Carolyn Holmberg Preserve at Rock Creek Farm
Location |
Website |
Carolyn Holmberg Preserve at Rock Creek Farm, 2240 S 104th St, Broomfield, CO 80020
I drove south on south 104th street to get to the trail-head and the short section of dirt road was REALLY bumpy. I am glad it was not far, it was hard to find a smooth place to drive.
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PDF Map
Trail Map
Park Fees
Free
Trailer Parking
The day I went to Rock Creek I looked at the Superior trails map and saw trailer parking at the Carolyn-Holmberg trail-head. When I arrived I happened to find a ranger and asked him where trailers were supposed to park. It is a pretty small parking lot and trailers park along the long side. I had a pretty tight turn to leave the parking lot and did go on a weekend day when there were more hikers and bikers out.
The park ranger also suggested parking further down the Cradleboard trail on a dirt lot at the end of Brainard. Here is the other parking lot on google maps.
Bathrooms |
Water |
Yes, quite nice permanent potties.
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No water but a picnic table and shelter.
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Mounting |
Footing |
I got on from the ground but if I was creative I could have used a fence or picnic table.
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Really nice small sandy gravel footing. Great for a good long trot between obstacles.
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Horse Hazards
This trail is FULL of horse hazards. Bridges, cows, gates, rail-road tracks, bugs, alfalfa on the side of the trail, suburban houses, barking dogs. This trail is a true test of your horse!
Chosen Trail
Trail Experience
We rode the Mary Miller Trail to the Cradleboard trail to the Lake Link trail then turned around and went the same way back. It was an out and back and took us about an hour and 15 minutes at a walk and trot. It starts out really nice as a gravel path that goes by the lake. The bugs were moderately bad when we went in early September.
The trail forks were pretty well marked and at this fork we went right to get on the cradleboard trail.
The first obstacle we faced was a bridge. Just after the bridge there is a bench on the left.
After going over the bridge we saw some COWS on the left. My Appendix Bailey is not a fan of cows so he did a good job staying calm and walking by the cows. The path was really great and sandy and we had a good trot.
Going left at the next fork there was a lot of dead tree limbs on the right side of the path. Not a big deal for my horses but it could be a scary thing for some. There was also a big overgrown bush on both sides of the trail we had to walk in-between. That also can be scary for some horses.
Another bridge. Sam was not sure but with Bailey's confidence he decided it was ok. After the bridge a bunch of birds flew took flight from the ag land next-door. Both my horses took a look then kept walking.
Another obstacle, a swing gate and rail-road tracks!
Now we followed the Lake Link trail up a nice trotting hill and besides some houses. Again, more obstacles for a fairly suburban trail ride. We passed some barking dogs and waved at some residents sitting on their back decks. We stopped when the trail ended at 287. I was not sure that I wanted to try to find a way to loop back to Rock Creek Farm if I had to walk along the road.
Trail Experience
Well, if you want an out and back that is one series of obstacles after another and really want to test your trail-horse, this is the trail. If you want a relaxing trail I would do Pattridge or the Indiana Equestrian Center. I don't know that I will be back to this one. If you are trying to experience and practice some bridges this is a great trail. If you live near-by or board at Cloudview Farm this could be an early morning jogging trail.
Trail Videos
Rating
Moderately Difficult. This is really a trail for seasoned, calm, trained horses. Lots of obstacles! Tight parking, bring your bomb-proof trail buddy.