Flying J Park
Location9661 County Hwy 73, Conifer, CO 80433
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Website |
PDF Map
This map shows the area closed for logging Monday through Thursday
https://www.jeffco.us/DocumentCenter/View/17043/FJR-Park-Landscape-North-Closure-Map
Normal Official Trail Map
https://www.jeffco.us/DocumentCenter/View/9370/Flying-J-Ranch-Park-Map?bidId=
https://www.jeffco.us/DocumentCenter/View/17043/FJR-Park-Landscape-North-Closure-Map
Normal Official Trail Map
https://www.jeffco.us/DocumentCenter/View/9370/Flying-J-Ranch-Park-Map?bidId=
Trail Map
Park Fees
Free.
Trailer Parking
We parked at a neighborhood access point at the end of a dead end road. This turns out to be a much better place to park than the main lot. We got there by 9:30am on a Saturday. You can see the trail right in front of Lisa's white truck.
This is a picture of the main parking lot. Trailer park in the over-sized lot on the right side of the road before the parking loop. The owners of the mini donkeys parked here and the rest of the spots were full of cars by noon.
BathroomsPermanent restrooms at main parking lot.
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WaterPond but no water spigot.
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Mounting
I stood awkwardly on a slight hill to get on Sam. Some day I will bring a step-stool for my trailer.
Footing
Moderately rocky on the north leg of Shadow Pine Loop then nice and smooth on the south end of the loop. Sirius wore all 4 hoof boots and did fine. Just rocky enough to be interesting and only in spots.
Horse Hazards
This is a really nice trail! We did see lots of hikers and bikers. Many of the bikers stopped and yielded to us, which was amazing. We saw mini donkeys on a walk with their owners! They were afraid of our horses but our horses did fine. We has some very mild water crossings and got to go stand in a pond at the end of the ride. The trail was moderately rocky on the north leg of the trail so not for beginners or green horses. Parking was difficult at the main lot by the neighborhood access worked out well.
Chosen Trail
We did a nice short ride and really enjoyed this park. We started from the neighborhood access point and headed right or north on Aviator Trail to meet up with Shadow Pine Loop. The north leg wove through the pine forest and was moderately rocky. When we crossed John's Landing trail in the middle of the park the footing improved and was soft. We just did one loop in an hour for a total of 3.4 miles. If we wanted to ride longer I would canter up John's Landing Trail going uphill from the parking lot and ride the lower loop twice.
Trail Experience
We started riding on the Aviator trail from the neighborhood access point.
It was a single-track trail through the pine trees.
We stayed right to connect with the Shadow Pine Loop. We headed right or north first.
The footing was moderately rocky but easy for our horses.
We crossed a small stream.
There were some exposed tree roots.
There were a few places where we walked across rock.
There were a lot of down trees from the logging.
We crossed a raised path trail.
We crossed another small stream.
We came across the John's Landing Trail. From here the trail was a lot smoother. You could canter John's Landing going uphill if you start from the parking lot.
The trail was well marked.
The trail became a little wider and softer.
We crossed a small wooden bridge.
This is a nice place to trot.
The southern leg of the loop was more open and really pretty.
We came across some mini donkeys out for a walk!
Coming up to the main parking lot we were really glad we didn't try to park in the over-sized area full of cars.
We passed the parking lot and some gazebos on the right and headed back up the trail.
There was a beautiful pond to our right and we just couldn't resist getting in.
We headed up the hill directly across from the pond to reach Aviator trail and our horse trailers parked in the neighborhood access point.
Rating
Moderate. This trail is rocky enough to be interesting but also nice enough to trot or canter. You could ride the whole loop then from the parking lot canter uphill on the John's Landing Trail and do the southern part of the loop again. I really enjoyed this trail but it is not for the green horse or rider.