White Ranch Park supports nearly 20 miles of well-maintained multi-use trails that stretch through open grasslands, ponderosa parks and montane forests. The Belcher Hill Trail is White Ranch's longest and most connected, an ideal starting point for any route across the Park.
The Belcher Hill Trail runs northwest across the foothills to a small creek (.65 miles : 6,260'). Note the uniquely shaped foothills around you. Tectonic forces related to the greater Rocky Mountain uplift created ripples that forced rock layers to bulge and compress at the base, creating anticlines - or convex folds on the earth's surface.
As the bulging anticline's softer sediments eroded, only hard ridges - known as Hogbacks - remained from the previously rounded hilltops. Good examples of this can be seen to the north as you climb.
The trail moves easily to the Whippletree Trail split (1.15 miles : 6,510') and turns sharply SW on a winding, moderately strenuous push into the foothills.
Views improve on a methodical climb past connections for the Longhorn Trail (1.85 miles : 6,870'), Mustang Trail (2.4 miles : 7,245'), Roundup Trail #1 (2.55 miles : 7,285'), Roundup Trail #2 (2.8 miles : 7,385'), Maverick Trail (2.85 miles : 7,420') and Sawmill Trail (2.95 miles : 7,462').
These ponderosa parks are home to deer, elk, turkey, coyote, bear, rabbit, hare, porcupine, mountain lion and bobcat. Note the introduction of fir and aspen as you progress.
The Belcher Hill Trail narrows past the Sawmill Trail, pushing steeply to a west-facing rim near the trail's highest point (3.65 miles : 7,840'). Itl comes to the 2nd Mustang Trail split and turns north (3.75 miles : 7,855'), dropping steeply down a heavily forested hillside to the Park's west parking lot on Belcher Hill Road (4.12 miles : 7,650').
Cross the road and parking lot to the Belcher Hill Trail's terminus at the Rawhide Trail junction (4.5 miles : 7,465'). Consider a short trip on the Rawhide Trail for great views across high meadows and surrounding peaks in the heart of White Ranch.
Ponderosa forests are naturally maintained by low-intensity fires every 5-15 years that keep populations and competition to a minimum. Mature ponderosa pine bark is resistant to such fires, while their cones rely on heat to open and release seeds. European settlement in the late 1800s ushered in decades of fire suppression, producing forests of unnatural densities susceptible to widespread, high-intensity fires from which they cannot always recover. White Ranch is working to restore natural conditions through controlled burns and selective cutting.
The Paul White family owned and operated this land from 1913 to 1974 as a commercial cattle ranch. After Paul White's death in 1969 his wife, Anna Lee White, initiated a purchase-gift agreement for the land with Jefferson County Open Space.
Anticipate heavy mountain bike traffic on this trail. Be mindful of private property lines and respect homeowners' privacy.
The Sawmill Hikers Campground is located 1 mile from the parking lot.