Java
July 17th, 2011, 06:40 PM
I got stuck working this morning and missed going on the Peru Creek run. We wrapped up late morning and my wife and I decided not to waste the beautiful afternoon by checking out West Magnolia from the Hwy 119 side. We've driven past it numerous times and always said we'd stop some day, so today was it. Getting there was easy, we took 44th out of Denver to Ward Rd., turned North and followed the 72 signs out west, turned right (North) on 119 towards Nederland and went just about a mile to a very sharp left on West Magnolia. The main road is just a dirt / gravel road, washboarded (but no Rampart Range rd.!!) and fine for a car. We parked at the West Magnolia trailhead, a dirt lot on the left side with one of a few map / kiosks in the area that show all the trails and a "you are here" marker, and crossed the street to hike 926a- one of the most Aspen dense trails I've seen, must come back in the fall. The North side of the road is all non-motorized trails with no camping, the South side is motorized trails with lots of camping spots. We did 926a to 342, 342a, 925e and out on 925f- all easy hikes on short mostly level trails full of Aspens, Pines and flowers, nice mellow hiking for a hot afternoon.
From the rear of the West Magnolia parking lot you can enter the motorized trail system on 355t; east of the lot you can enter it on 355c; at the west end you can enter it on 355, and it's all FUN!! Suitable for almost anything with 4 tires and an engine... 355 is the one mentioned on Traildamage, and we took a little of it- it runs N-S, then we turned on 355c, an E-W road that goes back to West Magnolia, and we also did 355t and reversed our loop twice. None of it was hard, I never went into 4wd but there were puddles, rocky hills, tight spots, and with the shortness of the trails and abundance of campsites it's a totally perfect place to go solo. You could walk out or find help very quickly. There was a 4Runner screwing around too, and a very cool forest service guy on an ATV patrolling the area who liked Java and was telling me to hit the puddles faster for our photos. :D Not the trip I was hoping for today, but not bad for making lemonade. We didn't do 355d or 355 towards Rollinsville, but I want to set up a run here soon starting at the Rollinsville side to see them, and especially to visit the old Champion Mine off 355.
From the rear of the West Magnolia parking lot you can enter the motorized trail system on 355t; east of the lot you can enter it on 355c; at the west end you can enter it on 355, and it's all FUN!! Suitable for almost anything with 4 tires and an engine... 355 is the one mentioned on Traildamage, and we took a little of it- it runs N-S, then we turned on 355c, an E-W road that goes back to West Magnolia, and we also did 355t and reversed our loop twice. None of it was hard, I never went into 4wd but there were puddles, rocky hills, tight spots, and with the shortness of the trails and abundance of campsites it's a totally perfect place to go solo. You could walk out or find help very quickly. There was a 4Runner screwing around too, and a very cool forest service guy on an ATV patrolling the area who liked Java and was telling me to hit the puddles faster for our photos. :D Not the trip I was hoping for today, but not bad for making lemonade. We didn't do 355d or 355 towards Rollinsville, but I want to set up a run here soon starting at the Rollinsville side to see them, and especially to visit the old Champion Mine off 355.