wildlife/nature trails! (Denver, Aurora, Lakewood: theater, camp, live)

[KirkCO]

I just moved here (with my family) to Aurora, CO from American Fork, Utah in June. Wow! I am very impressed with the wildlife. We have already run into a couple of coyotes, raccoons, deer, skunks, squirrels, prairie dogs and rabbits. It's very cool. We never saw this amount of wildlife back where I lived.

I'm also impressed with all of the nature trails right in the middle of the city. This is mainly where we see all of the wildlife. My little girls love it.

Any pointers on special nature trails I could take my family to?

Thanks!
-Kirk

[gpraceman]

Originally Posted by KirkCO

We have already run into a couple of coyotes, raccoons, deer, skunks, squirrels, prairie dogs and rabbits.

Hopefully, that wasn't too close of an encounter with the skunk.

We've also seen some foxes in our area. The prairie dogs and rabbits can be real pests. I'd stay away from the coons and skunks (of course).

Originally Posted by KirkCO

Any pointers on special nature trails I could take my family to?

You can probably find info on trails on a variety of websites. Here is one http://www.gocitykids.com/browse/sub...191&category=9

[BlueWillowPlate]

Kirk
I've even seen deer in the heart of the city (though this was unusual.)
During droughts deer sometimes follow streams down from the foothills.
I always enjoyed walking along the Highline Canal as well as Cherry Creek.
Have you been to Confluence Park yet?

[KirkCO]

I'll look into those places you have all mentioned. I appreciate it. As far as the skunk goes, it was the largest skunk I've ever seen. It was venturing on someone's lawn. Luckily, I was in the car. Racoons, however, were next door. I think there were three of them.

[Bluesky]

Check out Matthew Winters trail near Red Rocks Amphitheater. I am a CO Native and it is one of my favorite "all-day-hikes-in-town" (trust me...with kids this will be an all day activity). It is about 30 minutes West on Hampden (also called 285) from Aurora. There are various paths you can take (easy to difficult) that wind around and lead right to Red Rocks, if you want to go there. The views of Denver are beautiful. It is in Morrison and you will need to be careful of changing weather since it is in the foothills. I would also suggest just driving directly to Red Rocks Ampitheater and walking around...there are several hiking trails leading away from the theater itself. But, Red Rocks is pretty neat to explore and you may see some wildlife.

Nearby in Golden is Buffalo Bill's Grave, which has hiking trails and some cool Colorado History stuff you can check out.

Near by just off C470 and roughly 285 is Bear Creek Lake Park which you can even even camp at overnight. This is probably a better place to go in the summer.

In Aurora check out Cherry Creek State Park (Cherry Creek Resivoir to locals). It has a lot more than just the lake. There are tons of unpaved paths that you can walk through to view nature. It is basically on I-225 and Parker.

Also in Aurora is Quincy Resivoir...perfect for a liesurly walk in a natural environment. It is pretty small and a bit hidden but beautiful for something in the middle of a city. They only allow non-motorized boats and shore fisshing and no dogs (not sure if this is an issue for you). There is a very large fenced off-leash dog park right next to the resivoir however. It is on Quincy between Tower and Buckley. There is also Aurora Resivour a few miles East of Quincy Resivoir.

And...my favorite easy walk is at Belmar Park in Lakewood. It even has an old-time Farm Mesueam that kids love. There are docks around part of the lake that you can walk on to view the lake and park. I just moved into Belmar Center across the street but I used to go to this place as a kid and it is pretty cool.

Check out this website...http://www.trails.com/toptrails.asp?area=11505. This is under Activities: Walking / State: Colorado.

~Happy Trails!!!!

[.gif]

i see a lot of bighorn sheep when i go to waterton canyon. i've seen rattlesnakes and foxes near deer creek canyon. matthews winters park occasionally has some big animals and a few snakes. i've seen deer pretty much everywhere.

[Rootsy]

For info on kid friendly hikes up in the Boulder - Lyons - Nederland area check out http://trail-kids.com/standard.php?id=12&pageID=3 (broken link).