Dakota Ridge

Dakota Ridge high point

Overview

Dakota Ridge is a great all-season area to go hiking, running, and mountain biking. This is my first visit to this section of the park, though I have climbed Mount Morrison from the main Matthews / Winter Park Trailhead before. There are many trails that comprise the park area, my trip was from the northern most trailhead located in the Stegosaurus Park-n-Ride lot, there are additional entrances that are discussed in the Directions/Trailhead Information section below. I will caution you that there may be icy sections of the trail, especially on the northern sections of the ridge, so packing along some foot traction in the winter months may be a good idea. I hope you enjoy this trip report and find it helpful in planning your next adventure in the hills.

Directions/Trailhead Information

View along the Dakota Ridge

Matthews / Winter Park has a few trailheads, the trailhead used for this trip is located within the Stegosaurus Park-n-Ride lot at the coordinate’s—latitude 39.697322°, longitude -105.203290°. This is a Jefferson County Open Space Park, where more information such as additional trails and park regulations can be found at—Matthews / Winter Park. From the Denver area, make your way along I-70 W to County Rd 93, which is exit 259. From the exit turn left (south) on Country Rd 93, drive under the freeway and take the first left (east) into the Stegosaurus lot. Park near the entrance, this is where the trailhead is located. There is a large parking lot with over 100 spaces, there are no restrooms, but there is an information booth with printed maps of the park. The parking lot may fill quickly with weekend travelers heading to the mountains, so keep this in mind if you wish to use this trailhead. Alternative access points for this route are Dinosaur Ridge (latitude 39.686274°, longitude -105.193061°), and Rooney Road Trailhead (latitude 39.696365°, longitude -105.193800°).

The Climb

Today’s objective was to hike Dakota Ridge from the north to the south, where it connects to the Dinosaur Ridge Park area. I thought this would take about 2 hours, and I started on the tail about 11 AM. I headed up the Dakota Ridge Trail, which had extensive patches of ice, though I wore my micro spikes which didn’t hinder my travels. The trail appears to get a lot of activity, just not on a Monday. I only ran across two people on the ridge all day.

Nick on the summit of Dakota Ridge

From the trailhead the route climbs a moderate grade as you work to gain the ridge. Within 15 minutes I was at the first Scenic View as shown on the Jefferson County Map. I considered this the high point of the Dakota Ridge. From this Scenic View the ridge follows a downward trend to the termination of the trail along the W Alameda Pkwy road within the Dinosaur Ridge Park area. The route goes through some excellent geologic sections of the area. There are large outcroppings of the fossilized ripples left over from the Cretaceous Sea, as well as clear lithological units where the Lyons Sandstone and the Peerless Shale are highlighted. I highly recommend this hike for anyone that has interest in geology.

This was a yo-yo route, so once I made it to the end of the trail, I had a snack and headed back up the route. It took me about an hour to get to the mid-way point. The way back had most of the incline with about 500 vertical feet to climb. My roundtrip time was 1 hour and 53 minutes, so I was pretty close in estimating my total time on the route today.

Parting Notes

This is a great place to recreate. It was nice to be able to come on a weekday after a fresh batch of snow. This helped keep the trail activity down and allowed me to feel a bit of solitude in a park that is part of a large metro area. I imagine this is a very busy area on the weekends and in the spring/summer months. I highly recommend this as a winter hike. The geology alone is worth another trip with the family at some point. Until next time, cheers!

GPS Track

Date: January 14, 2019

Trailhead Elevation: 6,390 feet

Dakota Ridge: 6,649 feet

Total Elevation Gain: 693 feet

Class: 1

Distance: 4.3 miles

Moving Time: 1 hr 53 min

Stopped Time: 0 hr 6 min

Climbing Partner: Solo

GAIA GPS Link: Dakota Ridge (2018-01-14)

Jefferson County Open Space Map Link: Matthews / Winter Park