Walden and Sawhill Ponds
LocationWalden Ponds Trailhead, Boulder, CO 80301
I parked at the Cottonwood Marsh parking lot which has space for 2 horse trailers. |
WebsiteSawhill Ponds - City of Boulder
https://bouldercolorado.gov/osmp/sawhill-ponds-trailhead Walden Ponds - Boulder County https://www.bouldercounty.org/open-space/parks-and-trails/walden-ponds-wildlife-habitat/ |
PDF Map
Walden Ponds
https://assets.bouldercounty.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/walden-ponds-map.pdf
Sawhill Ponds
https://www-static.bouldercolorado.gov/docs/sawhill-ponds-trail-map-1-201305221204.pdf?_ga=2.113990467.551795297.1582732159-944252169.1582732159
https://assets.bouldercounty.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/03/walden-ponds-map.pdf
Sawhill Ponds
https://www-static.bouldercolorado.gov/docs/sawhill-ponds-trail-map-1-201305221204.pdf?_ga=2.113990467.551795297.1582732159-944252169.1582732159
Trail Map
Google maps satellite is often way more helpful.
Park Fees
Free!
Trailer Parking
On my first attempt I tried to park in the Sawhill ponds parking lot. This was a mistake. I was hardly able to pull my trailer around to exit the parking lot. Instead I decided to park at the Walden Ponds trail-head and Cottonwood Marsh parking lot. At this trail-head there are two spaces that are designated for trailers and buses just north of the main parking lot. To exit I had to pull south then circle the car parking lot round-about to turn around.
BathroomsYes. Wonderful Boulder County permanent potties.
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WaterI did not see any spigots.
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Mounting
There was a nice big rock by the hitching post. There were also lots of benches and picnic tables nearby.
Footing
Nice soft crushed gravel and nice wide paths. "The trails of Colorful Colorado" warned me that there was no marked trail around Sawhill ponds. This is not true currently and most likely this older book is outdated.. There is a wonderful wide gravel trail all around the Sawhill ponds. Sam was barefoot and pretty comfortable but the footing was soft from the recent snow.
Horse Hazards
The trail starts out parallel to a private road that runs to a landscaping business or gravel company. I saw one large truck go along this road when we were finishing our ride. Sam is pretty used to large trucks dumping loads around our barn. This obstacle could be pretty scary for a horse not used to farm equipment or large trucks.
Chosen Trail
Sam and I rode the perimeter of the ponds for 2.3 miles total and rode for about 50 minutes. We started on the Boulder County maintained Walden pond system. We encircled the Bass pond and the Ricky Weiser Wetland riding North first around the ponds. Going south we crossed into the City of Boulder managed Sawhill pond trail system and stayed on the trail to encircle the Sawhill ponds. The green line represents a driveway to the landscaping business and gravel piles. There were large trucks that drove this road periodically. Sam and I rode this in the winter after a snow. I imagine the landscaping business would be a lot more busy in the summer and fall. Sam currently lives next to a landscaping company and he is pretty desensitized to large trucks and dumping gravel.
Trail Experience
Below: A picture of the smaller car parking lot. I did use this round-about in the parking lot to turn the trailer around when we were headed for home.
We walked passed some picnic shelters and the bathrooms.
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We started off along the edge of Cottonwood Marsh. The footing was nice crushed gravel and it was relatively wide and clear of snow from a recent storm.
Sam did fine walking by the shelters and tables. To the left is the gravel/landscaping company and private road with the trail parallel. The road is gated off.
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We continued around the Bass pond. The footing was soft and the trail was wide. We had a pretty view of the mountains.
We rode this 3-4 days after a snow. The path around the Walden ponds was not too snowy.
We continued South around the Ricky Wiser wetland and went through an open gate.
Reaching the Southern border of the Walden ponds we crossed over to the City of Boulder managed Sawhill ponds. We went around the board down a gentle ditch to get back on the trail. The Sawhill ponds section of the trail was much more icy and snowy and we had to walk around the trail in multiple places to avoid ice.
We rode right to the west and the trail got a lot more snow-packed.
We passed a lot of ducks and birds on the pond but they stayed put and did not take flight.
We headed east and went between a few ponds. It was really pretty and quiet. I saw maybe 2-3 other people. Dogs are allowed on the Sawhill ponds trails on a leash.
We took the next fork left to connect back up with the Walden ponds trails. We passed a hide-out for birders.
Although snowy it was still a pretty trail.
Sam and I crossed back over to the Walden ponds trail.
Rating
Moderately Easy. Nice wide and soft trail. This trail wasn't very busy and dogs were leashed. The large trucks carrying gravel were an obstacle but only occupied a short length of the beginning of the trail. In better weather this would be a pretty trail to trot or canter.