White Ranch Park

Jefferson County owns a proud tradition of conservation amid booming development around Denver.

Sales tax portions fund Jeffco Open Space about $45 million every year, according to a Gazette analysis, and the power of those dollars shows at several nature hubs off major highways. Hikers, bikers and equestrians have come to expect well-marked, well-maintained trail systems across the program’s properties.

In Golden, White Ranch Park might be most exemplary.

It’s Jeffco’s biggest preserve at 3,953 acres, with 21½ miles of trail touring flat prairie and steep, rugged terrain. Bordered by fancy homes, it’s impossible not to appreciate the unbroken land.

For an introduction, we recommend a loop starting from the park’s east trailhead. The Belcher Hill Trail follows a willow- and cottonwood- lined creek until a bridge crossing. Here begins the ascent into the foothills

Craggy promontories enter the view, obstructed at first by mansions. After a mile, we hung right for Whippletree Trail, starting the loop counterclockwise, rising higher to no obstructions. The Denver skyline could be seen with the plains to the east, and before us a geologic menu of cliffs and pinnacles.

At the next junction, the Middle Longhorn Trail to the right represents the exit for the downhill, bike-only plunge. Left is Lower Longhorn, which enters a tall forest riddled with rocks.

It’s a steady, switchbacking climb on Lower Longhorn. It meets the Shorthorn Trail, which travels deeper into the trail network. We stayed on Lower Longhorn, enjoying more vistas while descending back to the split with Belcher Hill Trail. We hung left, back the way we came.

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Trip log: 4.7 miles round trip (“lollipop” loop), 1,150 feet elevation gain, 6,876 feet max

Difficulty: Moderate

Getting there: East trailhead at 21827 W. 56th Ave., Golden. Going north on Interstate 25, exit for U.S. 6 west to Golden, where the highway becomes Colorado 93 north. Turn left at second sign pointing to the park, going about 1 mile on 56th Avenue to the trailhead on the right.

FYI: Dogs on leash. Seasonal, reserved camping at Sawmill and Sourdough Springs campgrounds. Trails icy in winter; bring traction.

SETH BOSTER, THE GAZETTE