Eldorado Mountain
Encyclopedia
Eldorado Mountain is located on the eastern edge of the Colorado
Front Range
. It is largely in Boulder County
. But it straddles the border, and its southern flanks are located in Jefferson County
. Its name was probably borrowed from the nearby community of Eldorado Springs
.
; other large parcels are owned by Boulder County, Eldorado Canyon State Park
and the Bureau of Land Management
. On the Jefferson County side, various parcels are owned by private parties, although one large outlying parcel is owned by Eldorado Canyon State Park.
Near the top of the mountain is a large antenna field with two buildings overlooking the steep slope on the east. The radio station KBCO
transmits from this site. The site is reached by a private dirt road that starts further south in Plainview (a small community with less than a dozen homes) and then climbs the steep southern flanks.
. The only trail on this side of the mountain is a climber's trail accessing Mickey Mouse Wall. (As of September 2007, the City of Boulder was planning to re-align this trail.) Also on the east flank are the remains of the Conda Quarry, covering about 7 acres (28,328 m²). The quarry operated from the 1950s through the 1980s. In 1992, in order to preserve the land as open space, the City of Boulder purchased the quarry along with the underlying land and mining rights. Later, the City undertook a reclamation project on the site, although the quarry is still plainly visible. Down from the quarry on the access road is the Eldorado Mountain Yoga Ashram.
, passes through Gross Reservoir and later joins Boulder Creek
about six miles (10 km) downstream. Located along this creek is Eldorado Canyon State Park. Within the Park is the Rattlesnake Gulch Trail that climbs about half way up the north flank of Eldorado Mountain. Near the top of this trail is the site of the former Crags Hotel, which was in business from 1908 until 1912 when it burned down. The Park has converted the hotel ruins into a historic site for visitors. When it was operating, the hotel also ran a funicular that went down from the hotel to the creek. Still on the north side are three thin cliffs bands lined in a single column—Continental Crag, Upper Peanuts Wall, and Lower Peanuts Wall—from top to bottom. At the very base of the flank is the famous tower-like Bastille. Further down the creek is the unincorporated community of Eldorado Springs.
. It circles three quarters of the mountain, passing through a dozen tunnels along the way. Construction began in 1902 and was known at the time as the Moffat Road. About twenty miles (32 km) to the west, this line continues through the Moffat Tunnel
under the Continental Divide. Amtrak
’s California Zephyr
runs along this line every day, once each way.
Another line (located at about the 6300 feet (1,920.2 m) level) is the aqueduct known as the South Boulder Diversion. It leads to Ralston Reservoir, supplying water to Denver and some of its surrounding suburbs. It was built in the mid-1930s and is owned by Denver Water, a governmental agency whose commissioners are appointed by the mayor of Denver. Near Eldorado Mountain, the aqueduct is mostly hidden in tunnels, but in three short sections it emerges above ground as a large pipeline. Further east, it becomes a canal.
A third line (located at about the 6100 feet (1,859.3 m) level) is another railroad grade. Known as the Denver Utah & Pacific, it was originally graded in the 1880s. No tracks were ever laid, and for that reason historians refer to it as a “ghost” railroad. After being abandoned by the railroad, the grade was used by the public as an access route to the west side of the canyon. The grade continued to be the only such access until 1927 when the present road at the bottom of the canyon was built. In 1978, part of the grade became part of the newly created Eldorado Canyon State Park and was later converted into the Fowler Trail.
The bottom line is the Community Ditch (located at about the 5800 feet (1,767.8 m) level). It begins at a diversion dam located at the northeast toe of Eldorado Mountain (also being the location of the entrance to Eldorado Canyon State Park.) The ditch drains into Marshall Lake three miles (5 km) to the east. It was built around 1908 and is owned by Farmers Reservoir and Irrigation Company.
Colorado
Colorado is a U.S. state that encompasses much of the Rocky Mountains as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the western edge of the Great Plains...
Front Range
Front Range
The Front Range is a mountain range of the Southern Rocky Mountains of North America located in the north-central portion of the U.S. State of Colorado and southeastern portion of the U.S. State of Wyoming. It is the first mountain range encountered moving west along the 40th parallel north across...
. It is largely in Boulder County
Boulder County, Colorado
Boulder County is the sixth most populous of the 64 counties of the state of Colorado of the United States. The county seat is Boulder. The most populous municipality in the county and the county seat is the City of Boulder...
