Florissant Loop

No school on Presidents' Day, so I wanted to get out and hike.  I also wanted to find snow, since it's been a pretty warm and dry winter here in Castle Rock.

I went out to Florissant and got 1 1/2 out of 2.  I hiked, and there wasn't no snow.  Just not an abundance of the white stuff.

The hike was almost over before it even started.  I'd read that the Visitor Center at Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument would be closed today, but I didn't realize that also meant gate to the entry road would be closed and chained.  Undeterred, I drove a little further and parked at the Hornbek Homestead where I re-evaluated the trail situation.  Fortunately, most of the trails interconnect.  So I picked up the Florissant Loop there.

Like my only previous visit, there was a lot of scat on the trail.  There's clearly plenty of wildlife in the area -- hoofed stock and predators alike.  I just have so far only seen their poop.

The big attraction here are the petrified stumps.  I didn't make it to "The Big Stump" on this visit -- it isn't close to the loop trail.  But it was quite cool to see a living tree growing out of a petrified one.

Not sure what caught my eye exactly about this pine cone on the trail.  But I do like the glistening of the snow.

Speaking of snow, I hit a section of trail that was legitimately wintry!  I guess it's shaded enough not to melt off.  I enjoyed it.

Besides the petrified stumps, this rock formation is another highlight of the Florissant Loop.  As in, it's labeled on AllTrails.  And it is pretty striking.

After the rock formation the trail was pretty gentle as it meandered through a rolling meadow back to the homestead.  Probably really colorful when the wildflowers are in bloom, too.

At the homestead I was captivated by the textures and subtle colors on this old wagon wheel.

Just under eight miles in just under three hours, with the fast pace primarily due to not stopping for many photos.  I'm not done looking for snow-covered scenery this season, though!

Related Links:

• Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument
• Twin Rock Trail

Twin Rock Trail

In just an hour at Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument I'd seen interesting petrified stumps and beautiful wildflowers, and decided the place was pretty good. What I would soon realize is that it was also home to one of the more enjoyable hikes I'd ever been on -- the Twin Rock Trail.

The trail is an out-and-back, ending as its name would indicate at a pair of large granite formations at the monument's boundary.  A fence separates NPS land from private property.

One of the best aspects of the hike is the variety of terrain.  In just 2.2 miles you travel through dense pine forest, open meadows, past a pond, along a creek, by granite formations and even through a small aspen grove.

The gentle rolling of the meadows and jagged crest of the rocks complemented each other strikingly.

The trail went right through a prairie dog village in this meadow that seemed oddly deserted.  Then I saw a coyote lope through, and I understood why the rodents had made themselves scarce.

Nice job by gravity arranging pine cones in the trail rut.

A crow kept watch from the top of this formation for a while before alighting right before I took this shot.

The trail rises just a little more than 400 feet over its length.  So elevation gain is no issue.

A small pond provides a murky mirror for aspens along its shore.

I don't think this bridge actually sees much use by people.  The trail is overgrown in several spots, and there was more varieties of scat along the trail then I had ever seen before -- both indications that it just doesn't see a lot of human traffic.  If I'd been out a few hours earlier I might have seen some of the animals responsible for all that poop.  But after hearing from a ranger how common mountain lions and bears are in the area, it's probably for the best that I didn't.

The most challenging part of the Twin Rock Trail is the somewhat steep ascent along the Hornbek Wildlife Loop to get to it.  But that just gets the heart and lungs working for the immensely enjoyable walk to come.

So if you do make it to Florissant -- and I hope you do -- make it a point to set aside enough time to hike the Twin Rock Trail.  The monument was celebrating the grand opening of its new visitor center and had a sizable crowd on hand, yet I didn't see another person at any point during my hike.  Come enjoy the solitude and natural beauty for yourself!

Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument

This past Saturday I took the opportunity to visit a never place I'd never been but wanted to for a while -- Florissant Fossil Beds National Monument. About 15 miles west of Woodland Park, it's less than a two-hour drive from my house. But not a place you hear too much about.

The area is best known for its almost unparalleled fossils.  Not dinosaurs, but insects, plants, fish and mammals extraordinarily well-preserved from an ancient lake.  And like you'd expect from the site of a former lake, quite flat.

A ginormous petrified redwood stump -- unimaginatively but aptly named "The Big Stump" -- is the signature attraction.  Its textures and colors are indeed interesting.

A patch of blooming Wild Iris provided a shocking splash of vibrant color on the Hornbek Wildlife Loop.

An industrious ant -- and really, what ant isn't? -- had an intense interest in this Indian Paintbrush.

The body of this Common Ringlet nearly blends in with the vegetation on which it rests.  Only its bright orange wings betray its location.

This place must be paradise for coyotes and hawks.  It was covered with prairie dog villages.  This fellow was keeping a wary watch from a hole ...

... while this guy apparently couldn't decide whether to bolt to safety or finish his succulent blade of grass.

The monument boasts a great new visitor center with many fossils excavated from the area on display.  Most of the hiking trails are short and the whole area is fairly flat as I mentioned earlier, making a walk a less daunting prospect than it can be in much of the state.  A stop for lunch still makes the whole trip only about eight hours in all for Denverites.  So if you're looking for something to do with the family some weekend, I'd encourage you to consider a day at Florissant!