Lake Gulch Trail

Lake Gulch is one of the signature short trails inside Castlewood Canyon State Park, the Colorado Parks and Wildlife unit near Franktown, and it is the one to do for the view-to-effort ratio. On its own it is about 0.9 miles per the park, rated moderate, starting from the main visitor-center area and descending toward Cherry Creek. Most people do not do it on its own; they link it with the Inner Canyon Trail into a loop of roughly 1.8 miles that is one of the most popular short hikes in the south metro, or extend toward the dam for something closer to 2.8 miles.

The payoff is the overlook toward the Castlewood Dam ruins and, on a clear day, Pikes Peak. Castlewood Canyon's dam famously failed in 1933 and sent a flood toward Denver, and the ruins are still there; Lake Gulch gives you the framing view of that story before you drop into the canyon. The terrain has boulders and varied footing and a couple hundred feet of relief, enough to feel like a real hike in under two miles.

This is a fee area, which is the practical thing to plan for. Castlewood Canyon requires a Colorado state-parks pass: a daily vehicle pass in the $10 to $15 range or a $4 individual daily pass, with an annual pass paying off fast if you come back. Leashed dogs are allowed on Lake Gulch on a six-foot maximum leash, though note pets are not allowed on the park's East Canyon Trail, so keep your route to the dog-legal trails. Bikes and horses are not on this trail; the park restricts them to roads and the Cherry Creek Regional Trail.

The park is busy, and on a holiday weekend the lots fill early; Castlewood is a place we love in shoulder season and avoid at peak holiday times. Go early, bring the state-parks pass sorted in advance, and do the Lake Gulch and Inner Canyon loop for the best short outing in the park.