 Colorado's newest state park opened on 2013. It is located southwest of Denver on Hwy 285 near Pine. There are three parking lots . The closest to the long trails is the third one in near the Picnic shelter- pictured here. Nice new bathrooms. The Staunton Ranch began as a homestead around 1899. Rachel and Archibald Staunton were on their way to California from WV and stopped here for a rest stop and were convinced to make Denver their new home. She provided medical care to the people who lived in the area. Some were Indian families who bartered beadwork, pottery, jewelry, and rugs to pay for services. The Staunton Ranch grew to 1,720 acres over the years. In 1986 it was gifted to the state for development into a park.
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| We decided to hike to the Falls overlook. We were warned it was over 10 miles. We got an early start armed with lunch and snacks. A good part of the trail we took- Staunton Ranch Trail was along a road 3.3 miles first. |
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| There are some beautiful rock formations off to the right as you go and plenty of trees. There is even climbing areas on these rocks. |
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Soon we passed over Black Mountain Creek as we continued on Staunton Ranch Trail. Areas or meadows and trees are passed on the way. Next we turned onto Bugling Elk Trail for 1.1 miles.
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| Soon we came to Elk Falls Pond. This was a beautiful area, very calm with rocks and greenery. There was a home there that a ranger lives in. This used to be a sportsmen resort years ago. |
The last haul up to the overlook is on the Lions back Trail. It is a climb up and this was the hardest part but you are close only 1 mile left to the end.
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| Lots of aspen trees here as we got higher. |
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| A few rocks to get to the top of the views. |
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| This was a perfect place to have our lunch as see the falls behind us. The view was beautiful - so worth the hike there!! |
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| Close up of the falls. I love the rock formations and surrounding peaks. They are working on a trail to the bottom of the falls. |
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This is the direction we came. We could see some snow on the peaks yet. This was a great destination hike to see the falls and views on the overlook. There is a longer way you could come instead of the trails we took. Our total mileage was 11.34 miles.
Elevation gain 2,051 ft. |
Colorado's newest state park opened on 2013. It is located southwest of Denver on Hwy 285 near Pine. There are three parking lots . The closest to the long trails is the third one in near the Picnic shelter- pictured here. Nice new bathrooms. The Staunton Ranch began as a homestead around 1899. Rachel and Archibald Staunton were on their way to California from WV and stopped here for a rest stop and were convinced to make Denver their new home. She provided medical care to the people who lived in the area. Some were Indian families who bartered beadwork, pottery, jewelry, and rugs to pay for services. The Staunton Ranch grew to 1,720 acres over the years. In 1986 it was gifted to the state for development into a park.
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