Walker Ranch
Walker
Ranch offers a rich mosaic of mountain habitats to explore in any season.
Ponderosa pines and Douglas firs are interspersed with open meadows and
aspen groves. Small streams dissect the hills before joining South Boulder
Creek.
You will find a great diversity of plants, animals and birds. Coyote,
deer, black bear, mountain lion and wild turkey frequent the area and elk
migrate here from higher elevations in the winter.
Walker Ranch has multiuse trails and a group
shelter available for visitors.
Fishing
is also allowed here. Walker Ranch is also an important historical site
and hosts special events of historical
interest every season.
It is located off of Flagstaff Road
about 7.5 miles west
of Boulder.
On September 15, 2000, the Eldorado Fire
burned about 1,062 acres, almost exclusively on Walker Ranch.
Rehabilitation efforts have been completed.
History
The historic Walker Ranch was one of the largest cattle ranches in this
region of Colorado. In 1882, James and Phoebe Walker filed a claim to
homestead 160 acres of open meadow with a year-round spring.
Designed for a self-sufficient lifestyle, the homestead was complete with
farmhouse, root cellar, granary, smokehouse, springhouse, chicken and
turkey houses, a wagon barn, a corn storage and pig barn, and various
corrals and fenced pastures. This homestead is now the focal point of the
park's designated historic district. We are restoring the buildings,
dating back to the late-19th century. The homestead is closed to the
public except for special events.
The Walker family continuously expanded the ranch. It included 6,000
acres when it was sold in 1959. The County began to purchase the land in
1976. We now own 2,566 acres and lease an additional 1,212
acres from the Bureau
of Land Management. This open space property is listed on the National
Register of Historic Places.
Events
Each season, Boulder County Parks and Open Space hosts a
Walker Ranch Special Event at the homestead where costumed volunteers
demonstrate the daily chores of a working ranch.
Tragically, the historic farmhouse at Walker
Ranch burned to the ground in 1992. The department is currently
rebuilding the house for use by a resident manager for the open space
property.
Construction is currently underway and may take up to 12 months to
complete. From the outside, the house will
look as it might have in 1881 when the Walkers first moved in. However,
construction will include the county’s new green building code,
BuildSmart, that sets requirements and recommendations for improving
energy efficiency, conserving water and resources and reducing waste
generated by new residential construction and additions.
For further
information about the project, contact Project Specialist Randy Coombs
at 303-678-6208 or
rcoombs@bouldercounty.org.
South Boulder Creek flows through Walker Ranch from Gross Reservoir
located upstream and west of the open space boundaries. Both bait and fly fishing
are permitted. The stream is periodically stocked with rainbow trout.
Anglers can gain access to this area by hiking the South Boulder Creek
Trail from the South Boulder Creek trailhead off of Flagstaff Road or from
the Ethel Harrold trailhead off Bison Road. All Colorado state fishing
regulations apply.
 Walker Ranch has over 3,778 acres of backcountry. There are over 12
miles of multiuse trails at Walker Ranch. The Walker Ranch Loop (8.2
miles) and the Meyers Homestead Trail (2.5 miles) are both multiuse trails
open to hikers, mountain
bikers and equestrians.
However, equestrians are strongly discouraged from using
the eastern leg of the Walker Ranch Loop by the Eldorado Canyon Trail
because of steep staircase conditions.
Dogs
are permitted on all trails and must be leashed and under the control of
its owner or guardian at all times.
The Meyers Homestead Trailhead area has a group picnic shelter area
with individual tables and grills that can accommodate up to 50 people. Shelter reservations can be
made for the group picnic site by calling (303) 678-6222. To ensure this
facility's availability a reservation and fee are required.
Additional picnic tables are located at the Ethel Harrold Picnic and
Trailhead, off Bison Road, via Pika Road.
Restrooms are available at the both trailheads.
Walker Ranch can be accessed from either the Meyers Homestead Trailhead
on the west side of Flagstaff Road, or the Walker Ranch Loop Trailhead
on the east side of Flagstaff Road, about 7½ miles west of Baseline Road
in Boulder. The Walker Ranch Loop can also be access the via Eldorado Springs State Park,
with parking at the Crescent Meadows lot.
Walker Ranch Map
Weekend use by mountain bicyclists on the Walker Ranch Loop is high.
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 Walker Ranch map is a 375 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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