Heil Valley Ranch
 Heil
Valley Ranch has remained relatively undeveloped from prehistoric times
through present day, making it a premier wildlife habitat.
The variety of ecosystems, grasslands, shrublands, woodlands, forests
and canyons, support an abundance of wildlife unparalleled in Boulder
County. Abert's squirrels, cottontail rabbits, prairie dogs, marmots, red
and gray foxes, mule deer, bobcats, black bears and mountain lions all
live here. Heil Valley Ranch is an important winter range for elk who
migrate from the Indian Peaks Wilderness Area - the only herd along the
Front Range who journey from the Continental Divide to the Plains. It is
also a rich breeding bird habitat.
Heil Valley Ranch has a hiking trail and picnic
shelter
available for visitors. It is
located
northwest of Boulder up Geer Canyon.
History
The geology of the area is dramatic and complex. It is at the junction
where the Great Plains meets the Southern Rocky Mountains. Along the
Lichen Trail, you'll have spectacular views of the upturned  sedimentary
rock and lichen-covered boulders that are typical of the fault and
fracture zone of the Boulder County foothills.
At the turn of the 20th century, elk were eliminated from Boulder
County. They were reintroduced at Heil Valley Ranch between 1913 and 1917.
Heil Valley Ranch consists of 4,923 acres of backcountry. The 1.3-mile Lichen Trail,
is only open to pedestrians. Two multiuse trails: the 2.5-mile Wapiti Trail and the 2.6-mile Ponderosa Loop
Trail. They are open to hikers, mountain bikers and
equestrians. Because of its importance as a wildlife habitat, dogs are not
allowed on this open space property.
A group shelter, which can
accommodate up to 25 people, is available for use on a first-come,
first-serve basis. The trailhead also has picnic tables and restrooms. No
groups are permitted on Saturday or Sunday because of limited parking.
The entrance to Heil Valley Ranch is located on Geer Canyon Road off of
Left Hand Canyon Road northwest of Boulder.
Heil Valley Ranch Map:
Because all of our open space properties are environmentally sensitive,
it is important for users to know the rules
and regulations pertaining to
our open space.
Once
the map is displayed, you can use the adobe toolbar to fit the map to your
window, pan, zoom in or out, search or print the map on your own printer.
The size of the original map and screen reduction are shown on the lower
left hand status bar.
The Heil Valley Ranch map is a 400 KB file and
will require Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available free from Adobe. Map
may not appear properly in your web browser, for best results, save map file to
a directory on your computer (right click and choose "Save Target
as" in Internet explorer or "Save Link as" in Netscape) and
open using Adobe Reader.
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