Hiking – Hike a loop trail in Pine Valley Open Space Park and into Pike National Forest

We will hike a counterclockwise loop around Pine Valley Ranch and into the Pike National Forest.  The first 3.25 miles follows the Buck Gulch trail heading mostly south.  We'll intersect the Skipper Trail, head east and follow it for the next 1.25 miles before connecting to the Strawberry Jack Trail.  We'll follow Strawberry Jack north for another 2 miles and finish with the Park View trail for the last 1.25 miles back to the cars.  (miles are approximate).  A CalTopo map of our route is:  https://caltopo.com/m/4C8G.  From this map, you may upload our route onto your hand-held GPS device or your cell phone app such as GAIA.  If you prefer you may refer to the CoTrex map of the area here:  https://trails.colorado.gov/map/@39.392565,-105.359507,14.88z/details#activity=hiking.

A weather forecast will be emailed prior to the day of the hike.

On the morning of May 20th, we'll meet at the Wooly Mammoth Park and Ride, Section BB at 7:00 AM for a no-later-than 7:15 AM departure.  The drive is about 35 miles and takes about 45 minutes.  There are restrooms at the park, so there will be no stop along the way.  The Google map for the Wooly Mammoth Park and ride is:  https://www.google.com/maps/place/Wooly+Mammoth+Park-N-Ride/@39.6994,-105.2060444,15z/data=!4m6!3m5!1s0x876b834ff41a9ed9:0x5df7faf457889c75!8m2!3d39.6994!4d-105.2060444!16s%2Fg%2F11ddyzyk6s.  Pine Valley Ranch is located 6.6 miles south of Pine Junction on CO highway 126.