Lions Gulch

Lions Gulch is located north of Boulder, Colorado on Colorado Highway 36 in the Roosevelt National Forest. Colorado is a hikers paridise, and our Jack Russell Terriers were eager to conquer it. This hike follows the watershed on the eastern side of the frontal range up to Homestead Meadows. You start by hiking up the watershed which in Colorado is called a gultch, surrounded by intense Colorado sunshine. The area is dry and covered in grasses, mountain brush, pines, firs, and large rocks. You will cross Lions Gultch seven or eight times allowing your Jack Russell Terriers plenty of occasions to cool off. As you reach half way, the trail moves to the opposite slope becoming shaded, moist, and covered with dense vegetation. The air is cooler, and you notice the distinct change in your surroundings.

As you hike farther, you leave the forest and enter a long, open mountain meadow full of wildflowers. This area is called Homestaed Meadows. Land was given away in twenty-five acre plots to lure settlers out west around 1800 to 1869. Visible evidence remains scattered all over the meadow. The Jack Russell Terriers romped and played in the beautiful mountain meadow surrounded by several mountain peaks. The trail starts as a steep climb, but it levels off as you enter the meadows. We would rate this hike a medium because the return trip was alot easier than the trip up. The hike up to the meadows and back is five miles round trip, but we hike the meadows for several hours making it an eight mile trip. This was our first hike in Colorado so Homestead Meadows is a great memory. The hike took about five hours, and there was plenty of room for three Jack Russells to roam.