Fountain Valley Trail

Leave No Trace Principle: Know Before You Go

Notice the signs that provide information about the park, its trails, and what you may encounter on your hike. It’s important to know the park rules and to know about the trail you are going to hike to ensure you know what to bring and keep you safe. Note the trail length and elevation gain. Do you have time to do the trail before the park closes? Do you know what weather is predicted for the day? Do you have what you need to ensure your safety and those around you? Do you have maps, enough water, snacks, proper clothing, emergency gear? Do you know the conditions of the trail you are going to hike to ensure you have the proper footwear? If you are not sure, ask in the Visitor Center.

FV1- START THE FOUNTAIN VALLEY TRAIL: Head out now to a coordinate of 326°.

At the “deer track” marker post, you’ll see the control point marker. These will indicate your Control Points as you continue around the trail and throughout the Park.

At this marker, let your imagination begin to find phantasmagorical shapes in the red rocks. Do you see the Witch Rock? She is lying on her back looking skyward. Can’t see her yet? Look to a coordinate of 220°(degrees). My what a big chin she has and there is her gaping mouth below a large nose. Now use a compass coordinate of 266°and head for the Fountain Valley Overlook.

FV2-FOUNTAIN OVERLOOK: Looking west at 250° through the gap in the Fountain Formation red rocks, you’ll see many houses. Those are part of the nearby Roxborough Park neighborhood. In the early 1970’s, a developer purchased much of the land you see around you and planned to develop it with houses, golf courses, and other things, but in 1974 the project ran into problems and declared bankruptcy. This opened the door again for the State of Colorado to acquire the remaining land and establish Roxborough State Park. Imagine all the land you see being houses and streets. What we would have missed? Also look EAST 25°to the Dakota Ridge and distant Tech Center.

Fountain Valley Overlook– Leave No Trace Principle

Principle: Stick to the Trails

Looking west from the overlook, you’ll see a sign with a boot print that’s marked through with a red slash. This marks a social trail that was caused by area folks coming through the gap in the rocks. When people use unauthorized trails, they cause many problems: They disturb the migration patterns of wildlife, create erosion, damage native and other vegetation and lead others to use those trails, causing still more problems. Authorized trails are built to allow people to see the best parts of the park, while protecting the nature around them. It’s important to stay on the trails- Walk through mud and ice to avoid widening the built trail and minimize impacts to the surrounding environment. Remember- camping is NOT allowed in Roxborough State Park.

RETURN TO THE PREVIOUS CONTROL POINT. An “attack heading” is a coordinate toward a physical feature. Resume an “attack heading” of 10°toward the peak on the Dakota Ridge line.

THE Y

FV3- GEOLOGY: You are standing at the junction (the ‘Y’ of the trail) of the Fountain Valley loop. This is a great place to see three formations. Looking first to the west you see the familiar Fountain Formation at 290°. This is the oldest formation in the park. Next, let your eyes travel a short way east to 334°. The buff colored formation you see in front of you is the Lyons Formation. This formation is younger than the Fountain Formation. Finally, and younger still is the Dakota Formation still further east at 10°.

FOUNTAIN FORMATION: This is the oldest sedimentary rock in the park, deposited about 300 million years ago sitting atop the Precambrian Layer 14,000 feet below the surface. This formation was from the late Pennsylvanian and early Permian time. The formation is approximately 1,200 feet thick and consists of red non-marine coarse-grained sandstone interbedded with softer red mudstone. It is red in color due to oxidation of iron rich clay.

Where did the Fountain Formation come from? Existing around 542 million years ago, there was an Ancestral Rocky Mountain range. The formation now represents 242 million years of erosion. Evidence of the Ancestral Rockies is very subtle. The conglomeration of sand and gravel and mud in the formation along with fossilized cross sections of ancient river deposits helps us interpret this ancient mountain system and the erosion that occurred. Similar deposits are found on the western slope of the present Rocky Mountains in places like Vail, Aspen and Minturn.

Why is this formation visible today? The Fountain Formation contains evidence for two periods of mountain building to the west. Evidence of the latest system is easy to see, the Fountain and the younger rocks are tilted approximately 60 degrees. These rocks were tilted upward approximately 65 million years ago during the Laramide Revolution (also known as the Laramide Orogeny), that is uplift resulting from the growth of the present-day mountains.

Looking to the east from this point, you will see the Dakota formation, formed approximately 100 million years ago. Imagine, high on the top of this formation, the Paleo, Archaic, and Woodland Indians, between 1000 and 12,000 years ago, kept an eye on the surrounding areas for big game to hunt for sustaining their life.

