Pine Valley Ranch Park hike... the beginning

I am always looking for some places to escape the summer heat, and sometimes I find some real gems... Like Pine Valley Ranch Park, which I found and explored last week. The trail starts with a crossing of the North Fork South Platte River, and the bridge doesn't make my heart beat faster...

 

On the other side of the river I was met and looked at by locals... A young squirrel looked at me, and I heard it asking why I was there... well... I told the truth - to walk around the lake and take some photos, and I started with the portrait of the gatekeeper :)

It doesn't take long to get to the lake, actually it's less than a minute of leisurely walking through the woods. Coming out of the forest, I froze in front of a beautiful lake. With mirror-like water and incredible reflections...

Well... I definitely spent more time looking around than I planned (and, I believe, this time was really well spent :) )...

The water... the sky... the reflections.... everything was simply stunning and I really enjoyed walking  slowly along the lake and looking around...

The water wasn't completely still, but the reflections still were incredible and unbelievably realistic.

When I reached the end of the lake, I continued on the trail and followed the river. The trail winds through the woods and takes you to the stream...

I decided to take the North Fork View trail, which crosses a meadow before heading back to the river. 

Walking there, I was surrounded with wildflowers and beautiful views of the mountains... That's exactly what I was hoping for on this short hike :)

Some movement caught my eye and I realized there was a deer looking at me not so far away. Can you spot it?

Don't worry if you couldn't find it :) I could barely see it and only the zoom of the camera allowed me to see it more clearly.

Well... it didn't stay there long... it had some things to do and after a minute or two it darted  through the brush and climbed the ridge... ready to disappear...

It looked at me one last time and... I never saw it again while I was hiking there...

I continued on the trail crossing the meadow and really enjoying the surroundings...

Even in the early morning the sun was quite hot there. Well, nothing surprising... the park is not located that high in the mountains... but what I liked most was the scent. Some kind of herbal and fragrant aroma that I don't remember. Probably some kind of herbal tea. Quite an unusual, but very pleasant scent, I must say.

The trail led me back to the river, and peaking through the trees I saw another bridge.  I would cross the river on this bridge and return to the lake in a few minutes...

  

But I wasn't in any rush, so I took my time walking, looking around, breathing in hot and fragrant air and admiring the wild flowers, simple but elegant, like these daisies.

Now, after crossing the river, I was on the Narrow Gauge Trail, that would take me back. Now I was closer to the mountain slope on one side and the river on the other. The sun was much hotter there on the trail without shade...

I really enjoyed walking so close to the fast stream. It didn't bring much coolness, but it was still better than walking through the meadow.

The fast running water made me walk slower (well, don't ask why, cuz I have no answer). I stopped here and there to admire the views and take a photo or two of the flowers scattered along the trail...

It was a beautiful day, and the trail was nice and easy. It made a loop, so I was back to the lake, not tired and ready for some more hiking... I looked at the map and decided to keep on the trail. But... I think I will pause my story here and continue tomorrow (or the day after).

To be continued...

Photos taken on July 06, 2025.