Running Ridgway State Park Colorado

Last month I was supposed to run the San Juan Solstice 50 Miler in Lake City, CO, but like Hardrock 100, it was cancelled this year. Massive amounts of snowfall and avalanches in the San Juan Mountains have left many trails and high passes inaccessible. In addition, avalanche debris threatened to clog streams and rivers in and around Lake city which could cause flooding. This race has been on my bucket list for many years and I was excited to finally have the opportunity to run this year. Fortunately, I have the option of rolling my entry over to next year so I will get to run anyway; God willing and the creek don’t rise.

Sneffels Range, San Juan Mountains

Anyway, I already had plans to vacation with my family in Ridgway State Park before the race so we had a great time in Colorado despite the race drama. Ridgway is located just north of Ouray, home of the famous Hot Springs Pool and YES, we enjoyed a day soaking in the relaxing warm waters surrounded by snowy peaks. Beats the heck out of slogging up and down mountains all day just for a T-shirt and finisher’s medal, don’t you think?

Ouray Hot Springs Pool

Ridgway Reservoire

During our stay, I enjoyed some early morning trail runs within the state park which surrounds the Ridgway Reservoir. Most of the trails are made of smooth fine gravel which was a nice change from my usual trails of rocks, rocks and more rocks with an occasional rattlesnake. I was actually able to look around at the awesome snow covered peaks reflecting off the surface of the lake. From here, there are great views of the mountains dominated by Mt Sneffels (14,157′), known as the Queen of the San Juans. The lake is surrounded by hills and mesas covered by juniper and pines.

Mt Sneffels (14,157′)

There are three main sections in the park with trails connecting them. We camped in the central part, Dutch Charlie where there’s also a boat ramp and swim beach. To the North is the Pa-Ko-Chu-Puk area with trout ponds and access to the Uncompahgre River. The ponds are a great place for kids to fish; Maddie caught quite a few rainbow trout on her pink barbie fishing rod. To the South is the Dallas Creek picnic and fishing area. 

Nervous smile, I'm not sure if she's happy or sad 

Sego Lily

On a chilly cloudy morning, I departed the Elk Ridge campground descending a series of switchbacks on Twin Fawn Trail which led to the lake. I ran on the road for a short while past the swim beach and picked up the Enchanted Mesa Trail which goes along the lake to the Pa-Ko-Chu-Puk area. The beginning of the trail is a flat sidewalk, but then climbs a dirt trail up to a mesa. Green grass, sage and wildflowers were interspersed with cacti and tiny yucca plants along the trail. It was strange to see desert plants flourishing next to lush vegetation. 

Flowering yucca

The yucca stalks were covered in buds and flowers. Silky milk blossoms were opened at the top; bell like buds tinged with purple hanging down in the middle. Some of the less mature plants had bulbous buds resembling miniature Chinese paper lanterns. While the trail was flat and easy, I had a hard time running for all the natural beauty around me. I had to stop frequently to take pictures, but who cares when you’re on vacation? Life’s too short anyway, so we should slow down often to take in the scenery and enjoy each and every moment.

Penstemon 

No sooner did I start running again; while peering out onto the glasslike surface of the lake, when I saw a weird ripple such as one made by the Lock Ness creature. I stopped to see if the thing might surface again, but I couldn’t see anything because I was a far distance away. In a short while however, the long curved neck popped out of the water so I zoomed in with my camera (Panasonic Lumix DC-ZS70 with 30X zoom) to get a good look. Well, on the head was a bright blood red Lucifer-like eye; black and white coloring like yin and yang on the head and neck. It was the long yellow bill though, that made me believe it was a Western grebe. These amazing large water birds dive for fish and can stay under water for long periods of time. Their large feet enable them to skitter on top of the surface during their mating dance that is completely in sync like a waterskiing show at Disney. Incredible!

Watch the amazing dance here:

I continued along the Enchanted Mesa all the way to the dam end of the lake where I stopped at an overlook. The trail continued down off the mesa to the fishing ponds and other developed areas of Pa-Ko-Chu-Puk, but I turned around to head back to my campsite. I enjoyed a most inspiring view all the way back. The blue-green of the slick lake surface and the majestic mountain range in the distance were as picturesque as that calendar hanging in your kitchen except on a much grander scale. When I returned to the developed area, I took a short trail through the RV campground and picked up the Wapiti trail back up to Elk Ridge campground for a total of almost eight miles.

From Elk Ridge there’s a short trail called Sunset Ridge that leads to a nice deck that overlooks the lake. The deck has been built around a tree which adds a nice touch to a peaceful sitting area where you can be all zen and mindful-like. This is an excellent place to watch the sunset in the evenings.

Cara and Maddie on the meditation deck on Sunset Ridge Tr.

Smooth buffed out trails.

On another run, I decided to head south to the Dallas Creek area so I took the Wapiti trail off the ridge and picked up the Cookie Tree Trail. This trail was named after the Cookie Tree Ranch that was flooded in 1989 when the dam and reservoir were built. I left at twilight and watched the sun illuminate the pristine white pinnacles of the mountain range as it slowly came up. Clouds billowed overhead shrouding the highest peaks. The trail took me down a few switchbacks where a rock wall held up the slopes of sage, wildflowers and yucca. When I reached near lake level, the trail became paved, so I decided to traverse a rocky area to reach the gravelly shoreline of the lake. I ran on this beach until I reached the park road and then continued through the picnic area. 

Dallas Creek Area

This is where the Uncompahgre River flows into the reservoir and a pedestrian bridge crosses the river. I decided to cross to view the river from the bridge and came to a sign that warned of bear activity in the area. This is definitely bear country so I carry bear deterrent on my hydration belt just in case. Unfortunately, an aggressive bear in one of the campgrounds had to be euthanized just last month. In addition, a man recently videoed a bear dragging a road killed deer off the highway near this park. They believe the bear was chasing the deer when it got struck by a car.

Uncompahgre River

I crossed the bridge and ran a trail that went through a thicket with many game trails threading through the tangled brush; perfect denning and bedding for bear, deer and cougars. I didn’t stay too long and headed back the way I came. The sun was getting higher in the sky on my way back and I took some great photos of the lake and mountain range. Again, my run was between 7-8 miles round trip. There are other trails in the park that allow you to taylor your run to any distance and just across the highway is the Ridgway Area Trails System.

Blue bird

Ridgway State Park is a great place for a family vacation. They have a beautiful visitor center that hosts a Jr Ranger program so Maddie worked very hard over our five days to get her ranger patch. One of her assignments was to visit the boat inspectors to learn about Zebra Mussels so, thanks to Maddie, I now know more about these invasive creatures than a biologist with a PHD. The campgrounds with showers were well kept and ice and firewood were readily available. The location is an hour or less from Telluride, Silverton and the Black Canyon of the Gunnison National Park. I’m looking forward to returning next year as I toe the line for the 2020 San Juan Solstice Trail Run. 

See you on the trail.