Hall Ranch
Location31635 CO-7, Lyons, CO 80540
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PDF Map
Trail Map
Park Fees
Free.
Trailer Parking
As you pull into the trail-head keep going straight up the road past the first parking lot to reach the 2nd upper parking lot. Pull to the left past the trailer parking sign and point your nose toward the bathroom. There are spots for 3 trailers and if you know each other you might be able to squeeze in more.
BathroomsPermanent restrooms.
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WaterNone available.
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Mounting
There is a good sized rock in the trailer parking area to use to mount.
Footing
The trail starts off soft but gets rocky quickly. There are 1-2 areas where you walk over sheer rock on the trail but it is flat so not terribly scary. Going uphill it is moderately rocky but doable if your horse is shod. We turned around before reaching the top where the trail gets rockier.
Horse Hazards
There are no bikes or dogs allowed on the Nighthawk trail. The biggest hazard was the moderately rocky to rocky footing. We turned around before it got too bad. Watch for rattlesnakes and make sure your horse is fit before attempting this trail. The trail goes straight up along the ridge and we rested our horses multiple times on the way up.
Chosen Trail
We went straight out and back on the Nighthawk Trail. The good news is that you can't get lost and you can turn around whenever you feel like you have had enough. We rode for an hour then turned around for a total of 1 hr 40 minutes and roughly 6 miles. In general we try to turn around before we feel sore or tired. Give your horse lots of breaks going uphill.
Trail Experience
The trail starts out past the restrooms then splits into the Nighthawk Trail and the Bittlerbrush Trail. I had heard that the Bitterbrush Trail was harder and rockier so we stayed left to follow the Nighthawk Trail.
The trail started off nice and sandy as a single-track.
It was well marked and there were signs to keep you going the right way.
Here is an example of the rocky footing. There is a section of sheer rock in the rear part of the trail in the picture below.
The trail slowly climbed and the footing improved.
It was really pretty and this section of the trail was pretty easy.
We came upon a smaller fork. To the right the trail connected to the Bitterbrush Trail. We kept left. I was happy to see a well-marked trail.
We descended into a valley.
We headed downhill via some switchbacks.
The trail contained some steps. All of our horses did fine with these steps and it wasn't too steep.
We crossed the valley and started uphill. I was really glad bikers were not allowed on this trail.
We breathed and ate grass when the trail leveled off. Going uphill was a work-out for our horses and we took a break.
The trail was relatively flat until we reached the next overlook. There was a trail marker at this point that showed us we were on the right trail.
It was a great place for a picture.
As we continued to climb the trail got rockier. Talking to some hikers they said the fork for Button Rock was about 1-2 miles ahead. We could see the trail going up the hill in the distance. We decided to turn around at this point due to the rocky footing.
This picture is from heading down the big hill we climbed. This is about 3/4 of the way down. It is a steep hill with switchbacks and moderate rocks. Make sure your horse is fit before attempting this trail. For us, the view was worth it!
We crossed the valley and climbed up the hill.
We had fun going back up the steps.
From here the trail was mostly flat and more relaxing. There was a short section of the sheer rock we recrossed. Our horses had no problem.
Rating
Moderately Difficult. The rocky footing and steep and sustained uphill made this difficult. All of our horses did well but we are not timid riders. We turned back before the trail got rockier. Great trail for a quick work-out and beautiful views.