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A five-mile loop through forested areas with open meadows and views of the Front Range Mountains.


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Map Key

5.0

Miles

8.0

KM

97%

Runnable

6,841' 2,085 m

High

6,531' 1,991 m

Low

398' 121 m

Up

405' 123 m

Down

3%

Avg Grade (2°)

9%

Max Grade (5°)

Dogs Leashed

Features Views · Wildflowers

Description

The five-mile loop trail on Dawson Butte Open Space travels through mostly forested areas with open meadows and views of the Front Range Mountains. The trail follows gently rolling terrain but near the bottom or southwest part of the trail, there's a section with a lot of sand.

Going clockwise from the parking lot, the first two miles of the trail are through meadows populated with stands of scrub oak. This portion of the trail descends about 400 feet. At the two-mile mark, the trail begins to climb and for the next two miles passes through a Ponderosa pine forest. A picnic area is located at mile three.

The trail climbs steadily for the last three miles, and after mile four passes through the top of a meadow before ending at the parking lot. Multiple side trails allow for a customized run of varying distances. The trail provides numerous excellent views of the Front Range and the Palmer Divide.

This is a multi-use trail; be aware of your surroundings and of other users.

Flora & Fauna

Scrub oak, pondarosa pine, meadow grasses and wildflowers.

Contacts

Shared By:

Richard Cota

Trail Ratings

  3.8 from 20 votes

#8048

Overall
  3.8 from 20 votes
5 Star
25%
4 Star
35%
3 Star
30%
2 Star
10%
1 Star
0%
Trail Rankings

#617

in Colorado

#8,048

Overall
19 Views Last Month
1,903 Since Aug 17, 2017
Easy/Intermediate Easy/Intermediate

57%
14%
29%
0%
0%
0%

Photos

Dawson Butte.
Aug 17, 2017 near Perry Park, CO
Dawson Butte.
Aug 17, 2017 near Perry Park, CO
A peaceful meadow and the Front Range Foothills.
Aug 17, 2017 near Perry Park, CO
Path into the forest.
Aug 17, 2017 near Perry Park, CO
The climb out.
Aug 17, 2017 near Perry Park, CO

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Weather


Current Trail Conditions

Unknown
Add Your Check-In

Check-Ins

May 4, 2022
Tom Rosenkrans
Sep 2, 2020
Corbin Larsen
Run with my wife 5.1mi — 1h 03m
Jul 25, 2020
Amber Livesey
5mi
Jun 19, 2020
Corbin Larsen
5mi — 0h 45m
Oct 20, 2019
Ben F
Fairly flat. In dry conditions trail is on the sandy side. A few roots to watch out for, not rocky at all.
Dec 15, 2018
Patricia Prater
6mi
Oct 28, 2018
Josh Sprague
Family hike
Mar 25, 2018
Katie Rutherford
First trail run of 2018 for me. Cool, crisp morning. No people! Loren, Lucy & I saw some turkeys & deer. Easy trail, light pace. 4.8mi
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