Pole Hill Road once connected Loveland, Estes Park

DEAR READERS >> Here’s a column that was published originally on Jan. 26, 2012.

JOHNNIE >> I was curious if you knew anything about the history of

Pole Hill Road (Larimer County Road 18E), which begins just west of Loveland near Pinewood Reservoir and goes west to the ridge just east of East Park off of Highway 36.

I have read references in a few places that the road used to be a county road open to the public but is now a private road. Any information would be helpful. — Eric

DEAR ERIC >> I knew nothing about the history of Pole Hill Road until I checked the archives of our sister paper in Loveland. There, I found an article written in 2010 by Ken Jessen that speaks about Pole Hill Road’s past. What I have is taken from that article.

In October 1875, Larimer County commissioners approved the construction of a route from Loveland to Estes Park.

The existing road to Bald Mountain (just east of presentday Pinewood Reservoir) would be extended to Estes Park, via Pole Hill, which sits halfway between Bald Mountain and Estes Park.

At that time, blasting a road through the Big Thompson Canyon was considered too expensive. The county appropriated between $250 and $350 for the road, which was hardly enough, so the road had to be completed through donations and volunteer labor.

Pole Hill Road connected with the North St. Vrain toll road (present-day U.S. Highway 36) just a few miles east of Estes Park.

The road remained in use until the road through the Big Thompson Canyon was opened to the public in 1904.

Today, part of Pole Hill Road is open from the Loveland side as County Road 18E, according to Jessen’s article. The upper portion along the Little Thompson River passes through the Diamond Springs Ranch and is closed to the public.

A portion of the Estes Park end of the Pole Hill Road is open to the public through a residential development off U.S. 36 and leads to a popular offroad area.