Fountain Valley Trail– Leave No Trace Principle

Principle: Keep Wildlife Wild

Looking in all directions from here, you see the homes of many kinds of wildlife. Mule deer, field mice, pocket gophers, coyotes, foxes, striped skunks, black bears, and bobcats all live here. It is important that we keep them as wild as possible by not feeding them, disturbing them, or doing anything else that could harm or cause them stress. To know you are far enough away from wildlife, follow the “rule of thumb”. Extend your arm and make a fist with your thumb sticking straight up. Close one eye and look towards your thumb. If the deer or other wildlife you are looking at is hidden completely by your thumb, you are a safe distance away. If you can still see the animal, move so you are further away.

Continue now on your 10°”attack point” heading to the post which marks the Lyons overlook trail. Another term in orienteering relates to using an ongoing formation, river, forest or other feature as a guide to move along. These are referred to as “handrails”.

FV4- WHERE THE DINOSAURS ROAMED: Look toward the east and the Dakota Hogback where tracks have been found. Now imagine yourself here 100 million years ago, when this area was on the shoreline of an inland sea with beaches, lagoons and swamps. Mangrove trees surround you and dinosaurs are walking along the shoreline. Some scientists believe this shore was a dino migration route and call it the “dinosaur freeway.”

FV5-LYONS OVERLOOK TRAIL: Gambrel Oak (Scrub Oak): Turn here to the west, heading 330° up the Lyons Overlook trail. You are in the Montane Shrubland ecosystem. One of the most dynamic aspects of the park is its many ecosystems. Scrub oak is one of the dominant plants in the park and you are surrounded by it on this trail. These stands of oak are seen throughout the park, but in drier, more exposed areas like this one up the trail, the oak is stunted and small. This area is also home to Mountain Mahogany, hemlock, and Hawthorn. Scrub Oak makes up a shrubland ecosystem. When two ecosystems blend, they form an ecotone from Montane (mountain) shrubland to Montane Forest. You will cross the ecotone as you continue up the trail leading up to the Lyons Overlook. Shortly up this trail, you will arrive at a JUNCTION junction FV5 and proceed on a southward 170° course. Enjoy the valley view and Crop Circles (how did those occur?) that you see, just before the first switchback. Now continue to the overlook on top.

FV7- LYONS OVERLOOK, HISTORY: Within the park boundaries are over 65 archaeological sites. The top of the Lyons Overlook is one. This area was a Native American hunting camp. See why? Looking west to 300 ° into the valley below, the hunters could see a great distance and deer, elk, and bear might be easily sighted.

12,000 years ago, Paleo-Indians occupied this area. The Archaic peoples were here from 7,500 BC to 150 AD. Woodlands people occupied these lands from 150 AD to 1540 AD. Those Woodlands tribes were Kiowa, Utes and Jicarilla Apaches. After horses were introduced in the 1500’s other peoples arrived displacing the Kiowa and the Apache. These newcomers were the Shoshone, Cheyenne, Lakota, Arapahoe, and the Comanche. It remains unclear if any of these tribes inhabited the park area as they were primarily plains people following the bison herds on horseback. What is known is that the Ute people continued to occupy this land.

The first written record of the Roxborough area occurred in 1820. Major Stephen Long (Longs Peak) led an expedition under orders from President James Monroe that explored the Platte River from its eastern end to the Rocky Mountains. On July 6, 1820, the small band of explorers arrived at the mouth of the Platte River Canyon, now known as Waterton Canyon. Long made camp at the canyon mouth and sent small parties out to explore the area. Doctor Edwin James led some of the men here. It is possible they climbed to this very perch and scanned the valley below.

Ferdinand Hayden, a geologist, led survey parties into the Colorado Territory between the years 1868 and 1876. In 1873 he led a survey team that included a now famous young photographer of the early west, named William Henry Jackson. His were the first photographs of what he described as the “red sandstones near Platte Canon.”

You are standing now in a montane forest ecosystem dominated by a ponderosa pine community. The ponderosa thrives in these environments by setting a very deep tap root for water. What other plants do you see?

Lyons Overlook– Leave No Trace Principle

Principle: Share our Trails, No pets

Many people come to Roxborough for peace and solitude and to do things like watching birds and wildlife, looking for wildflowers, and just relaxing. It’s important to remember that, as you enjoy yourself at Roxborough, keep your fellow visitors in mind. If you must play music when you hike, do so with headphones, so you won’t disturb the birds and animals that others are trying to see. Keep noise levels like talking to a minimum or just be quiet and listen to nature. Learn hiking etiquette like letting the uphill hiker have the right of way and stepping aside (on a durable surface) to let others go by if they are faster than you that day. Be courteous please.

