Flatirons Vista and Doudy Draw Trails

Flatirons Vista and Doudy Draw Trails

The rolling meadowlands of Doudy Draw are a springtime delight. Purple penstemon and lupine, delicate white Sego lily, vivid yellow-flowering prickly pear, and scarlet Indian paintbrush appear in profusion in June and July; pick up a field guide, plop down in a patch of prairie, and your knowledge of local flora will bloom with the wildlands. The easy Doudy Draw Trail ends as a rather stiff climb onto a broad mesa that offers grand views westward into Eldorado Canyon. Some might consider the Flatirons Vista portion of the hike, atop the mesa, marred by the power line that traces its course, but walking westward along this path at sunset, when the mountains are backlit by the last of daylight and the plains glow rosy, is sublime. Both trail and power line are set in the shrinking tallgrass prairie that once dominated the high plains along Colorado’s Front Range. Boulder County has been a leader in preserving this fading ecosystem, which sustains a number of grass and wildflower species.

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