buttonrockpreserve

Thursday, July 8, 2010

Button Rock Preserve

Sleepy Lion Trail

NOTE: Since I took this hike there was apparently a flood which greatly damaged this preserve. Thus, the trails may have changed somewhat from what I've described here. Best to get a current map to make sure you don't wind up astray.

One afternoon while visiting a friend in the area I had some time on my hands and so, being in Colorado – one of the most hiking friendly states in the union – I set off to find a trail near where I was staying. This preserve looked to be the closest place and what happy fortune!

Perhaps you’re like me… Do you ever wonder why your normal luck changes when you engage in certain activities and not in others? In my case, it wasn’t until I discovered a love of the peaceful outdoors that bad luck seemed to hold sway over many aspects of my life. I sure felt like giving up sometimes, but I couldn’t. My feeling is that you’ve got to persevere until you find something that will give your life meaning – and maybe in turn that something will also change your luck.

I’ve come to this conclusion: Is it possible that the Lord intends for some of us to be humble missionaries for peace? Is this why we face failure in more material pursuits? Perhaps we’re being led in this direction, as if the Lord was saying: “Don’t worry about the material things. Let them go! Let me provide for you in my own way.” Yes, it’s hard to let go of what you want for yourself but maybe in so doing you’ll find yourself free to discover that it’s really not so bad.

Anyway… I’m pleased to share this experience in the Button Rock Preserve in case it might be of service to those seeking tranquility near Denver. The preserve is run by the city of Longmont, Colorado (although it’s closer to the community of Lyons) and it contains 2 different reservoirs – the Longmont and the Ralph Price. It also has a great little creek running through it - the St. Vrain. In fact, on the drive back at the end of the day I saw some people in inner tubes going down the St. Vrain towards Lyons. I think this is where they were coming from - Lyons, Colorado website

The drive to the park was a magnificent roll through the mountains – absolutely incredible views – and I wasn’t even out on the trail yet! Full directions are below and on the preserve's website, but you'll find that the road leading here will abruptly dead-end about 3 miles in. Park visitors must park their cars before the gate and walk in.

Anyway, after finding a place to park I went around/through the fence and began a walk up the road. This is definitely not your typical road walk. The St. Vrain runs right alongside you and I was delighted to see all the fly fishermen trying their luck (speaking of which, out of the more than a dozen cars that were parked at the gate, I’d say that all but one or two were fishermen). Is fly fishing the most peaceful pastime on the planet? I’d never seen it in person up to this point, but just watching one of these fishermen seemed to positively infuse me with a feeling of tranquility! There’s just something about it…

As for the trailhead, I was beginning to wonder... You see, for some reason I was having trouble reading the map I'd gotten from the kiosk back at the fence. No particular reason, I just was. Yet, I knew that the Sleepy Lion Trail should be coming up soon... In the meantime I enjoyed the views from the road because they were plentiful. This particular stretch of road/trail also passes alongside the Longmont Reservoir and its falls!

You'll notice, by the way, that the lighting today was quite sporadic as the sky was mostly cloudy. Nevertheless, there were occasional bursts of sunlight which better illuminated the scenes. This shows in the various levels of brightness in the pictures.

Roughly a mile in I met the trailhead. You'll see the sign for it at the spot where Sleepy Lion Trail branches off to your left and heads uphill. Indications are that both this trail and the road you were just travelling on lead to the dam – the trail in 2.5 miles and the road in one mile. Thus, I decided to take the trail first and then loop back to this point on the road, making the total distance of this hike around 3.5 miles.

In the back of my mind I also wanted to make this hike a bit short, both because of the weather and because of my relative unfamiliarity with the wildlife and terrain in Colorado. I’d been OK with the altitude so far, but in Kentucky we don’t have to worry as much about bears, snakes, and large cats! You always have to be vigilant, of course, just not as vigilant because you’re much less likely to encounter them.