NOW RETURN to the junction (J) below and head on a northern 345° course to Park post 7, which is also FV8.

FV8- ANIMALS: What are some signs of animals you can look for while hiking on the park trails? Keep a look out for tracks, scat, nests, and burrows. There are invertebrates such as spiders and centipedes, insects like bees, moths and butterflies, amphibians like frogs and snakes, birds and the most favorite critters for park visitors, mammals. Some of the mammals and birds you may encounter are, mule deer, coyote, red fox, mountain lion, bobcat, mountain bluebird, spotted towhee, stellar jay, golden eagle and turkey vulture. YOU’LL SEE MANY OF THEM IF YOU LOOK FOR THEM!

From here, your new attack point is toward the twin peaks over the trees at 340° to the Persse house.

FV9- WATCH OUT FOR SNAKES! The most common reptile in the Park is the prairie rattlesnake. It is most active in the day and the brown blotchy skin of this snake blends well with the plants along the trail. Read and understand this sign. Stay on the trail and keep a watchful eye where you step!

FV10- THE PERSSE PLACE: The Homestead Act of 1862 allowed early pioneers a way to obtain lands. Within the park boundary are many homesteads. Locate the two log cabins here at 190 °. The one on the right is the original cabin from the 1867 homestead of Mr. Denis Cooper. The other is a storage shed/chicken coop built in 1901 by Henry Persse. Henry Persse brought his family to Colorado from New York in the early 1890’s. His association with Roxborough began in 1889 when he entered into an agreement with Edward Griffith and one year later, became the owner of this land later known as Roxborough. From then on, he acquired more and more land and by 1902 he was sole owner of many land parcels. The Roxborough Land Company was formed in 1902 with the objective to conduct “places of resort and residence; and to that end to erect, hold, own, conduct, manage, equip, lease, sell and dispose of hotels, cottages, stores, and other structures….” The plan was to create a place where people would come for relaxation at a first-class resort. The stone house in front of you 310 ° was then built by Mr. Persse in 1903. You can still see the Persse family crest under the eastern eave of the house. Unfortunately, Mr. Persse was struck and killed by a Denver streetcar; the Roxborough Land Company dissolved in the 1920’s, and none of the grand plans were realized. After the dissolution of the company, an industrious and hard-working local farming and ranching family bought 3,600 acres of land in and around what would become Roxborough State Park. In 1970 the family sold their land to the residential developer the Woodmore Corporation.

Scouts- You will need to determine a height measurement for rank advancement. Using the link and information at the beginning of this website- What is the height of the Persse house, from the ground on the east side to the peak of the roof?

Persse Place – Leave No Trace Principle

Principle: Leave It As You Find It

Roxborough is home to about 65 archaeological sites, and many more natural and historical sites. These places of the past and present help teach us how people lived and survived in the hundreds of years before we got here. It is important that we preserve these and protect them for others to enjoy and learn from them. Leave historical and archaeological items alone. Take pictures of them if you’d like, but leave them in place and don’t pick wildflowers. Flowers and other vegetation provide food for wildlife, and some only propagate when their flowers dry up to produce seeds that are distributed by wind, rain, wildlife, or the plants themselves.

Head west now on a coordinate of 235°. Just across Little Willow Creek, look for the stump of an old cottonwood tree that is visible to the southwest from where you are walking. You can see it in the foreground when looking toward Washington Rock. Having trouble seeing George? His profile appears to be laying on his back looking up, with his chin to the north and his forehead to the south. That cottonwood tree in front marks the only known wildfire in Roxborough. It started when the tree was struck by lightning. The tree smoldered for days, before it burst into flames. Luckily, the park staff was quickly able to extinguish it.

FV11- NAMING THE ROCKS: Did you know?- In the early years of the park’s existence, this area was not known as Roxborough. It was Henry Persse, in the early 1900’s, who officially changed the name to Roxborough after his family ancestral home in Ireland. In the early days and for the reason you are now seeing, this whole area was known as Washington Park after this famous Fountain formation to the west at 235° that resembles our Founding Father. When Denverites began visiting this area, there was confusion with two Washington Parks; one in Denver and the other here. Mr. Persse fixed that.

Rock formations are usually named for the location of the first place where they were initially described. The Fountain Formation was first described near Fountain Creek west of Colorado Springs. The Lyons Formation for the area around Lyons, Colorado. When you climbed the Lyons trail up to the overlook, you were standing atop the Lyons Formation. Most of the formations in the park do not have names, so feel free to make some up as you continue south.

