Apex Gulch Loop

Apex Gulch Loop

This loop is illustrative of the complex interface between the urban corridor and the relative wild of the foothills of the Rocky Mountains. It begins on the edge of a dense subdivision, complete with lawns and swingsets; Heritage Square, a popular amusement park and shopping area is to the south. As you climb up the east-facing flank of the Front Range, the city and its suburbs spread eastward like a concrete blanket. But as you crest the mountain, signs of civilization give way to a pristine ponderosa parkland, complete with beds of colorful wildflowers and an abundance of songbirds. At the western border of the park, it is civilization again, this time in the form of a mountain subdivision. But as you drop into Apex Gulch, nature takes over again, filtering out the sights of man’s handiwork with a shimmering riparian curtain, and drowning the sounds of the city with the tinkling of the creek. The frontier history of the gulch trail is interesting, too—the Apex and Gregory Wagon Road, which runs up Apex Gulch, the centerpiece of the park, once led miners west to the gold mines of Central City and Black Hawk.

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