Jefferson: Nature, Trails and Culture

Jefferson can be explored through a wide range of natural and cultural destinations. When planning your day, it’s worth distinguishing between their different offerings: a paved path along a creek, a challenging hike to a summit and a visit to historical exhibits each offer a different focus.

Canyon Scenery and Trails

Steep canyon walls and a fast-flowing creek shape the landscape at Clear Creek Canyon Park. The first sections of the Clear Creek Trail offer four miles of paved path directly alongside Clear Creek; the path is ten feet wide. This gives you a clear idea of the length, surface and width of this trail section. The park also offers rock climbing, kayaking and rafting. Water conditions and access for these activities can change.

At Elk Meadow Park, you can choose a challenging hike from the trailhead on Stagecoach Boulevard to 9,708-foot Bergen Peak: it is 4.7 miles long and gains 2,100 feet in elevation. The park is considered the place in the open-space system where herds of elk are most likely to be spotted; however, sightings are not guaranteed. Another option is the Pioneer Trail, which connects Bergen Park and Evergreen Lake through Elk Meadow Park. This lets you consider a described summit hike and a trail with two named endpoints as different destinations for the day.

Different features also guide your choice of trail at Mount Falcon Park. The ruins of John Brisben Walker’s castle are located there. The Castle Trail climbs more than 2,000 feet from the east. By contrast, the 1.7-mile Turkey Trot Trail is reserved exclusively for hikers and horseback riders. Distance, elevation gain and permitted uses each provide a different kind of guidance; they do not describe the same characteristic of a trail.

History, Exhibits and Fossils

Hiwan Heritage Park & Museum combines a specific historical timeline with current visitor opportunities: Jefferson County Parks & Open Space acquired the property in 1974, and the park opened in 1975. Hiwan Heritage Park is open daily, with self-guided outdoor tours available every day. Free guided tours are offered at the Hiwan Museum during opening hours. Museum hours can change, so check the latest seasonal information before your visit.

Railroad history is the focus at the Colorado Railroad Museum. The 15-acre rail yard features more than 100 historic locomotives, passenger cars and cabooses. It also includes a replica depot museum from the 1880s, changing exhibits and an HO-scale model railroad. This makes the visit quite different from the trails and scenic destinations: here, the focus is on vehicles, a replica depot and exhibits.

Dinosaur Ridge offers another historical and natural-history focus. The site was designated a National Natural Landmark by the National Park Service in 1973 and named a Colorado Natural Area by the state of Colorado. Dinosaur Ridge is also the site of more than 300 fossil tracks.

Admission and parking are free at Red Rocks Park, including at the Amphitheatre, Visitor Center and Trading Post. The park and its trails open one hour before sunrise and close one hour after sunset. Access may differ on event days, so plan your visit with the event date in mind.

To choose between these destinations, you can start by deciding what you’re looking for: trail surface and canyon scenery, elevation gain and a summit, wildlife watching, or exhibits and history. The details provided help you understand these different experiences without reducing them to a single type of outing.

Discover more destinations: Golden, Gunnison County, San Juan County, Eagle, Routt, Summit, Grand and San Miguel.

Go to the broader travel overview: Colorado.