Lion Gulch Trail And Homestead Meadows
From Coloradohikingtrails
Lion Gulch Trail And Homestead Meadows
This scenic and historic trail (US Forest Service Trail No. 949) climbs Lion Gulch to Homestead Meadows, where the U.S. Forest Service has preserved the remains of eight homestead buildings that were built between 1889 and 1923. Most of them were abandoned during the Great Depression. The ascent up Lion Gulch is a steady climb of about 1,100 feet, but the trails in the Meadows that connect the homesteads are relatively level and make for easy walking. The Forest Service has erected a number of interpretive signs along the trail and at each cabin in the meadow, making it an educational hike for kids (and adults alike), if they can handle the climb and the distance.
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Trailhead Information
Lion Gulch Trailhead
Near To: Estes Park, Colorado
Driving Directions To Trailhead
From Estes Park, head east on Hwy 36 toward Lyons. The trailhead and parking lot are about 8 miles outside of town on the right side of the road at mile marker #8.
From Fort Collins, drive up the Big Thompson Canyon (Hwy 34). Before reaching Estes Park, make a left onto Mall Rd., a connector road just below the Lake Estes Dam. This will take you to Hwy 36. Turn left on Hwy 36 and go 6 miles to the trailhead.
From Lyons, drive west on Hy 36 about 12 miles. The trailhead and parking lot are located on the left side of the road.
Facilities are available, no water.
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Lion Gulch Trailhead Maps & Images Lat: 40.315056 Long: -105.40592
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Trail & Hike Description
The 3 mile distance is to the trail junction at Homestead Meadows. Visiting all of the homestead sites will increase the distance to about 6.5 miles. However two of the homestead sites are just a short distance beyond the trail junction. A visit to the Walker and Griffith homesteads is about 3.2 miles one-way.
At the Lion Gulch Trailhead, there is a double-sided information board covering the history of Lion Gulch and Homestead Meadow - well worth a read before beginning your hike. The trail descends to a bridge that crosses the North Fork of the Little Thompson River, where there is an information plaque about Homestead Meadows. The trail parallels the river, then crosses a second bridge, the first of many crossings of a small creeek that flows through Lion Gulch. There is a fork in the trail shortly after you cross the bridge; the fork to the left for hikers, and to the right for horses. These trails merge about 1/0 mile up the trail, after which hikers and horses share the same trail. After the fork, the trail begins one of serval fairly steep but short climbs up along the hiillside. It levels out, and soon joins the creek again. Although Homestead Meadows is the final destination of this trail, the journey is a reward in itself. The ascent up the gulch passes through heavily-wooded pine forest, crossing the stream a number of times. The stream crossings are either on a log, or no fixed crossing, but most times of the year, it's small enough to step across.
After a final climb up a particularly rocky stretch of trail, the terrain begins to open up, and you can see the beginnings of Homestead Meadows. Soon you'll pass another information plaque about homesteading, and shortly thereafter is a trail junction with signs that tell you the directions to visit the different homesteads. The Walker and Griffith homesteads are to the North (right) of the intersection. The Walker homestead is on the right, just beyond the stock tank. The Griffith homestead is about 1/4 mile further, beyond the rise and stand of trees. The Irvin and Brown homesteads are about 1.5 miles further to the North.
To reach the other four homesteads (Engert, Hill, Laycock and Boren), turn South (left) at the trail junction, and take the respective trails to these homesteads.
The table below lists the GPS Coordinates (Latitude and Longitude) of the major landmarks and the homesteads in Homestead Meadows. All coordinates are in decimal degrees (DD.DDDD) format. For more information on GPS Coordinates, see the article What Are GPS Coordinates? These coordinates are also noted on the downloadable topographic map of the area (see the link below to download the map in PDF format).
| LANDMARK | GPS COORDINATES |
| Homestead Information Plaque | N40.3073°, W105.4445° |
| Trail Junction In Homestead Meadows | N40.3080°, W105.4462° |
| Walker Homestead (1914) | N40.3090°, W105.4471° |
| Griffith Homestead | N40.3010°, W105.4509° |
| Irvin Homestead (1917) | N40.31585°, W105.4401° |
| Brown Homestead (1918) | N40.3196°, W105.4586° |
| Engert Homestead (1916) (Lost in Big Elk Fire) | N40.2972°, W105.4389° |
| Laycook Homestead (1889) | N40.29415°, W105.4548° |
| Hill Homestead (1916) | N40.3017°, W105.4657° |
| Boren Homestead (1906) | N40.2895°, W105.4606° |
From the meadow, you can see signs of the Big Elk Fire along the ridgetops to the south and west. The Big Elk Fire burned through the area in 2002, but did not reach Lion Gulch or Homestead Meadow.
Heavy use by hikers, bikers and horses, and damage caused by rains after the Big Elk Fire, has caused severe erosion and potentially hazardous trail conditions at certain points along the trail. Exercise cauition in the gulch during heavy rains, as flash flooding has been known to occur.
NOTE: The trail shown on the downloadable topo map does not accurately reflect the actual trail up Lion Gulch. The red track on the map is the track recorded by GPS, and more accurately depicts the path of the trail from the trailhead to the Walker homestead.
External Links & References
Downloadable PDF topographic map of Lion Gulch Trail and Homestead Meadows with homestead locations waypointed on the map
Lion Gulch trail description on US Forest Service web site
Lion Gulch Trail And Homestead Meadows Picture Gallery
Lion Gulch Trailhead |
 Homestead Meadows |
 Griffith Homestead |
