Lions Head and Lions Back Trail – Staunton State Park

The weather during these first few days of December have continued to be mild. Hayden and I decided to take advantage of the sunshine to try out Colorado’s Staunton State Park. We figured Lions Head, as the highest point in the park, would be an appropriate destination. After the winter camping fail, a simpler hike seemed like a good idea.

Staunton State Park and Lions Head

Colorado has a slew of beautiful state parks to compliment the national parks and open spaces we have here. I’d never been to Staunton State Park despite it being so close. It’s an easy drive to get there at less than 45 minutes from my house. The park opened in 2013 and remains Colorado’s newest state park.

Lions Head is the highest named peak in the park with an altitude of about 9,500′. Our plan was to take the Staunton Ranch Trial to Lions Back ending at Lions Head. The entire route is about 11-12 miles and is a moderate hike, mainly due to the distance. There aren’t any long, steep parts to this trail.

Easy Beginnings on Staunton Ranch Trail

We left the parking area and caught the start of the Staunton Ranch Trail. The trail is a wide, gravel walkway. It looks to be pretty popular with trail runners as we saw a few enjoying the beautiful day. Within 100 yards, we saw a deer lounging under a Ponderosa Pine. He had a nice set of antlers and didn’t seem concerned in the least about people nearby.

The Staunton Ranch Trail travels through fairly open Ponderosa Pine forests. It is mostly flat with climbing walls off the trail. It seems like the climbing walls are popular here. Hayden casually mentioned he would be interested in rock climbing someday. I was just glad he didn’t want to today since that’s not really my thing…it kinda scares me!

There weren’t a ton of people out although we did meet some other hikers and, as I mentioned, a trail runner or two. Everyone was really courteous and we all masked up as we approached each other. Several people had their dogs out and both the people and dogs seemed to be happy.

Transition to Lions Back

Eventually we intersected with Lions Back which is essentially a forest service road. The forest here was more dense spruce which made for a nice break from the warmer exposure we’d been experiencing. There was snow on the road allowing for the opportunity to do some boot skating which Hayden excels at. I tend to land on my behind when I give it a go so I decided to take a pass on it.

About 4.5 miles from the trailhead, you reach the Elk Falls Pond. The pond was frozen over with about 4-6 inches of snow on it. It was pretty, so I have no idea why I didn’t take a picture. Maybe it was because Hayden distracted me by trying to break the ice of the frozen creek with a rock. He was unsuccessful.

The hike from Elk Falls Pond to the overlook is about another mile. There are some short, steeper sections but nothing too strenuous. Some of the snow was packed down on the trail so Hayden was able to do some more boot sliding. I focused on trying to get my breathing under control on this short, not that steep section. Hmmm, conditioning still needs work. We spotted a couple more deer along this section.

Elk Falls Overlook

The next stop is the Elk Falls Overlook at about 9,200′. Once you arrive at the overlook, you get to see great views of the surrounding mountains and the valley containing a lot of Staunton State Park. It was a nice spot to grab a snack after 2 hours of hiking.

Skipping Lions Head today

Lions Head is about a mile past the Elk Falls Overlook. Hayden had an appointment at 3:00 so we knew we weren’t going to be able to make it this time. We spent some more time absorbing the peaceful quietness of the overlook before heading back down. What a great place. I know we’ll be back to do the full hike sometime.

Few interesting notes on the hike down

This trail is an out and back although you can do the Chimney Rock Trail or Marmot Passage Trail to add some distance and variety on the return (or the way up). We didn’t have the time to fully explore these areas. It gives another good excuse for a return trip.

We saw the same two deer relaxing on the way down from the overlook to Elk Falls Pond. It appeared to be a mother and her youngster.

Hayden attempted to break the ice in the creek again, this time using a large log. He wasn’t successful, again. 🙂

There were some good views from the valleys as we headed towards the parking lot.

We made it back to the car and Hayden took a shot of me. My spare tire cover says it all!

Summary of Staunton State Park

The park provides a large number of easy to moderate trails. It’s a great place to do some trail running or just get outside to enjoy the day. Given its close proximity to Denver, I’m sure we’ll be back to explore some of the longer hikes in the park.