This in mind, I had a thought... I took the keychain out of my pocket and latched it to the outside of my belt so that the keys would rattle and “cling” with each stride. This is supposed to give fair warning so that you won’t startle some of these animals. In fact, just the incongruity of this noise in the woods is said to scare them away in a majority of cases. I’d love to get a picture of one of these creatures but for the sake of safety I’d rather leave that to the professionals.

Anyway, starting uphill along one side of a ravine you'll make a couple switchbacks to then proceed in a right arc around a ridge.

Later you’ll get some really amazing views through the mountains!

Then, after straightening out a bit you'll began to make an ascent toward the top of the ridge. In doing so I caught a glimpse of an animal up ahead… Deciding to stop and get a proper view before continuing, I was relieved to see that it was only a dog. There were two of them actually, and they were nice ones - either Golden Retrievers or Irish Setters belonging to a fellow hiker.

I’ll just say it now. This hike is, step for step, an absolute stunner! Short, but very sweet! To wit: what I encountered next was pretty amazing as well – an incredible little patch of prairie land! I’ve never seen “The Sound of Music”, but from what I’ve heard the scenery is somewhat similar. Beautiful!

Also, I don’t know my flowers too well, but I recognized some as Mariposa Lilies from a picture on the trail map I got at Chautauqua Park. The name is Spanish for “butterfly” which these flowers are said to resemble from the side.

After taking my time walking through the meadow, I entered the forest again in the midst of a rocky section. Fairly level now, I found myself making zigzags around the rocks as I began to catch glimpses of the Ralph Price Reservoir through the trees. Much larger than the Longmont, this body of water is contained by a very large embankment visible in the distance.

Another thing to note: at the point where you can first see this reservoir you’re at about the mid-point of a 90 degree left curve. What you’re actually doing here is hiking along the boundary between 2 different nature preserves. In fact, you’ll soon reach a trail intersection which will take you into the adjoining one (Hall Ranch). They have some little information pamphlets with maps for you here at this trailhead. Turns out, there are 4 more trails within Hall Ranch that you can either add to the one you’re on or do separately.

Moving on, you’ll reach a “T” in the path where you’ll want to make a right and begin a somewhat steeper descent toward the reservoir. If you look left up the trail, however, you’ll see a gate. This gate must be part of the boundary between the preserves and, interestingly, it appears that what you’ll be hiking on for the next stretch is a very old, still partly paved road.

Getting your clearest views yet of the reservoir here, you’ll descend alongside another ravine as you soon become aware of the absolute ROAR of water coming from the levee. As you bottom out you’ll see this more clearly. Part of the plume is visible at the bottom of the picture...

You’ll be back on the park road now with about a 2 mile walk back to your car, so you’ll want to curve right on this road to begin heading back (you’ll pass one intersection, by the way, and you’ll want to keep straight and slightly right here). Be careful on this road though, and stay way to the side! I almost forgot that it was accessible to the locals and was caught off-guard when I saw a couple trucks coming toward me.

Regardless, this is simply a fantastic stroll. I'll end with several more photo's (with full directions below)...

Also on the way back I enjoyed seeing a couple rock climbers heading up the rocks back at the Longmont Reservoir. What fun! Great hiking, serene fly-fishing, the exhilaration of rock climbing… What a great spot!

DIRECTIONS:

You can also check out the above website, but from Interstate 25 head west on Highway 66 (Ute Highway) toward Lyons, Colorado. Entering Lyons you’ll want to be very watchful. Highway 66 first turns into Main Street before it becomes Highway 36 (or North St. Vrain Drive), but if you just keep to the right you’ll be fine. The website indicates that you travel about 4 miles on Highway 36, and this seems about right. After the 4 miles, you’ll want to turn left on County Road 80 (I saw a sign here for some cottages) and drive all the way to the end of it (your way will be blocked 3 miles in by a gate). There’s room to park maybe a couple dozen vehicles.