Dropped by Cheyenne Mountain State Park yesterday to hike a few more miles and see how construction is progressing. This top photo is the north end of Blackmer Loop. The trail quickly drops into the trees on the far side of this meadow. Winds and dips among oak and pine.
Definitely looks like camping could open later this summer, as projected. Other facilites are a ways off. But they sure look nice. This is a typical picnic site. Tent sites look similar, with a designated pad for your tent.
The park is still open weekends only. There were crews up there working Sunday. It's worth visiting, but call ahead or check the Web site to make sure it's open.
Rangers/naturalists were packing up a presentation on animals - like the skins and skulls hands-on display we've touted up at Mueller. Only a dozen cars in the lot, but I was told visits were steady all weekend.
We took Coyote Run to Boulder Run to Raccoon Ridge and the start of Acorn Alley back to Boulder and then returned to the lot via Blackmer Loop and Medicine Wheel. Boulder Run lives up to its name - a rocky trail. Blackmer is a beaut and Medicine Wheel looks like it'd be a kick on a mountain bike. It was fun to hike, too. This photo is from the west end of Medicine Wheel, before it becomes more of a singletrack trail.
Next time we'll head out Talon to North and South Talon trails.
8 comments:
too bad I work on weekends :-(
Someone told me that place is rattlesnake central. Any truth to that?
Rattle snakes are anarchists. If it is rattlesnake central, it is because of a broad, grassroots movement, not the edict of a cold-blooded snake lord.
Shame, gulo. Your tax dollars at work - but not for you, just yet.
Zen, there are signs posted as you enter the park and the parking lot warning of rattlesnakes. I haven't seen any yet.
Maybe they only come out Mon-Fri.
are any of the trails stroller friendly ? the ones on the picture looks pretty wide and flat. My only way to get out there would be by pushing the kids :-)
Gulo, you might get by with a jogger-type stroller on Sundance and the lower Talon Trail.
That meadow shot is one of few flat portions of Blackmer Loop. Boulder Run is out - it lives up to its name.
We only took a small portion of Coyote Run, but that's a possibility. It wasn't flat, but it was fairly wide and even.
I'll make a note to check stroller ease on my next trip. I remember those days well!
We were riding out there last weekend. In the rain. We saw an elk and a wild turkey scared the heck out of us (and we it), but no rattlesnakes on that day.
The singletrack is mediocre, given that you have to pay to use it, but the rolling trails are decent for non-hardcore riders looking for something interesting. I've seen people out there with jogging strollers, but the only flat part is right around the parking lot. The rest of the park has some decent elevation gain to it.
I agree with Andy. Given the World Class city parks system we can enjoy for free, I have a hard time paying to go the Cheyenne Mountain. I'm looking forward to the days of free access from the back when they add the top of Cheyenne Mountain to the mix.
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