Soderberg Open Space
LocationSoderberg Open Space:
3909 Shoreline Dr, Fort Collins, CO 80526 |
WebsiteHorsetooth Mountain Open Space (consisting of Culver, Soderberg, and Hughey Open Spaces)
Horsetooth Mountain: https://www.larimer.org/naturalresources/parks/horsetooth-mountain Soderberg: https://www.larimer.org/naturalresources/openlands/acquisitions/soderberg |
PDF Map
The map is found on the Horsetooth Mountain Website and you can download the pdf to your computer.
Trail Map
This is the map contained in the trail head brochure on the webpage.
Soderberg Open Space is just one piece of open space contained in the immense Horsetooth Mountain Open Space. You could ride all day at this park! Connect to Lory State Park going north and Horsetooth Mountain going west.
Park Fees
Daily Self-Serve Fee: $9.00
Annual Passes Available
Good news the machine takes credit cards
Annual Passes Available
Good news the machine takes credit cards
Trailer Parking
I love this parking lot! Larimer county has really done a good job with their parks. There are 6 huge trailer parking spots and a sign that states fines will be imposed for cars parking in the horse trailer parking spots!
BathroomsThere are permanent vault restrooms and trash and recycling.
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WaterThere is a water fountain by the restroom and a spigot at the west end of the trailer parking lot and at the north end of the car parking lot.
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Mounting
There are some great big rocks to stand on by the water spigot.
Footing
The footing on the lower trail by the lake was soft but as we traveled up the ridge into the mountains it was moderately rocky to severely rocky. Isis was shod on all 4 and she did great. Sam had front shoes only and he preferred to walk on the grass when possible. If I went back I would boot him or have him shod all around.
Horse Hazards
We saw a few bikers and hikers but we went early on a Monday, riding by 8am so did not see a lot of foot traffic. The biggest trail obstacle was the rocky footing including some scrambles as we climbed the switchbacks of Sawmill trail and Stout trail. I would watch for rattlesnakes and wildlife.
Chosen Trail
We rode the Swan Johnson trail to go right on the Shoreline trail. After following the lake we continued north to go look at the entrance to Lory State Park to plot our next adventure. We continued on the Sawmill trail up some steep switchbacks and through the forest. This 1 mile leg felt really long due to the steep grade and rocky footing. We let our horses rest at the top. We took a left to stay on Stout trail which had some rock scrambles then met up with Towers trail to connect back with Swan Johnson. We rode about 5 miles in 2 hours with fast walking horses. Sam set the pace going up the steep switchbacks and he is mountain climbing machine. There were parts of the trail I just let him go, held on and closed my eyes and he navigated the rock climbing. To make the trail much easier Take Shoreline then go left at the first Sawmill junction to connect with Nomad and skip the switchbacks and rock climbing of the Sawmill and Stout trails.
Trail Experience
We started out on the Swan Johnson trail with was mostly flat with gravel footing. Sam only had front shoes and wanted to walk on the grass.
We started riding at 8am on a Monday in August and it was a little windy but clear and beautiful.
At the first fork you can go left to hit the Nomad trail for an easy ride along the foothills or go up a big flat road on the Tower trail. We chose to take the middle trail which connected with Shoreline trail that ran along Dixon Cove.
The trail had some ruts but was manageable while we mostly walked besides it in the grass. We came up to Dixon Cove and enjoyed some green grass.
The river was dry but normally in the spring you would have a nice water crossing.
Isis is not a big fan of the water and the sand looked a little deep so we continued along by the lake.
This is a nice place to trot or canter. There were ruts in the trail but they weren't too bad for our horses.
This is the intersection of Shoreline, Nomad, and Sawmill. We continued straight to the right to continue on Shoreline and go look at the Lory State Park entrance.
The red cliffs were stunning, the grass was green and Sam said it was delicious and it was a great day to be riding.
We reached the fork of Sawmill and Shoreline at the entrance to Lory State Park. I could just barely see the jumps of the equestrian cross country course in the distance on the Lory State Park trail the South Valley Loop trail. We turned left to continue on the Sawmill trail.
We started climbing right away and at first the trail was soft and not too rocky.
The cliffs were stunning and we had to stop and look behind us to see the view of the valley.
This is the fork of Sawmill and Nomad. If you don't want to climb rocks up switchbacks go left here on Nomad for a short, pleasant ride back to the parking lot. If you are adventurous and trust your horse go right.
Up we climbed.
For me, it was worth it for the view. For Sam, it was worth it for the frozen strawberries I brought for him in my treat bag.
We started through the forest and the trail got rockier. This is just an example of a mildly rocky part of the trail. For the really rocky stuff I was holding onto my saddle shit strap and letting Sam have his head. It was a good 0.7 miles of switchbacks and rock climbing. There were short breaks from the rocks periodically and most of the hard stuff was before the Stout fork.
We took a breath here and ate some grass after a lot of climbing.
We came to the Stout fork and had about 0.8 miles of downhill rocky trail in front of us. This section was not as bad as Sawmill.
More pretty views.
We came to the intersection of Stout and Tower trails. We stayed left and continued downhill on Tower trail. Sam thought the trail was a little rocky and tried to walk on the grass.
We passed the fork for Nomad and continued on Tower until we took a right turn for the Swan Johnson Trail which led back to the parking lot.
Rating
Difficult. If I had known how rocky and steep the Sawmill trail was I probably would not have ridden it or I would at least have put hoof boots on Sam's back hooves. However, our horses are extremely fit, well behaved and handled the trail like pros. If I was a little tense, Sam did not notice, and motored up the switchbacks without any hesitation. Do not take any but the most advanced riders and horses on the Sawmill trail. I am completely in awe of my amazing horse Sam and he packs me around on trails I would never attempt with any other horse. Isis is also a rock-star! It is so nice to have a friend to ride with whose horse is solid, reliable and sweet. Maureen and Isis truly trust each other and Isis loves getting out on trails. For more novice riders you can still enjoy the Shoreline trail to Nomad trail loop or continue into Lory State Park for a more boring (relatively) but safe and easy ride.