Willow Creek Trail

VC1– ROXBOROUGH STATE PARK VISITOR CENTER: This is where it all starts for another journey through 1.4 billion years in geological time. You can check out the specifics at the Visitor Center, which were shown at the beginning of the Fountain Valley Trail OR you can get out your compass and look at your map.
Hopefully you studied just a bit, figured out, and wrote down coordinates to your control points. If not, give it a try now and then start hoofing on a coordinate of 280° from the visitor center to the Willow Creek Trailhead. Control Points will be marked by the tag above on descriptive posts.

WC1– WHERE IT ALL STARTS: Enjoy but pay attention! At the entrance to this trail are signs that discuss several dangers and how to respond to them, including bears, mountain lions and more commonly, rattlesnakes. Other than having more folks near you and a nice trail; once you pass these signs, a wonderful part of your hike today is that things are pretty much just as they were 150 years ago. You are an explorer and it’s important to know what you’re doing. Mountain lions frequently roam this area and prey mainly on the mule deer that live within Roxborough and the surrounding areas. A male lion can live 20 years and weigh up to 200 pounds; stalking and pouncing on prey and then remaining protective of it for days while it feeds. You will probably never see one of these animals here, but if you’re going to wander through their living room, be sure to know how to react if you do meet them. Be cautious! If you are hiking alone, do not let children run ahead or become separated from your group. ALSO- pay attention to the signs and areas teaching you about poison ivy, which enjoys living near this trail in many locations. You do NOT want to learn poison ivy lessons the hard way. Now check for a coordinate of 210°down the trail or a general direction attack coordinate of 180°toward the high point of the Fountain formation in front of you. Relax, Enjoy and be on your way.

WC2– LEAVE NO TRACE: Shortly after you start, you’ll pass 2 benches on your right and cross over a very short wooden “bridge”. 100 yards ahead of that on your left, the trail has been fenced and you’ll see the large boot print with a red slash through it- The LEAVE NO TRACE sign, just as on the Fountain Trail. Once again, you’re seeing an area where just short term trail blazing and exploring caused damage that will require years to recover. Resume an attack heading of 150°or simply use the Fountain formation as your handrail. PLEASE stay on the trail! Resume an attack heading of 150°or simply use the Fountain formation as your handrail. PLEASE stay on the trails.

WC3– SO MANY THINGS TO EXPERIENCE AT THE FINE 9: If you’re standing at Post 9, everything is moving in the right direction. This is a great place to take in so many different things and use all of your senses.
The easiest things to notice are the different formations from early geological periods in time. Grab your compass and take a look… Behind you, at 210°and 260°is the Fountain formation. At 240°you’ll see the granite foothills. To the east is the Dakota ridge at 115°with the South Rim trail across the top, and at 45°, you see the Lyons formation. Now take in the different ecosystems here as well, from the montane forest on the western foothills to the shrublands to the streamside habitat to the grasslands. Now Really Look– Count how many different types of grass and small plants that you see. How many different shrubs and small trees? How many different types of large trees? Birds or animals? There are 145 different types of birds here and over 50 species of moths and butterflies, 11 amphibian and reptile species and mammals including black bears, mountain lions, deer, elk, fox, coyotes, prairie dogs and rabbits. Now listen. Let the airplanes and the people around you move on and then Really Listen. Is that a golden eagle or maybe a red tailed hawk calling? Maybe smaller birds or animals rustling in the shrubs? Do you hear the wind? Maybe if you’re listening really hard, you can hear what Silence sounds like. If you take just a few minutes occasionally to really observe, rather than simply plodding through and looking at the vistas, you’ll be amazed at the world you’re in. Set your attack point for 130°over the nearest pine and head out.

WC4– At the Junction: Turn east at the trail junction of Willow Creek, South Rim and Carpenter Peak to a coordinate of 100°and continue onto the Willow Creek trail.

WC5– The Helmer Ranch: Before 1970, this meadow was part of a large, working cattle ranch, cris-crossed by ranch roads which are now largely overgrown by cheatgrass and thistle. The ranch, known for its Hereford cattle, was owned by Toney and George Helmer and encompassed most of today’s Roxborough State Park.

