Roam The Unique Red Rock Landscape of Roxborough State Park
Colorado is home to some of the largest and most scenic forests in all of the United States. Because of this, the state is well known for attracting a wide variety of nature enthusiasts, adventure seekers, and those looking to escape into the wilderness.
Traveling to Denver? Even from the largest metropolitan city in the state, you can find numerous wonderful nature destinations just in arms reach. Which makes it incredibly easy to combine both city and nature in just one day.
Perfect for nature lovers, like ourselves, who love both culture and the outdoors when traveling.
Just south of Denver resides the incredible Roxborough State Park. Discover beautiful scenes made up of forests, meadows, and massive red rock formations. Being just outside the city, this landscape is not one to miss!
The Geologic Landscape of Roxborough State Park
Roxborough State Park resides along the foothills of the impressive Rocky Mountains of Colorado. Specifically in the ecotone, or transition in between the habitats, of plains/grasslands and Front Range forest communities.
Outside of the mix of gorgeous valleys and forested hillsides, the park is most admired for its stunning red rock formations.
This almost 4,000-acre park has a wide stretch of tilted sandstone slabs that formed over 300 million years ago. From gradual erosion and uplift of the Ancestral Rocky Mountains, these rock slabs erupt from the ground and currently sit at a 60° angle, pointing up towards the sky.
A very similar landscape to that of another red rock park in Colorado known as Garden of the Gods near Colorado Springs.
Besides the picturesque red rock formations, Roxborough State Park is filled with many other noteworthy features. Including a large variety of plant communities, all sorts of wildlife, and even a historical site. All of which you can easily experience in just one trip!
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The park is located just south of Denver, about 45 minutes from the central downtown.
Denver is also the best place for lodging, food, shopping, and nightlife. If you’re interested in checking out the party scene that is! The music scene is big here which is also what interested us in staying in Denver compared to the other surrounding smaller cities.
Park Address: 4751 E Roxborough Dr, Littleton, CO 80125
Park Info:
- Hours: 8:00am – 5:00pm, gates close at 4:30pm
- Daily Pass: $8.00 (prices subject to change)
- Annual Vehicle Pass – $80.00 (prices subject to change)
After you pay and pass the park entrance, follow the road for a little way until you reach the parking lot near the visitor center.
Make sure you stop in to check out some of the interpretive displays, exhibits, and the short introductory film that explains the trails, flora, and fauna of the park. Don’t forget to pick up a park map which details out all the available trails.
TOP TRAILS AT ROXBOROUGH STATE PARK
- Carpenter Peak Trail – 6.2 miles roundtrip, strenuous
- Fountain Valley Loop Trail – 2.2 miles roundtrip, moderate
- South Rim Trail – 3 miles roundtrip, moderate
- Willow Creek Trail – 1.4 miles roundtrip, easy
If you’re visiting the park, we highly recommend completing one (or a few) of the many trails! There is a handful to choose from, all of which take you through the beautiful scenery of Roxborough State Park. Much better than just kicking dirt near the main entrance!
We only had time for 1 trail being at the tail end of our 8-Day Colorado Road Trip. By the later afternoon we were flying back home to Los Angeles!
We chose Fountain Valley Loop Trail which offered 2 epic viewpoints and 1 historical site along its path.
You can see a full map of the park and the trails here through the Colorado Parks & Wildlife website.
Hiking Fountain Valley Loop Trail – The First Portion
Fountain Valley Loop Trail is the perfect choice if you’re looking for the best views of the red rock formations and want something not too long or strenuous. Also, it’s an ideal trail to see much of the park all within 2 hours or less.
HIKE DETAILS:
- Distance: About 2.2 miles roundtrip
- Elevation: 320 ft
- Route Type: Loop
- Difficulty: Easy-Moderate
- Time to Complete: 2 hours
KNOW BEFORE YOU GO:
- Despite the short length, make sure you bring proper hiking shoes as the trail can get fairly rugged
- There is little to no shade on this trail, don’t forget sun protection like sunscreen or a hiking hat during the hotter months
- Bring enough water to stay hydrated
- If visiting in the winter, snow will most likely be present so don’t forget proper cold-weather clothing for snow hiking
You can find the Fountain Valley Loop trailhead to the right after leaving the visitor center. We chose to hike the loop in a counter-clockwise fashion. This way you see both viewpoints early on.
Upon starting, you’re immediately walking right next to the tall red rock formations on your left. Well, that’s nice!
Quickly though, the trail curves right, temporarily taking you up a small hill and away from the slabs. Don’t fret though, because you’ll soon approach…
FOUNTAIN VALLEY OVERLOOK
Just 0.21 miles into the hike, you’ll already be coming up on one of the best overlooks in the park – Fountain Valley Overlook. Find it marked on the left side of the trail. Make the quick walk up to the overlook for an excellent view of the rock formations.
