Current Features: Bobcat Ridge Natural Area

• 9 AM With at Naturalist- Saturdays in October at the Picnic Shelter, free, no registration necessary.
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  More natural areas events and programs are listed in the Fall Program Guide.
  

About Bobcat Ridge Natural Area

Bobcat Ridge Natural Area is west of Masonville and is over 2,600 acres. Here you'll discover grasslands, foothill shrublands, ponderosa pines and Douglas fir forests. Bobcat Ridge is home to elk, mule deer, wild turkey, mountain lions, bobcats, raptors, black bears and songbirds. Several original homestead sites dot the landscape providing a story of the area’s early human use and settlement. Pieces of the Past (pdf, 41 MB) is the historical story of Bobcat Ridge Natural Area. Bobcat Ridge is free and is open daily from dawn to dusk! See the site brochure and trail map, updated April 2008. (PDF 3.6MB)

Trails at Bobcat Ridge

• The Ginny Trail is 5.4 miles long and climbs 1,500 feet, through open, steep and rocky terrain to Mahoney Park, a beautiful meadow with interesting rock formations and great views. The Ginny Trail is open for hiking and mountain biking (closed to horses).
• The D.R. Trail is 3.4 miles long and climbs 1,100 feet through ponderosa pines to Mahoney Park. The D.R. Trail is open to equestrians and hikers (closed to cyclists).
• The Powerline Road is 1.5 miles long, it climbs steeply and has many loose rocks. Not recommended for horses, uphill only for cyclists.
• The Valley Loop is a 4.0 mile loop, with a short spur to the historic cabin (cabin is 1 mile from trailhead)
• The Eden Valley Spur Trail is an out and back route, 1.3 miles

The construction of the Ginny and D.R. trails was funded in part by the Virginia D and D.R. Pulliam Charitable Trust and the City of Fort Collins Natural Areas Program's dedicated sales tax revenue. A special use permit from the Roosevelt National Forest allows portions of both trails to cross National Forest Service lands. The trails are named after Ginny and D.R. Pulliam, previous owners of the Bobcat Ridge property.

Want to learn more about how the City plans to manage Bobcat Ridge? See the Bobcat Ridge Natural Area Management Plan (PDF/2605K)

Visiting Bobcat Ridge

• Horse trailer parking is limited to 8 spaces, so if the parking lot is full, please come back another time.
• Dogs are not allowed at Bobcat Ridge Natural Area.
• Bobcat Ridge Natural Area is free and is open daily from dawn to dusk.

• Bobcat Ridge Natural Area site brochure

To reach Bobcat Ridge Natural Area:
From Fort Collins, take Harmony Road west, it turns into CR 38 E. Follow CR 38 E to Masonville. Go left (south) at the Masonville Mercantile onto CR 27. Follow CR 27 about 1 mile to CR 32 C, head west about 1 mile to the parking lot.
From Loveland, go west on Highway 34 about 4.5 miles west of Wilson Avenue. Turn north on CR 27 by Big Thompson Elementary and drive 4.5 miles. Turn left on CR 32C and go 1/2 mile to the Bobcat Ridge parking lot.

Bobcat Ridge Natural Area Ranger Office 970-461-2700