Roxborough State Park – Fountain Valley Trail 8/4/12

Fountain Valley Trail
Trail Name: Fountain Valley Loop Trail
Permitted uses: Foot
Miles paved: 0
Miles non-paved: 2.3
Total distance: 2.3
Usage: High
Degree of difficulty: Easy to Moderate
Elevation: 6,100
ADA accessible: Minimal.

Bathrooms: Yes at the visitors center and parking lots.

So we combined this trail with the South Rim trail, the 2 trails together give a good 5.3 mile hike and I like to do this one on light hiking days or on a weekend we do 2 hikes and this one is the for the 2nd day of hiking. This one has much more traffic and I think it probably has the most volume at the park. The views are really beautiful, the path is wide and it has a few overlooks that give just spectacular views of why this park is great. It starts just north of the visitor’s center.

The path has an immediate overlook on the west side of the path and this overlooks the fountain valley trail. It is worth checking it out. Then go straight on the path to the loop head and you can go either way:

This is a very simple loop so I am just going to post the pictures of the loop and the views:

So this is how you get to Roxoborough from 470:

From Wadsworth
Take Wadsworth south past Chatfield State Park. Turn left on Waterton Road (just before the entrance to Lockheed Martin.) Continue on Waterton Road—crossing the South Platte River, until it ends at North Rampart Range Road (1.6 miles) Turn right (south) on North Rampart Range Road. Continue south past Roxborough Village and the Foothills Water Treatment Plant. (2.3 miles) At the intersection of North Rampart Range Road and Roxborough Park Road (just before the entrance to Arrowhead golf course), turn left onto Roxborough Park Road. Take the next right on East Roxborough Drive(about 50 yards away) to enter the park.
From Santa Fe
Head south on Santa Fe (Highway 85) to Titan Road. (4.2 miles south of C-470 intersection) Turn right (west) on Titan Road. Continue heading west on Titan Road. It will curve and begin to head south—becoming North Rampart Range Road (3 miles). Continue south on North Rampart Range Road past Roxborough Village and the Foothills Water Treatment Plant (3.5 miles). At the intersection of North Rampart Range Road and Roxborough Park Road, turn left onto Roxborough Park Road. Take the next right on East Roxborough Drive(about 50 yards away) to enter the park.

From Wadsworth

Take Wadsworth south past Chatfield State Park. Turn left on Waterton Road (just before the entrance to Lockheed Martin.) Continue on Waterton Road—crossing the South Platte River, until it ends at North Rampart Range Road (1.6 miles) Turn right (south) on North Rampart Range Road. Continue south past Roxborough Village and the Foothills Water Treatment Plant. (2.3 miles) At the intersection of North Rampart Range Road and Roxborough Park Road (just before the entrance to Arrowhead golf course), turn left onto Roxborough Park Road. Take the next right on East Roxborough Drive(about 50 yards away) to enter the park.

From Santa Fe

Head south on Santa Fe (Highway 85) to Titan Road. (4.2 miles south of C-470 intersection) Turn right (west) on Titan Road. Continue heading west on Titan Road. It will curve and begin to head south—becoming North Rampart Range Road (3 miles). Continue south on North Rampart Range Road past Roxborough Village and the Foothills Water Treatment Plant (3.5 miles). At the intersection of North Rampart Range Road and Roxborough Park Road, turn left onto Roxborough Park Road. Take the next right on East Roxborough Drive(about 50 yards away) to enter the park.