. But it straddles the border, and its southern flanks are located in Jefferson County
Jefferson County, Colorado
Jefferson County , whose slogan is the "Gateway to the Rocky Mountains", is the fourth most populous of the 64 counties of the State of Colorado of the United States. Located along the Front Range of the Rocky Mountains, Jefferson County is adjacent to the west side of the state capital, Denver....
. Its name was probably borrowed from the nearby community of Eldorado Springs
Eldorado Springs, Colorado
Eldorado Springs is a census-designated place in Boulder County, Colorado, United States. The population was 585 at the 2010 census. The Eldorado Springs Post Office has the ZIP Code 80025....
.
Ownership
On the Boulder County side, about half of the mountain is owned by the City of BoulderBoulder, Colorado
Boulder is the county seat and most populous city of Boulder County and the 11th most populous city in the U.S. state of Colorado. Boulder is located at the base of the foothills of the Rocky Mountains at an elevation of...
; other large parcels are owned by Boulder County, Eldorado Canyon State Park
Eldorado Canyon State Park
Eldorado Canyon State Park is part of the Colorado State Park system. It is located in Boulder County near the city of Boulder. The park consists of two areas, the Inner Canyon and Crescent Meadows . The park encompasses with a variety of recreation opportunities available...
and the Bureau of Land Management
Bureau of Land Management
The Bureau of Land Management is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior which administers America's public lands, totaling approximately , or one-eighth of the landmass of the country. The BLM also manages of subsurface mineral estate underlying federal, state and private...
. On the Jefferson County side, various parcels are owned by private parties, although one large outlying parcel is owned by Eldorado Canyon State Park.
Summit, Toe, Height and Length
The summit has an elevation of 8335 feet (2,540.5 m). The lowest part of the mountain is its northeast toe with an elevation of about 5800 feet (1,767.8 m)—giving the mountain a total height of about 2500 feet (762 m). At its longest, the mountain measures about two miles (3 km) across on a south-east axis. The summit is owned by the City of Boulder. The City has a policy that restricts public access to this part of its holdings, and there is no trail going to the summit.Near the top of the mountain is a large antenna field with two buildings overlooking the steep slope on the east. The radio station KBCO
KBCO
KBCO is a AAA radio station licensed to Boulder, Colorado, United States, that serves the Denver-Boulder area. The station's format, dubbed "World Class Rock," is an eclectic variety of pop, rock, blues, reggae and folk, from the late-1960s to the present.The Clear Channel Communications outlet...
transmits from this site. The site is reached by a private dirt road that starts further south in Plainview (a small community with less than a dozen homes) and then climbs the steep southern flanks.
East Side
On the east flank of Eldorado Mountain is its largest cliff, Mickey Mouse Wall. When viewed from the north, two buttresses at the top of the cliff look like a pair of mouse ears. But, from the east, Mickey Mouse looks just like one of the flatironsFlatirons
The Flatirons are rock formations near Boulder, Colorado consisting of flatirons. There are five large, numbered Flatirons ranging from north to south along the east slope of Green Mountain, and the term "The Flatirons" sometimes refers to these five alone...
. The only trail on this side of the mountain is a climber's trail accessing Mickey Mouse Wall. (As of September 2007, the City of Boulder was planning to re-align this trail.) Also on the east flank are the remains of the Conda Quarry, covering about 7 acres (28,328 m²). The quarry operated from the 1950s through the 1980s. In 1992, in order to preserve the land as open space, the City of Boulder purchased the quarry along with the underlying land and mining rights. Later, the City undertook a reclamation project on the site, although the quarry is still plainly visible. Down from the quarry on the access road is the Eldorado Mountain Yoga Ashram.
South Side
To the immediate south of the mountain is Bull Gulch, which becomes the Doudy Draw, first heading eastward but then turning northward and joining South Boulder Creek.West Side
From the saddle between Eldorado Mountain and Crescent Mountain an abandoned road descends to the railroad tracks. To the west of the mountain is South Draw, a small basin that drains into South Boulder Creek.North Side
To the north of the mountain is South Boulder Creek, a large creek that starts near the Continental DivideContinental Divide
The Continental Divide of the Americas, or merely the Continental Gulf of Division or Great Divide, is the name given to the principal, and largely mountainous, hydrological divide of the Americas that separates the watersheds that drain into the Pacific Ocean from those river systems that drain...
