A peaceful spot for day hikes, a stark reminder of its violent history
franktown» In Colorado, hiking trails go up. Depending on your physical condition, hiking time and desire, up can mean hundreds of feet to more than a mile above the trailhead.
Castlewood Canyon State Park is an exception. Its trails start from a Douglas County plateau facing the immense mass of Pikes Peak on the horizon. And down they go, winding along canyon walls toward Cherry Creek at the bottom.
The park is ideal for day hikes. An easy drive from the Denver area, it offers an opportunity to hike anywhere from one to 14 miles along trails that loop and intersect.
Its easiest paths start from the main entrance, five miles south of Franktown. They’re paved, wheelchair-accessible and linked to picnic sites. For a more challenging yet popular route, try the aptly named Rimrock Trail, a narrow canyonside trek.
Because many of its trails are narrow, the park is designed mainly for hiking. You won’t find horses or bicycles passing you along the way.
When I first visited this park, I hiked from the main entrance. But I have come to prefer the quieter side, which is reached by turning south on Castlewood Canyon Road just west of Franktown. You know you’re in the park on this side when the paved road turns to gravel.
This spring I hiked Castlewood on a chilly, windy day. Really windy. My cap nearly blew off when I stepped out of the car to apply sunscreen and grab my backpack. Yet within 10 minutes of hiking down, I had reached gentler air. The wind roared harmlessly through the pines overhead while I paused to stare at a Cherry Creek waterfall and soak up sunshine.
I chose a fairly easy five-mile hike, descending from a parking lot to the meandering Creek Bottom Trail, then crossing to the main entrance along the Inner Canyon Trail and looping back to the creek along the Lake Gulch Trail.
Castlewood Canyon State Park is not exactly a wilderness experience. Along with Pikes Peak, you get views of immense suburban houses and farmland from its trails.
Yet I see it as a special place. Massive boulders, favored by picnickers and sunbathers, overlook the creek waters. Then there are the ruins of the Castlewood Canyon Dam, built around 1890 and smashed in 1933 when heavy rains turned the creek into a raging river. Its failure sent a wall of water 15 feet high downstream to Denver, flooding the city.
Today, a short trail on the west side of the park ascends to the top of the dam and a barrier warning hikers not to venture onto its remnants. (In my experience this warning often gets ignored.)
While I stood at the dam base this spring, snapping photos of a broken edifice projecting into the sky, five young people and a dog climbed its crumbling brick walls from the other side, casually strolled across the top and hopped the barrier back to the trail.
I ambled back down to the Creek Bottom Trail, and that’s when I remembered something else about this park.
At the end of the day, you do have to hike up. David Olinger: 303-954-1498, dolinger@denverpost.com or twitter.com/dolingerdp