Castlewood Canyon
2989 CO-83, Franktown, CO 80116
For many years a unique dry-land heronry occurred in the park, where great blue herons nested. The herons can still be found in the park. Additionally, ground-nesting birds, such as western meadowlark, vesper sparrow and horned lark breed in the park. Several raptors may be observed as well, including golden eagle, turkey vulture, Swainson’s hawk, Cooper’s hawk, red-tailed hawk and prairie falcon can be found in the park.
Castlewood Canyon State Park
Located approximately 20-25 minutes from my house and about half way to my friend Buffalo’s house, the park does not seem to get a lot of traffic. There are several trails, a decent-sized canyon, a dam, which broke in 1933 to cause the great flooding of Denver, approximately 35 miles away, which you can read about here.
I tend to visit the park in late summer or in the winter months as it is overrun with rattlesnakes in the spring and early summer months due to the rocky outcropping, caves, and boulders available to house the nasty venomous monsters (okay, they’re not monsters but this dude does not like snakes of any variety!). I have seen a lot of nesting birds of prey in the park in the past, predominantly turkey vultures, which serve a critical role to the ecosystem.
The park isn’t a fantastic location for summer Milky Way photography due to the growth in nearby Elizabeth as well as its proximity to Denver, Castle Rock, Parker and other nearby cities.
