Recently had a wonderful bluebird day which made for a lovely snowshoe. I, of course, don’t go without my camera in tow. This time around I chose Caribou Ranch Open Space in Boulder County. It was a nice drive up there and I only found 2 other cars in the parking lot which meant I had a nice quiet time. The only sounds I heard were my snowshoes and the sounds of winter in the wilderness. The total distance is about 3-4 miles which is perfect on a winter day. There is a little bit of slight uphill, but nothing a novice couldn’t handle. You’ll be snowshoeing on the Eldora Line of the Switzerland Trail of America and there is an historic marker to tell you more about this. The added enjoyment to being on Caribou Ranch is the beautiful red barn and home built on the property. A little history of Caribou Ranch. In 1971 a barn was converted to a recording studio on private property near the open space. This studio, called Caribou Ranch, attracted artists such as U2, Billy Joel, Chicago, Elton John, Rod Stewart, and many others. The studio closed after a March 1985 fire destroyed the control room. If you want to go a longer distance, you can also explore the nearby Blue Bird mine site. I didn’t get a chance to do this, but I imagine it could be fun.
