Grand Opening of new Mud Lake Open Space Trails
July 6, 2006 at 3:00 pm
The Boulder County Commissioners and staff were joined by the Town of
Nederland's Mayor, Laura Farris, and Jill Dreves, Executive Director for
the Wild Bear Center for Nature Discovery, for
the Mud Lake Open Space dedication on Thursday, July 6. About 70 people
attended the public event. The
 official
ribbon cutting marked the opening of 1.5 miles of new trails and the
completion of a main parking lot, new trail connections to Caribou Ranch
and new trailhead facilities. Mud Lake Open Space comprises 233 acres of open
space surrounding a scenic 4-acre lake near Nederland. The park offers
three miles of trails, including a loop system for mountain bikers and
equestrians and trail connections with Nederland and Caribou Ranch Open
Space that offer scenic views for hikers. The new trail connections to
Caribou Ranch provide extra mileage for a total round trip of about 5.5
miles. Open year-round, Mud Lake
will be a major asset for winter recreation. The trail system
was designed with snowshoeing and cross-country skiing in mind. Dogs are
permitted at the park but must be on-leash at all times. In addition
to the park's recreational uses, Mud Lake Open Space will be home of an
environmental education center. The Wild Bear Center for Nature
Discovery, a non-profit environmental education organization, owns a
five-acre tract at the site, where they plan to construct a nature
center in the future. Wild Bear currently uses the site for daytime, hands-on
educational and interpretive programs. Background and History
In 1999, Boulder County began the joint purchase of Mud Lake with the
Town of Nederland. The complex purchase took three years to complete,
with partial funding coming from the annexation and sale of land south
of County Road 128. The Board of County Commissioners and the Town of
Nederland Board of Trustees adopted a final management plan in 2004,
with trail design and construction beginning in 2005. The partnership
between Boulder County, Town of Nederland and Wild Bear Center for
Nature Discovery forms a joint relationship with the property that is
unique for Boulder County. Originally known as Muskee Lake, Mud Lake has
had a long history of human use and exploration. The property was first
homesteaded in the early 1870s in conjunction with the gold and silver
mining occurring around Nederland and Caribou. Today, crayfish, tiger
salamanders and other amphibians dominate the open water habitat while
waterfowl and other birds can be seen at the lake and adjacent wetlands.
The park also provides a buffer and transition zone between the more
developed areas of Nederland to the south and the more wild areas to the
northwest, including Caribou Ranch and Indian Peaks Wilderness Area.
Mud Lake is located on County Road 126 off the Peak-to-Peak Highway,
approximately one mile north of Nederland, after the roundabout to the
Peak-to-Peak.
Mud Lake Kiosk map (pdf) For more information, please call
(303) 678-6200.
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