Lee Martinez Park, 600 N. Sherwood St, Fort Collins, Colorado

Hey all of you Fort Collins denizens and visitors to this beautiful place! This is the first of a series of posts over the Spring and Summer in which I will detail the parks and open spaces of town. We have a lot to offer, but the official town website only has the bare minimum information so I will try and detail these parks to give the reader a little bit more insight about these spaces.  We start with our first, :Lee Martinez Park which is located next to the Fort Collins Museum of discovery at the very North end of Mason st. Not hard to find at all. 

The park has a farm for the kids, basketball courts, a playground, separate jungle-gym for exercising, connecting bike/walking trails, baseball fields, bathrooms as well as a outlet to the Poudre Trail. I have never been to this park and not seen people so don't expect to "get away" from anyone here. However, if you head around on the opposite sides of the center field fences (Not on the fields, the other side) there is a somewhat secluded place to get some meditation or stretching on. I love Fort Collins, but we're not perfect so I will tell you if you are in the park early in the morning or late at night, be careful watching out for transients and other homeless people as downtown is close and the train riding season is in full swing. This goes double when the season turns beautiful. Don't let that dissuade you though. This is definitely a great place to spend some quality time with friends and family.

Pros: Near downtown, clean, bathrooms, variety of things to do in park, large playground. 

Cons: Proximity to homeless population, sometimes overcrowded

An ant carrying a spider for its meal.

Not really trail related but I am always fascinated finding animals doing what they do. Here is a short video I filmed in early Spring in a parking lot in Fort Collins, Colorado. Looks like the ant is about to have a good meal.

The Journey of 7 bridges... Hiking Hanging Lake in the Winter

This is where my wife and I were married and we revisit it every year. I've done two other posts on this exact hike so if there is something here missing you might find it in this post or perhaps this one. It's a moderate to difficult hike in the winter time but it's definitely worth it. You'll definitely need some yak tracks and hiking poles but the poles are optional. We saw some wearing snow shoes but it didn't look necessary and appeared to be way too much work. Of course bring a drink and a snack for when you get to the top. There are seven bridges that you must cross before you get to the final stretch which is also the most difficult part of the hike. If you're overweight or scared of heights then this might be too much for you. This part can be treacherous. Make sure to hold on to the railing and have proper footing (see photos below). Once you get to the top you can walk around the lake and under the falls and depending on the temperature you'll see if the water is actually flowing or frozen. After you have explored the lake, you can hike up a little further and see spouting rock. Like I said, if it's been a cold winter you might not see any water flowing and it'll be frozen shut. Nonetheless you should see breathtaking icicles and you should get more than one good photo. Here are each of the seven bridges and what you can expect of them around the winter time. It took us about 2 hours and 20 minutes for the trailhead then up to the top and down with ample time to explore and mess around. In that time we went 3.7 miles. If you're planning on being up there awhile bundle up. With that said, practically anyone can do this hike with a little inspiration. Good luck! Be safe & enjoy the photos! 

 

Well Gulch Trail at Lory State Park- 9/1/2014

Location:Well Gulch Trail in Lory State Park

Date: 9/1/2014

How far we went: 2.53mi (full trail plus some of the West Valley Trail back to parking lot)

How long it took us: 1hr 15min

Elevation reached: 5,507 ft

Weather: Another sunny day in Colorado :)

To view all of the photos in all of their glory, visit my Flickr album here.

This is an easy trail that is exceptionally beautiful in the spring and summer. You can either head up towards the Timber trail then turn around or just hook a loop at the sign when you see it. It's a small extra climb but it's totally worth it if you're looking to kill time. There are some beautiful views of the reservoir any time of year. Just as a small note, when you finish the Well Gulch trail it will leave you a small distance where you'll have to trek back on the West Valley trail (northwards) back to where you parked. It's not that far but it has confused people before. Make sure to respect the trails! 

The highlighted red section is the Well Gulch trail. Note where it ends and the mach back to the parking lot.