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Coal Creek
| This is a flat, easy-going, civilized
trail. I started in the middle, at the Aquarius Trailhead, but you
could start at either end and have a walk (or bike ride) of 7–8 miles,
one way. I write in 2009, and I see from the trailhead map that the
open-space folks plan trail extensions in both directions.
One afternoon in January, I walked from the trailhead
and turned to the southwest. Right away, I had to stop and admire the
Rocky Mountain back range in the distance. The Indian Peaks were lined
up white and jagged, forming the Continental Divide, and Longs Peak
reached up especially tall and massive.
The trail is broad, smooth, and easy walking. I passed
through some farm and ranch land, past a prairie dog colony. This is
not a wilderness experience but follows the creek and sometimes
irrigation ditch corridors with huge, sprawling cottonwoods and
birdsong. I walked along the Coal Creek Golf Course and into a
big-house neighborhood. Well, I guess we can find a little wildness
even here. I walked along the sidewalk, past neat front yards, and a
big coyote loped down the street toward me, past, and on into the
fields. I thought it was a German Shepherd at first, but dogs don't
run free around here.
At this end of the trail , I crossed under Highway 36,
under McCaslin Blvd. and ended at Grasso Park in Superior.
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Another day, from Aquarius to the northeast, I wandered
across high grassland and passed from Aquarius Open Space into
Adler/Fungru Open Space, past another prairie dog colony, and then down
to the creek. The cold, winter water danced and sparkled as it flowed
east. In places, the water was clear against a light, gravel bed. In
other places, the bed was dark with algae and roots, and the water
looked almost black. I stopped and admired a tiny, white feather that
was caught in the water by a twig.
The trail is comfortable and smoothly graveled. Parts are even paved.
But east of highway 287, there is a nice stretch of narrow footpath
close along the creek, while the "real" trail runs parallel a little
higher up. I had to do some ducking under branches along this
unofficial path, but I enjoyed the variety and relative solitude, with
most of the bikes and dogs a bit off in the distance. I passed six
robins high in two trees, one bird singing in steady bursts.
As I approached Public Road, I passed the remains of the
old Vulcan Coal Mine, one of the reasons that these little towns of
Louisville, Lafayette, and Superior were first established. There were
heaps of debris flecked with black and some bits of concrete and iron.
I'm always grateful for the way that time softens human depredation.
What was once litter and wreckage gradually becomes picturesque ruin
and interesting artifact. A little farther east, there is an old
railroad bed up an embankment to the north, one of the original
railroad beds into the mine. It extends from Public Road to the west
one or two hundred yards and then seems to curve to the north to form
some kind of roundabout. At one time, the train maybe came this far, to
the edge of the coal yard, and then circled to make its return trip —
but recent grading could well be obscuring the older ways. It's
interesting to run into bits of the fairly distant past tucked in among
the roads and buildings of recent development, like the first layers of
wallpaper in an old house maybe.
East of Public Road, the trail passed through open
field, crossed the creek a few times, and wound among dark,
gaunt-looking cottonwoods. The bark looked twisted and tortured. The
branches were angular and exploded in a skeletal, fractal pattern, much
rougher than the more regular, feathery appearance of other bushes. Of
course, I was looking at their bare, winter dress. In the spring, all
would be more softly and lushly clothed.
And then the surroundings got a good bit more
industrial, with trucks and steel warehouses, and the current trail
ended at 120th St.
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A version of this article was
published in
50 Plus Marketplace News, 15:4, p. 9, 4/2009.
Boulder Open Space Trail Map
(PDF)
| Getting There
In Boulder, take South Boulder Rd. east through
Louisville. Turn right on Highway 42 (also 95th St.), curve around to
the east, and the Aquarius Trailhead is on the left at the top of the
rise.
Click on the above thrumbnail for a photo of the map
posted at the trailhead. A good trail map for all of Boulder County is
available from the Boulder Area Trails Coalition (link on home page).
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