Bluffs Regional Park
Location10099 Crooked Stick Trail in Lone Tree
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Website |
PDF Map
Trail Map
Below is the official trail map. There are connections to the East-West trail going East and West.
Park Fees
Free! Got to love Douglas County trails!
Trailer Parking
Amazingly I was pleasantly surprised. The lot had three designated spots for horse trailers and some tie-rails.
You could also park at Cabela's and take the East-West trail to Bluffs Regional Park. It is 2.6 miles from Cabela's to the fork for the Buffs Regional Park Trail.
BathroomsPorta Potties
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WaterNone Available
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Mounting
I used a small curb. Many people bring their own mounting block or keep one in their trailer. Some day I will actually do this!
Footing
Soft sand or crushed gravel. Wide trails, good if you are barefoot. Sam had 4 shoes and was very comfortable.
Horse Hazards
Relatively few! There were green benches at the top of most hills. We did walk by trash cans, sewer drains and some industrial stationary objects on the last leg home. People were riding bikes and had dogs on leashes, most people were very good about being respectful of horses. The was a sign warning you to watch for rattlesnakes.
Chosen Trail
Sam and I really enjoyed riding the Bluffs Regional Park Trail loop. The loop was 2.4 miles but with a brief out and back on the East-West Connector and one overlook we rode a total of 3 miles in about 1 hr with lots of grass breaks. We trotted, cantered and galloped up the wonderful rolling hills.
Trail Experience
The trail began to the left of a picnic pavillion and to the right of the porta potties. It was a nice wide, sandy and soft trail.
You could go left or right to start the loop. We went right first. I recommend going right first so when you come home you pass some industrial looking objects when your horse is more tired.
The hills were nice and gentle and wonderful to canter up. There were green benches on the top of most of the hills. The views were wonderful!
There were a few hikers and bikers. It was not very crowded on a Wednesday morning.
The rolling hills were perfect for a good trot/canter. The grass was just starting to be green and Sam snacked between trots. As we headed West the views were really stunning!
The trail was so inviting and very horse-friendly.
There were forks that dead-ended in the local neighborhoods. We kept left on the loop trail.
We came to the West fork of the East/West Connector and headed West on the East-West trail since we were not tired.
We passed some horses in a pasture on the left. We came to another fork that led into the local neighborhood. We continued left over the bridge. The trail was well-marked with signs.
There were very nice signs telling users to yield to horses, and also to stay off the bridge if there were horses crossing. It was nice to see my location on the map. We only rode a very short distance on the East-West Trail. We rode parallel to a dirt road Finn Ave.
We passed the brick mail-box and gave it some side-eye then had a wonderful canter up the dirt trail.
We approached Monoco Road and I was not sure if we should continue. The East-West Trail goes all the way to Spring Gulch and I decided to turn around at this point.
Peaking down Monoco the trail parallels the road then heads up a hill. The trail looked so tempting and I really would like to do this on another day.
The curvy trail parallels Monoco then goes up a hill then heads west towards Monach Rd.
The trail looked so inviting I had to get up closer to check it out. The curvy trail was also great for bikers and a lot of bikers would come zooming by in batches.
At the top of the hill there was a sign stating that the East-West trail was closed to protect the eagles. We turned left instead along the white fence.
We rode along a while fence with a wire fence on our right. There was a barking dog that ran along with us. We reached a road and turned back north to ride down the road and turn left on McArthur Dr. to take the trail back to Bluffs Regional Park.
We turned around and enjoyed a nice canter back to Buffs Regional Park. While we were cantering these benches by the trees on the left seemed to come out of nowhere and startled Sam. We continued back over the bridge and up to the fork. We continued right on the Bluffs Regional Park Trail loop.
We had a great canter up the hill.
We turned around at the top and looked down for a great view.
We walked down one of the overlook trails.
On the overlook looking west.
We headed back to the loop trail and passed a fork going right going to the East East/West Connector trail that you follow to get to Cabela's.
We passed another overlook. I did see a hitching rail at the end of this overlook. Headed back, we started down-hill past some water tanks and keeping left.
The view was still pretty heading East.
To our right out of the picture were some large water tanks and other scary objects. At the bottom we turned around and looked up at the objects. I recommend going right out of the parking lot at the first fork so these scary objects are on the way home when your horse is tired.
Rating
Easy! I really enjoyed this trail. Great footing, nice wide trail with very little horse hazards! You can make it longer by going down the East/West Connectors or go around the loop twice. If your horse likes to go cantering up the hills is a nice way to safely get some energy out.