Rabbit Mountain
 Rabbit
Mountain is part of the uplift that divides the Saint Vrain drainage basin
from the Big Thompson drainage basin. It provides a remarkable view of the
Continental Divide to the west, as well as great views of the Big Thompson
valley to the north and the Saint Vrain valley to the south. Within this transition zone, a diversity of plants and animals thrive.
The nearby cliffs are one of the few places in Boulder County where Golden
Eagles still build their nests.
Rabbit Mountain has multiuse trails and
picnic
tables available for visitors.
Because it is an important eagle nesting area, a portion is closed
to the public each year. Rabbit Mountain is located
east of Lyons off of Highway 66.
History
From a geological perspective, Rabbit Mountain is one of the most
interesting open space properties in the County. Over 140 million years
ago, this area was a tropical lowland covered by rivers, swamps, and
lagoons. Dinosaurs and other reptiles wandered through lush vegetation.
Seven natural springs occur in the Rabbit Mountain area. These
springs along with abundant game and shelter from the strong west winds,
provided an excellent wintering area for Native
Americans who lived in this area for at least 5,000 years.
When gold was discovered in the mid-1800s, many prospectors, lured to
Colorado by the promise of striking it rich, homesteaded this area when
mining proved unsuccessful. In 1864, Columbus Weese became the first
settler at Rabbit Mountain. Jack Moomaw, the second owner of the property,
was Rocky Mountain National Park's first forest ranger. His family sold
Rabbit Mountain to Boulder County Parks and Open Space in 1984, preserving
the land in its natural state for future generations to enjoy.
 Rabbit Mountain contains over 2,888 acres of backcountry. There are
over 5 miles of multiuse trails. The Eagle Wind Trail (2.5 miles) the Little
Thompson Overlook Trail (1 mile) and the Indian Mesa Trail (1.6
miles) are all multiuse trails open to hikers, mountain
bikers and equestrians.
Dogs
are permitted on all trails and must be leashed at all times. Please note
that the access trail to the junction adds 1/2 mile to each of these
hikes (see map
for detail).
Restrooms and picnic facilities are available at the trailhead, as well
as a group shelter that
can accommodate 30 people.
Boulder County Parks and Open Space annually closes the southeastern
section of Rabbit Mountain Open Space from December 15 through July 15 to
protect eagles during their nesting season.
Closures do not affect trail use. However, visitors found in this
critical wildlife closure area south and east of the Eagle Wind Trail can
be fined up to $300.
Rabbit Mountain Open Space is located on North 53rd Street, about 15
miles north of Boulder off of Highway 66 approximately two miles east of
Lyons.
Rabbit Mountain is an open relatively treeless environment making July and August
extremely hot midday. We recommend early evening or
early morning use during these months. Winter is the best time to observe raptors at Rabbit Mountain.
Rabbit Mountain 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 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 Rabbit Mountain map is a 100 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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