Hildebrand Ranch Park
Location |
Website |
Hildebrand Ranch Trailhead,
9880 Deer Creek Canyon Road, Littleton, CO 80127 |
PDF Map
Trail Map
Park Fees
Free.
Trailer Parking
Large gravel lot for oversized cars at south end of parking lot. Fairly large, could probably fit 3-4 trailers if you parked parallel. I went on a week-day so I just parked right in the middle and was the only trailer there.
Sam was very concerned about looking behind him when we tacked and un-tacked. Turns out there was a family of deer walking around in the trees behind the parking lot by the creek.
Bathrooms
Yes, porta potties.
Water |
Mounting |
No spigot and no easy access to creek.
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Really nice large rocks in parking lot.
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Footing
Starts out really nice small gravel then goes into packed dirt on single-track. Up by the ridge it got fairly rocky. It improved going down through the hillside and through the neighborhood.
Horse Hazards
There is a bridge right at the start of the trail. The major hazards are rocky footing and then all the suburban hazards that come with walking through a neighborhood. Lots of benches and picnic tables and signs.
Chosen Trail
We took the first right at the fork and went counter-clockwise on the Two Brands Trail. We rode for 1.5 hours and covered 5 miles with lots of stops for pictures and grass.
So I knew going to this trail that I would have to cut through a neighborhood to make a loop trail instead of an out and back on the Two Brands trail. I studied Margi Evans' description of her ride here in "Riding Colorado". The trail was well marked in the park but going through the neighborhood you can either stay left and go all around the houses on the border or you can cut through to the left of the lake and to the right of Hogback Park. No matter which way you go you do have to cross some streets. The gravel trail was pretty nice by the lake but we did have to cross a street to get to Hogback Park then the gravel trail picked up again. The forks were not labeled but I had this paper map with me and stayed right at the forks to reach the Hildebrand Ranch Park border and trail-head.
Trail Experience
We started out at the trail-head and crossed a bridge over the creek to get to the main trail.
And then got lost..... Don't take the immediate first right, keep going straight for 0.3 miles, the right trail will be clearly labeled and will be gravel or dirt. Below is a picture of the WRONG way.
This is the right way. It was clear to me where the trail was after we wandered around in the long grass for a while.
Pretty views. The trail became pretty rocky as we followed the ridge-line.
This was a trail connector that goes to Bear Creek Park, we went left to continue on the Two Brands Trail.
From here the trail became a lot prettier as we went up and down some rolling hills to finally end up south of the neighborhood.
We crossed the fence into the neighborhood and went to the left of the lake. The sign had a hiker and not a horse. It is possible horses are supposed to go to the left on another gravel trail that follows the perimeter of the neighborhood.
We passed to the left of the lake then crossed a street from east to west then from south to north to pick-up the Two Brands Trail. The next few forks were labeled but it wasn't until the last fork that there was a sign telling me to go right to get back to the Hildebrand Ranch Park trailhead.
Almost back Sam did a "Morgan Strike". This is where he refuses to move because he dive-bombs for the fresh alfalfa you see spotted in the grass. Any coaxing forward results in parking out and balking until he is allowed to eat. I finally asked him to trot and I chose which alfalfa he was going to eat between trots. This was a pretty good compromise and got us home, otherwise I am pretty sure we would still be in this field eating alfalfa.
Trail Experience
I love going new places and so does Sam. If I went back I would do more trotting. This time I was worried about getting lost but we did a good job preparing and bought multiple maps with us. Sam is really good with new experiences and likes to walk-out. He was a little spooky through the neighborhood which is abnormal for Sam. I enjoyed this trail but would prefer the near-by South Valley Park for a more relaxing trail experience.
Trail Videos
Below: The prettiest part of the ride was after we came down off the ridge and followed a really nice hillside. We we up and down gentle hills and had a nice trot.
Rating
Moderately Difficult. This is mostly due to having to a fairly rocky path along the ridge and having to walk through a suburban neighborhood.