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Castlewood Canyon State Park, a 2,621-acre parkland along state highway 83, protects a cliff-lined canyon carved by Cherry Creek a half-hour drive southeast of Denver. The park preserves the scenic gorge and its unique ecosystems, including pine and fir groves on shady slopes and quaking aspen in moist draws. Hikers enjoy over 14 miles of well-maintained trails that dip into the canyon, traverse wooded slopes, and cross open meadows on the rim. The trails range from the handicap-accessible Canyon View Nature Trail to the 2.6-mile East Canyon Trail, which explores the unspoiled upper canyon. Rock climbers also come to get vertical on over 300 routes on the park’s 60-foot-high conglomerate cliffs. After your hike, stop by the visitor center for films and displays about the park’s history and animals.

MAPS

Castlewood Canyon | Castlewood Canyon 2 | East Map | West Map | Trail Map

The first time I visited Castlewood Canyon was in 1984, twenty years after the state park was created. There were no established trails and no visitor center at this then-unknown area. I parked in the lower canyon and hiked up a narrow path above a deep barren channel. After a mile, I reached the ruins of a stone and earthen dam that once plugged the canyon. This placid site with wide meadows was the site of a major disaster in 1933. On the stormy night of August 3, heavy rains breached the dam and sent a 30-foot wall of water downstream toward Denver. The caretaker warned authorities and in a few hours over 5,000 residents fled the floodplain. The flood reached Denver at 5:20 a.m., causing over a million dollars in damages but claiming only two lives.

Pro Tips

Recommended season(s): Year round.

—Stewart M. Green