East-West Trail - Griggs Trailhead
LocationGriggs Pavillion Littleton Co
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Website |
PDF Map
https://www.douglas.co.us/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/East_West_Trail_HollowImagery.jpg
https://hrcaonline.org/Portals/0/docs/pdf/backcountry/trail%20maps/Entire%20Trail%20System%20Web.pdf
https://highlandsranch.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/HRO-Map-W.pdf
https://hrcaonline.org/Portals/0/docs/pdf/backcountry/trail%20maps/Entire%20Trail%20System%20Web.pdf
https://highlandsranch.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/HRO-Map-W.pdf
Trail Map
It is 19.5 miles from Cabelas on Ridgeway Parkway to Redstone Park which is just north of the Spring Gulch Equestrian Area. There are mile markers along the trail that count up from Ridgeway Parkway. This trail continues west past Redstone Park to Chatfield via the High-Line Canal Trail.
Park Fees
Free
Trailer Parking
There was designated trailer parking on the south end of the parking lot. You may be able to fit 3 trailers if you all knew each other and could pull tightly in back of each other.
BathroomsPorta Potty
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WaterNone Available
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Mounting
Wonderful big rocks to stand on to mount your horse.
Footing
Mostly packed dirt, soft. Ok for barefoot horses.
Horse Hazards
This trail is really popular with bikers. The biggest challenge was when the trail narrowed with lots of curves. We had to watch for bikers and get of the trail before they came around the sharp corners. Our horses are good with bikers but this is not a trail for green riders or horses.
Chosen Trail
We started west from Grigs Road Trailhead at the Grigs Pavillion. This trail goes all the way to Spring Gulch Equestrian Area! It is 19.5 miles from the Cabelas by Bluffs Regional Park to Redstone Park. The trail continues past Spring Gulch to reach Redstone Park. You can really ride all day on this beautiful trail. We rode from Grigs Pavillion to just past mile marker number 9. We rode for 2.5 hrs and covered around 8 miles. We just walked but our horses have a brisk walk and were faster on the way home.
Trail Experience
We crossed the road from the parking lot and started out on a lovely wide, soft trail. It headed up a small hill.
We came up to Zoe's rest a nice place to admire the view.
And then started downhill.
We did have lots of bikers pass us but the trail was wide and are horses are ok with bikers passing us from behind. I can see why bikers love this trail although it did not look fun trying to ride up the hill.
All the local trail branches were nicely labeled. We continued on the wide main East-West trail.
We came to a fork and stayed left. It was clearly labeled as the East-West trail. There was a sign letting you know to watch for rattlesnakes. We rode this trail in April and were not too concerned.
I pretty much fell in love with this nice wide, soft trail with pretty views. Sam did take every opportunity to eat the grass along the trail.
After the first fork going left the trail narrowed slightly and started going between the bushes. We kept our eyes peeled for deer and bikers.
I would love to ride this trail in the fall with red leaves on these bushes. We rode on a Wednesday morning during the Covid crisis of 2020 and there were quite a few bikers passing us. On a weekday during normal times this may be a quieter trail. Many people "working from home" have decided that a morning bike ride is important for their sanity. We also saw lots of moms with kids that were really trying to burn some energy.
More gorgeous trail. There were mile markers along the way counting up from 1 to 19.5 headed toward Redstone park.
There were few other hazards. Hardly any scary stationary objects, just a nice open trail.
It really felt like you could ride forever. We only made it to mile marker 9 out of 19.5. We decided we would ride out for 1.5 hrs then turn around. The problem with this out and back is that you really want to keep going. We had storm clouds in the distance and had to be smart about stopping before we got tired.
There were lots of opportunities to stop and take pictures and eat grass! All we needed was a tie-rail or some hobbles and a big picnic lunch.
The trail just kept going, widing through the lovely hills.
We turned back at this point and headed back the way we came. It was important that we set a time limit otherwise we would have kept riding then really would have exhausted horses by the time we got back. It would be wonderful to have a horse trailer waiting for you at Spring Gulch Equestrain Area.
We retraced our steps and headed back to the parking lot right before it started raining!
Rating
Amazing and wonderful! Moderately Easy unless your horse is afraid of bikers. Go on a weekday morning for a quieter ride.