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This network of neighborhood trails is located in the northwest corner of Lafayette.
I began in the community of Cross Ridge, on a trail that circles the perimeter. There is a wide sweep of agricultural land to the west, with the Front Range and the snowy Back Range in the distance. I circled clockwise, walked down into Cross Ridge Park, and then turned east along the north side of Arapahoe Ave. It is a dirt path and then paved sidewalk over to Bullhead Gulch Open Space.
Here, the pavement ends and a gravel path turns north along the west bank of the creek. To the east is water and grasses. To the west are the mega-houses of Spring Creek. At the top of the trail, I intersected Spring Creek Dr., which carried me north and west. An inconspicuous dirt trail continues to Heron Lake Open Space. Red-wing Blackbirds sang, but the lake was empty in early April.
Past the lake, I entered Heron Lake Meadows. One could continue west through this community to 95th St. and then turn south. One could wander through Spring Creek and end up at Yarrow Park, or one could simply backtrack along the creek. All roads lead to 95th and Arapahoe. There, I dropped down into Cross Ridge Park again, continued clockwise, turned left onto E. White Oak Ct., to the starting point.
If you'd like two or three miles, this is a nice mix of civilization and nature.
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