Deer Creek Canyon Park, a popular foothills hiking destination that suffered extensive damage from the Quarry Fire last summer, is fully open as of Aug. 1.
The fire erupted in Deer Creek Canyon, south of Ken Caryl, on July 30, 2024, and burned through Aug. 9. With varying degrees of severity, it damaged 580 acres of the park, approximately 35% of its terrain. Jefferson County Open Space partially reopened the park on May 15, but areas closest to the fire damage remained closed until Friday morning.
Most of the damage occurred in the northern half of the park. Burn scars and dead timber high above trailheads are visible from the parking lot. At the trailhead for the Meadowlark trail on the northern side of the park, signs are posted saying the trail travels through a “recovering wildfire burn area.” Multiple signs implore hikers to stay on trails.
Another sign nearby explains why it is important to stay on trails, saying it’s crucial for hiker safety and the recovery of the landscape.
“Burned areas can have unstable soils, hidden hazards like weakened trees and loose rocks, and fragile regrowth that needs time to recover,” the sign says. “By sticking to the trails, you help protect yourself and support natural regeneration of the park’s ecosystem.”
The 1.5-mile Meadowlark trail, which climbs 400 feet, doesn’t extend to the area of burned trees above, but it does cross steep grassland areas that were burned. They were black until April, when Jeffco Open Space launched regeneration efforts from the air. Now they are coming back, lush and green in spots, with new growth. The trail crisscrosses those areas via switchbacks.
“With a grant from the state, we were able to use helicopters to come in and re-seed with native seed, then back that up with mulch and, on top of that, a hydro (another mulch material) that sealed it in,” said Matt Robbins, spokesman for Jeffco Open Space. “We had significant rain in April and early May, so there is quite a bit of native grasses growing up on that hillside right now that are changing the experience and stabilizing the slopes.
“That still leaves us with a park where we’re asking visitors to stay on trails,” Robbins added, “because the ground is still very sensitive just below the surface.”
Above those areas, there are pine trees with brown needles and others that are nothing but blackened tree skeletons. There are no trails through those sections, which are situated on steep slopes, so they remain off-limits to hikers. Hiking off-trail there was allowed before the fire.
“That’s primarily because of the slope and the grade,” Robbins said. “And obviously, that ground is very, very sensitive at this point. Rockfall is still a concern. Because of the pitch of the slope, if someone is up there, it could easily start some pretty large rockslides, so we need to stay off that land up there.”
The park is located a mile and a half south of Ken Caryl and 3.5 miles west of Chatfield Reservoir. It is popular with hikers, mountain bikers and equestrians. It measures 1,637 acres, most of it on steep terrain with a maximum elevation gain of 1,200 feet.