WC6– The Bridge and Bench, Creekside: This is a great example of a streamside community in a riparian ecosystem as you cross Willow Creek. Here you’ll find Water loving plants like cotton wood trees, narrow-leaf cottonwood, mountain maple and box elder that frequent the area. Small shrubs like hawthorns, Boulder raspberry (non-edible), and grape vines can also be found. Also look for Wildflowers like violets, buttercups, waterleaf, poison ivy, and horsetail.
The scrub oak behind you (as you look east), and the hogback in front of you, are homes to a great many different bird species. In the scrub oak are typically small birds that use the scrub oak for cover and food. Black capped chickadees, red- and white-breasted nuthatches, spotted towhees, woodhouse jays, and others eat the acorns, gather nesting materials, build nests, raise their young and shelter in these oaks. On the hogback, golden eagles, red-tailed hawks, prairie falcons and other raptors often perch looking down on the grasslands for rodents, rabbits, and other mammals to prey upon. At times, the eagles and other raptors will nest in the rocks and raise their young. At the end of the bridge, near the bench is the Lyons formation sandstone, up close. Note how different it is from the rough Fountain Formation rock, which is full of large stones and cobble. The Lyons formation sandstone is smooth and very uniform in grain size. Rest a spell, take everything in and then move east.
Look to your right as you continue along the trail.

WC7– Limestone Outcrop, Lykins Formation: On the right side of the trail at post 13, approximately 140 yards east of the bench at 110°, is a large piece of limestone that indicates you are standing on or near the extent of the Lykins formation. The Lykins was deposited about 250 million years ago and was part of an ancient ocean that encroached in this area. This was a time of extinction of the creatures that were present, and sea creatures with shells died off in masses. The shell materials, made of calcium, sank to the bottom and formed
layers and layers of calcium carbonate, or limestone. The boulder you are looking at is made of ancient sea creatures. Now continue east on the trail to the Control Stake and shoot an attack coordinate of 12°toward the South Rim Trail junction.

WC8– The Willow Creek / South Rim Junction: You are now standing on the Morrison Formation which was deposited about 150 million years ago. The Morrison formation is soft sandstone and shale, deposited in the time of the dinosaurs. Dinosaur bones have been found in the Morrison formation next to that nearby town and dinosaur tracks in numerous locations. GUMBO alert! If you’ve been walking on muddy, slippery trails today due to rain or snow, this portion of the trail and its different sedimentary material forms extremely sticky, clinging mud that you’ll be wearing as ever growing shoes from here on. Wishing you a dry day; head north now from the
junction, using the Dakota hogback as your handrail and make your way home.

WC9– A Rocky Mystery: Looking up the slope to the east for the first 75 yards from the junction, you’ll find a mystery of sorts. You are looking at large rocks and boulders that are typically granite in composition, but if you remember, granite is what makes up the foothills including Carpenter Peak to the far west of your present position. How did these large chunks of granite get here nearly a mile away from the granite outcroppings? Geologists believe that large rain and flood events carried these boulders across the valley and up the slopes, as the valley began to erode. That small creek must have been a raging torrent in the distant past to carry rocks of nearly a ton in weight!

WC10– Where Have You Been and Who Was Here Before You? As you return to the end of the trail, take time again to really look and listen to your surroundings. You’ve walked through and on the remains of Rocky Mountains that were here and mostly gone before our current mountains even existed. You’ve been on ancient ocean beaches, prehistoric swamp lands, the trails of dinosaurs, and the hunting grounds of Paleo-Indians who roamed and hunted here as far back as 8,000 years ago and as recently as the Apache, Arapaho, Comanche and Ute tribes who treasured this area into the 1860’s. They roamed these hills and hunted and clashed for centuries. Their tools and arrowheads were made by chipping stones from the top of the Dakota Hogback and they made their hunting camps here, shielded by the rocks of the Fountain Formation that you’ve walked through. Enjoy the golden currant bush on your right and the willows to your left as you cross over the footbridge and complete your adventure!!HOPE YOU ENJOYED YOUR VISIT
COME BACK SOON…