, passes through Gross Reservoir and later joins Boulder Creek
Boulder Creek (Colorado)
Boulder Creek is a creek draining the Rocky Mountains to the west of Boulder, Colorado, as well as the city itself and surrounding plains.- Route :...
about six miles (10 km) downstream. Located along this creek is Eldorado Canyon State Park. Within the Park is the Rattlesnake Gulch Trail that climbs about half way up the north flank of Eldorado Mountain. Near the top of this trail is the site of the former Crags Hotel, which was in business from 1908 until 1912 when it burned down. The Park has converted the hotel ruins into a historic site for visitors. When it was operating, the hotel also ran a funicular that went down from the hotel to the creek. Still on the north side are three thin cliffs bands lined in a single column—Continental Crag, Upper Peanuts Wall, and Lower Peanuts Wall—from top to bottom. At the very base of the flank is the famous tower-like Bastille. Further down the creek is the unincorporated community of Eldorado Springs.
Railroads and Aqueducts
On the northern flanks of the mountain are four different lines: two railroad grades and two aqueducts. The top-most line (located at about the 7100 feet (2,164.1 m) level) is a railroad line owned and operated by Union Pacific RailroadUnion Pacific Railroad
The Union Pacific Railroad , headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, is the largest railroad network in the United States. James R. Young is president, CEO and Chairman....
. It circles three quarters of the mountain, passing through a dozen tunnels along the way. Construction began in 1902 and was known at the time as the Moffat Road. About twenty miles (32 km) to the west, this line continues through the Moffat Tunnel
Moffat Tunnel
The Moffat Tunnel is a railroad and water tunnel that cuts through the Continental Divide in north-central Colorado. Named after Colorado railroad pioneer David Moffat, the tunnel's first railroad traffic passed through in February 1928....
under the Continental Divide. Amtrak
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, doing business as Amtrak , is a government-owned corporation that was organized on May 1, 1971, to provide intercity passenger train service in the United States. "Amtrak" is a portmanteau of the words "America" and "track". It is headquartered at Union...
’s California Zephyr
California Zephyr
The California Zephyr is a long passenger train route operated by Amtrak in the midwestern and western United States.It runs from Chicago, Illinois, in the east to Emeryville, California, in the west, passing through the states of Illinois, Iowa, Nebraska, Colorado, Utah, Nevada, and California...
runs along this line every day, once each way.
Another line (located at about the 6300 feet (1,920.2 m) level) is the aqueduct known as the South Boulder Diversion. It leads to Ralston Reservoir, supplying water to Denver and some of its surrounding suburbs. It was built in the mid-1930s and is owned by Denver Water, a governmental agency whose commissioners are appointed by the mayor of Denver. Near Eldorado Mountain, the aqueduct is mostly hidden in tunnels, but in three short sections it emerges above ground as a large pipeline. Further east, it becomes a canal.
A third line (located at about the 6100 feet (1,859.3 m) level) is another railroad grade. Known as the Denver Utah & Pacific, it was originally graded in the 1880s. No tracks were ever laid, and for that reason historians refer to it as a “ghost” railroad. After being abandoned by the railroad, the grade was used by the public as an access route to the west side of the canyon. The grade continued to be the only such access until 1927 when the present road at the bottom of the canyon was built. In 1978, part of the grade became part of the newly created Eldorado Canyon State Park and was later converted into the Fowler Trail.
The bottom line is the Community Ditch (located at about the 5800 feet (1,767.8 m) level). It begins at a diversion dam located at the northeast toe of Eldorado Mountain (also being the location of the entrance to Eldorado Canyon State Park.) The ditch drains into Marshall Lake three miles (5 km) to the east. It was built around 1908 and is owned by Farmers Reservoir and Irrigation Company.
External links
- People for Eldorado Mountain An advocacy group, conservation-oriented.
- City of Boulder's Open Space and Mountain Parks Department with responsibility for city lands on Eldorado Mountain.
- Denver Water
- Eldorado Mountain Yoga Ashram
- Mountain Project Climbing website. Look under Colorado--> Boulder--> Eldorado Mountain and Eldorado Canyon SP.
- Denver Public Libray for old photos. Search "Crags Hotel"; "Eldorado Community" for Community Ditch.