of the Ring the Peak Trail.
Still, hikers at Catamount can get their fill of views of the Crags and Pikes Peak on the open space property.
2 comments:
A lot of us thought it would never ever happen. For a while there, It looked like the land would be sold. It would have been the 1st time in Great Outdoors Colorado history that a piece of land purchased with GOCO funds was sold. Hats off to the rabble rousers that stood in the way. And kudos to Kevin Tanski for all his hard work.
First time I've heard of it, but according to the Courier and Teller County's Catamount Ranch webpage, dogs aren't allowed more than 1/4 mile in from the parking lot. Why 1/4 mile, I don't know. Why the restriction at all I don't know. Why this wasn't sprung on the public until the day of the ribbon cutting I don't know.
I suspect they could make a case for restricting dogs during elk calving season, but why during the winter snowshoe season?
Mueller doesn't allow dogs. Neither do the Fossil Beds. Now Catamount Ranch. Sigh... me and my canine companion are depressed.
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