Washington Rock – Leave No Trace Principle

Principle: Be Careful with Fire

Think about the devastation that could occur if a fire started in Roxborough. Homes nearby would be in danger and the park would lose much of what makes it so special today. Open flames are not allowed in Roxborough. Dispose of smoking materials and cigarette butts properly before you begin your hike.

FV12-ECOSYSTEMS OF ROXBOROUGH: Looking around, you might realize that Roxborough State Park not only has unique geology, but because it is a crossroads of the plains and the mountains and between northern and southern climes, there is an overlap of five distinct ecosystems here.

RIPARIAN ECOSYSTEM- 310°Where you are standing is a wet meadow community called a Riparian Ecosystem. “Riparian” means a streamside community with tall grasses and wildflowers including wild iris, yarrow, and mustards. Animals are not often or easily seen in this ecosystem. We can see gopher diggings, and garter snakes and in early spring one might hear the croaking of chorus frogs.

MONTANE SHRUBLAND ECOSYSTEM- 250° As you walk the Fountain Valley Trail you are in the Montane Shrubland Ecosystem. This is an area of shallow soil that supports a variety of plants, oak, hawthorn, mountain maple, wild rose, hemlock, gooseberry, wild currant, and mountain mahogany. Mountain jays and spotted towhees are plentiful. Rock squirrels live in the rocks, prairie rattlesnakes sun themselves on the trail and mule deer browse on the grasses and leaves.

MONTANE FOREST ECOSYSTEM- 235°Looking west and south across the sedge-meadow aspen trees are visible. In this stand are Douglas Fir trees. There are ‘bear trees’ in the aspen grove. Evidence is left by bears clawing and climbing the aspen. The grove is home to black-capped chickadees, spotted towhees, black-headed grosbeak, and northern flickers.

GRASSLAND ECOSYSTEM- 30°Dry grasslands are found in the open, level and slightly sloping areas as seen in the open space between the Lyons and Dakota formations. Here there is more exposure to wind and sun. The grasses are brome, cheatgrass and timothy grass. Prickly pear and yucca are prevalent as is the non-native mullein. Voles, bull snakes and rattlesnakes make grasslands their home.. STAY ON THE TRAIL! ON YOU GO!

FV13-THE LYONS FORMATION: LOOK UP! You are now between the Fountain Formation 250° red sedimentary rocks and the pale buff-colored sedimentary rocks of the Lyons Formation 135-160°. Looking up at the Lyons formation gives one an idea of the depth of the windblown sand dunes that formed it. The fundamental concept in geology, the law of superposition. This term, superposition, tells us that in an accumulation of sediments the oldest are on the bottom, the Fountain Formation, and the youngest at the top, the Morrison Formation. Note that these formations or ridges along the Front Range are tilted up thus revealing in geologic time their age. These ridges are known as “hogbacks”.

The Fountain Formation are rocks formed 542 million years ago and deposited as a sedimentary layer of eroded cobbles, pebbles, quartz, and feldspar 300 million years ago. Thus, this Paleozoic formation represents 242 million years of earth time. The Fountain Formation is approximately 1,200 feet thick. The Fountain Formation was first described near Fountain Creek west of Colorado Springs. Rock formations are usually named after the places where they were initially described.

Look up at the Lyons Formation! 280 million years ago, during Permian time, the climate was extremely dry and sand dunes covered large portions of what is now the United States. This was the time of the supercontinent Pangaea that was formed by the collisions of smaller continental plates. By this time, the Ancestral Rocky Mountains to the west had eroded down to form low hills and were becoming the Fountain Formation. As the wind carried blowing sand to form dunes, they covered the red low eroded hills. The Lyons sandstone at Roxborough ranges from tan or buff-colored to light red. The Lyons Formation is approximately 120 feet thick.

Now picture what this area looked like 280 million years ago with low hills to the west, with sand dunes to the east and streams running through them, carrying fine sand particles further east to the ocean that covered eastern Colorado back then. KEEP HEADING SOUTH DOWN THE TRAIL.

FV14- THE OPERA HOUSE AND BALANCED BOULDER: Keep imagining. Can you envision being on stage in an opera house or theater? Seating for thousands to your east at 100 °. And how about that large boulder balanced on a point at 94°! Use your imagination. What do YOU see?

FV15- THE MONOLITHS, ALMOST HOME! Look up once more. Remember being on top of the Lyons outlook? See it now at 114° from down below. You can also see the monoliths at 190° up close and twin draws at 290°. Let grandpa know that he can sit down on the comfy bench waiting on your left. Whew! From there, continue south on the trail back to the Y junction, hang a right and enjoy the downhill stroll to the Visitor Center.

Hope You Enjoyed Your Roxborough Adventure

Many Other Trails Are Waiting Here For You – Come Back Soon!