We discovered Castlewood Canyon last May as we took an alternate route to Denver to avoid some backups on I-25. We were rather embarassed to discover a state park so close to our home that we had never known existed.
Castlewood Canyon is just south of Castle Rock, CO. The canyon contains remnants of a dam which was built in 1890 and proceeded to burst in 1933, killing two people and numerous livestock in the process. Apparently the structural integrity of the dam had been questioned several times throughout its history, but citizens were repeatedly assured that the damn was completely safe. Guess politicians haven't changed much in the last hundred years! Here's a picture of the dam site.
In the 90 degree heat we headed out on a trail that would take us by the dam remnants. Guess you could say we hiked the dam trail at the dam park. (Yes, you should be thinking of Chevy Chase right now.) The ranger assured us that it was approximately 3 miles round trip to the dam and some nearby waterfalls. It was a great hike, and we had no kids asking "How much longer are we going to be out here?". However, the ranger was grossly off in his estimate. 3.5 hours later as we were wrapping up our round trip, we found a trail guide which gave trail lengths. Our "3 mile" round trip was actually about 7-8 miles roundtrip! However, we had a great time hiking through both the rugged, rocky terrain and the marshy plains near the creek.
When we were about a half mile from completing our hike, we encountered our biggest excitement of the day. It could certainly count as another new adventure for me! A woman hiking the opposite direction told us that she had just passed some signs warning that a rattlesnake had been spotted in the area. We appreciated the warning and continued on our way. A bit down the trail we spotted an orange cone with the rattlesnake warning sign taped to it. Just beyond that were a couple hikers who said, "We found the rattlesnake that was in the vicinity. It is right there on the trail." We looked about 15 feet up the trail, and there it was - quite alert, I might add. We pondered whether or not there was any way to walk a safe distance around the snake. At this point on the trail we were heading up and out of the canyon. We were on a set of stairs which were making a rather sharp turn to the left. Directly on the left side of the trail was a "wall "of rock; to our right was a steep down-sloping embankment. Craig took one step towards the snake, and the snake gave a definite warning rattle. Nope, we were not going to try to get around this fella. We all decided the only option was to scale the rocks to our left. It was not a huge wall, so we were all able to get up and over the edge with just a bit of knee-scraping on my part. This was as close to an active rattler as I ever hope to get. Once while hiking near Pueblo we saw a rattler who was curled up under a rock and minding his own business. I was OK with that. Yesterday's fella, however, was just a bit too aware of us humans. Of course, as we were scaling the rock and crossing the patch of land to rejoin the trail, I found myself thinking, "OK, we know there are ratllers here, how much harder are they to see in the grass?" Freaky feeling. Here is the cranky serpent.
Rattle snakes aside, I would definitely recommend Castlewood Canyon to any local folks. It is a short drive from the Springs and offers a full day's worth of trails. There is a northern section of the park which we didn't even visit. Just be sure to wear high boots, keep your eyes on the trail and keep your ears open for that distinct "stay away from me" rattle!
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