John Guilford's Hikes

Beaver Brook Trail, Denver on 2009-06-06

Date: 2009-06-06

Location: Beaver Brook Trail, Denver

People: (including myself): Pam, E.B., Tom Becker

			Alt.	Miles
Start:		1:00	7400	0
Trailhead: 	1:15
Lunch:		2:00	~6600	~1.5
Leave:		2:30
Trailhead:	3:30
Out:		3:40	7400	~3

To get to the trailhead, drive I-70 west out of Denver to Genesee Park at exit 253 "Chief Hosa". Take a sharp right (a U-turn) on the dirt road "Stapleton Dr". This parallels the highway for a bit before turning northwest next to a buffalo preserve. The road continues to two parking areas. We parked in the first or upper area (which was empty) and hiked down past the lower parking area (which had quite a few vehicles).

From the main trailhead there is a 1 mile loop nature trail. We chose not to use the nature trail and instead went down the road to some picnic tables, a small wood bridge, and the start of the real trail.

The trail gradually descends Bear Gulch towards Beaver Brook. The trail is good quality. In places, they built rock steps to navigate some steeper stretches.

At times the trail is close to the creek at the bottom of the gulch, at times the trail is part way up the side of the gulch.

We had limited time, so we didn't go too far down the trail. About an hour into the hike (and not too far from where I believe the trail switchbacks down to Beaver Brook, though we didn't go further, so I'm not sure) we took a side detour, involving a little scrambling, to a rock outcropping with a good view of the surrounding countryside. After some viewing and picture taking, we decided that this would be a good spot for lunch. After eating lunch, we decided it was time to head back. Since most of us came from sea level and the return trail was uphill, we anticipated a slower pace going back.

For us out-of-towners, this was a good introduction to hiking in the Denver area. The weather was nice. When the wind was absent and the sun shining it was warm, though sometimes the breeze would pick up bringing a welcome refreshment. It would have been nice to have had more time to explore further, but even the short distance we went was far enough to get away from the highway noise and enjoy the land.

On our way out from the trailhead, we noticed that the herd of buffalo had moved close to the fence.