From this high vantage point, you’ll see the stunning red rocks stretching across the valley in both directions.
We were visiting during the dead of winter, meaning these slabs were beautifully covered in white powdery snow. Creating a wonderful contrast of colors that enhanced all the curvatures and joints of the rocks.
Once done, head back down to the trail and continue onward. The path remains fairly flat and treks you further away from the red rocks and out into the valley. (Don’t worry! You’ll be together again soon!)
Up ahead you will reach a junction. This is the start of the actual loop. Either way you go, it doesn’t matter. But if you wish to see the 2nd overlook first, head right to go counter-clockwise.
This portion of the valley is much more wide open than before. Take a big breathe of fresh air and enjoy the wispy, tall grass on either side along with some rolling hills scattered in the distance.
Soon enough, you’ll reach Lyons Overlook on the left side once again.
LYONS OVERLOOK
Head left up a slightly longer path compared to the first overlook to reach Lyons Overlook. Once at the top, walk out onto the wooden boardwalk on the right for an up-close and personal view of the red rock formations.
This viewpoint is not as wide-stretched as the previous one, but it still offers amazing sights of all the unique rock structures directly in front of you.
The combination of green trees, meadows, and snowy sandstone peaks is a sight we immediately fell in love with.
We feel so grateful to have such incredible geological formations so easily accessible and close to home (or hotel)! It was a trip being here knowing we were flying out to California on the very same day!
Once you’re done gazing at the view, head back down to Fountain Valley Trail to continue.
The next stretch of the trail descends through the valley for a little while. Slowly winding you through a beautiful countryside of meadows, some shrubbery, and a wide-open sky. How can anyone not be instantly relaxed here?!
Reaching Persse Place of Roxborough State Park – The Second Portion
Around the halfway point of Fountain Valley Loop Trail, you’ll come up on the historic Persse homestead. An otherwise random place for a house to reside, but it does tell an interesting story.
Henry S. Persse constructed this stone house back in 1903 along with a few of his business partners. On top of the house, Persse wanted the land development company to turn the surrounding land into a resort. Complete with a hotel, golf course, and guest cottages.
Although, after the visit of Denver Mayor Robert Speer, he deemed the land too scenic to be privately owned and suggested it become part of Denver’s public park system. Sorry Persse.
While he never lived in the house year-round, it was used for guests to promote his idea of turning the Roxborough area into a resort.
Eventually in 1975, the Colorado Division of State Parks purchased all 500 acres of land from Persse and created Roxborough State Park. The park today stretches over 3,000 acres which is much more than Persse originally envisioned for his resort.
Persse’s homestead has been restored and left on the land for visitors to appreciate. You cannot go inside the house itself, but you can peer in from the outside windows.
There are a couple of other buildings nearby that you can walk up to and look at as well.
FINISHING THE SECOND PORTION OF THE TRAIL
After passing Persse’s place, you’re now on the second half of the Fountain Valley Loop Trail. Unlike before, this section has you walking much closer to the actual red rocks.
Follow the flat path through more gorgeous meadows and trees while you admire the many jagged peaks off to your right.
While there are no overlooks on this portion of the trail, you’ll get to enjoy a different perspective of the rocks. More specifically a ground-level view of the slabs towering above you. Basically walking alongside them the majority of the time till you reach the visitor center.
The overall walk back to finish the loop is easy, relaxing, and beyond scenic. We saw a few deer roaming about and a bit more wildlife down in this lower section of the park.
Visit outside of winter and you’ll see a completely transformed land filled with greenery as to the snowy winter wonderland. No matter the time of year, we know that Roxborough State Park is breathtaking during any season.
Continue winding a bit further till you reach more dense brush. You’re nearing the end and will soon be back at the visitor center and parking lot.
Enjoy an Easy Escape Into The Red Rock Scenery of Roxborough State Park
If you’re visiting Denver, live in Denver, or just briefly traveling through Denver, you need to add Roxborough State Park to your bucket list.
Finding spectacular red rock formations just 30-45 minutes away from the big city is a real surprise. To top it off, the quick and easy Fountain Valley Loop Trail lets you see these red rocks and all the best aspects of the park in just a few hours.
Walkthrough rolling meadows, gaze upon massive sandstone slabs, and peek in at a historic homestead all along one trail.
With only half a day to spare, Roxborough State Park was the ideal destination to include on our itinerary. We highly recommend this park to anyone who’s venturing through the area. And of course to any other red rock lovers like ourselves!
If you’re wanting more red rock landscapes such as this, be sure to check out Garden of the Gods near the city of Colorado Springs!
For those road-tripping Colorado in winter, check out our post on these 5 Must-See Colorado Parks in Winter.
Have you been to Roxborough State Park or somewhere similar? What did you enjoy most? Tell us in the comments below!
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