Reynolds Park (Conifer)

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Distance: Oxen Draw/Raven's Roost loop - 2 miles, Eagle's View - 2 miles, Songbird - 1 mile
Rating: Loop - moderate, Eagle's View - difficult, Songbird - easy

For my second hike of the week, I decided to head back to the US 285 corridor, an area that doesn’t seem to suffer from the traffic and congestion of more popular areas along the Front Range. Jefferson County, like Boulder County, has set aside a large amount of land for open space parks. In fact, the county has a total of 22 parks covering over 50,000 acres with approximately 200 miles of trails, and there are even more properties being considered for development. Needless to say, there are a lot of nice hiking options in Jefferson County.

Reynolds Park is located along the slope heading down towards the Platte River. It is nestled in a hilly area covered in dense pine forest. The park is separated into two parts by Foxton Road (County Road 97), with the majority of the mileage on the western side of the park. The main loop, which involves the Oxen Draw and Raven’s Roost trails, climbs at a moderate and occasionally difficult pace up into the hills above CR 97. On the other side of the road, the Hummingbird and Chickadee trails wind through the less densely forested area to the east. All in all, the entire park could be easily covered in one day of hiking. Perhaps the most impressive part of the park can be found along the western border. The steeper Eagle’s View trail leads up to an overlook that offers amazing views of the South Platte River Valley, the Pike National Forest, and even Pikes Peak far to the south.

My route began along the short connecting trails that lead to the Oxen Draw Trail. Oxen Draw climbs through a forested gully with steep slopes on either side. A creek runs along the approximately 1 mile trail, creating some nice waterfalls in places. The Oxen Draw Trail climbs at a moderate rate the entire way before reaching the intersection with Eagle’s View and Raven’s Roost. The Eagle’s View trail is a more difficult route that leads up to the scenic view that I mentioned earlier. Some specific things to look for here are the Cathedral Spires and Pikes Peak to the south, and the mountains of the Lost Creek Wilderness to the west. Just visible to the south and east is Devil’s Head Mountain. The Raven’s Roost trail is roughly the same distance as Oxen Draw, and winds steeply back down to the parking area. To add some additional mileage to the hike, I added the Songbird Trail to my route. This half-mile one way trail runs along a creek that parallels CR 97. This is a relatively flat trail, but it runs through a nice open meadow below the hills. On this particular day, I did not get over to the eastern side of the park.

Be very mindful of the weather in this area! Even though I got an early start, I encountered a brief, but loud thunderstorm that fortunately blew through very quickly. That said, the weather in the spring can be very unpredictable. It’s always a good idea to have a rain jacket handy.

Directions: From Denver, take Hampden Ave west. Hampden turns into US 285 and climbs into the mountains. Continue along 285 past the Aspen Park and Conifer areas. Look for signs indicating Reynolds Park along the right side of the road. Exit on to CR 97 and follow it under 285. CR 97 winds to the south for 5.5 miles before reaching the first parking lot.

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