Robert Lewis joined me on my radio show Saturday Morning. He is not only a ranger at Staunton State Park, he lives on the park grounds. Lewis, who goes by Lew, not only loves where he lives, he is tremendously proud and enthusiastic about where he works.
From high grassy meadows at 8,100 feet to soaring granite cliffs over 10,000 feet, Staunton State Park’s varied geology, soils, water features, and climate support rare and unexpected plant communities. The rich diversity of wildlife provides a myriad of outdoor recreation opportunities.
Colorado’s newest state park opened to the public on May 18, 2013. The park is located approximately 40 miles southwest of downtown Denver, north of US Highway 285 and about six miles west of Conifer. The Park sits divided between Park and Jefferson counties, in Pine, Colorado.
Although it’s been open for over three years, I am surprised by the number of people who do not know about Staunton. I was amazed by the diverse outdoor opportunities it provides.
Staunton is a day use park. When it first opened it was touted for its 30 miles of trails. While most of the trails are multi use, used by hikers, equestrians and mountain bikes, about seven miles are hiking only. The new Chimney Rock trial is a favorite of mountain bikers from across the region. In addition to the trails, Staunton’s granite cliffs provide some of the best rock climbing in Colorado. There are also two reservable picnic areas, one of which can accommodate large groups.
If the sheer beauty of the area was not enough to draw me there for an afternoon, I recently became aware of the water features and the developing fishing opportunities. Staunton has two sets of ponds. One is about a half mile hike in and is heavily stocked with rainbow trout including some larger fish. Lewis said it’s rare for him to walk the shore and encounter an angler who wasn’t catching fish. There is not a lot of fishing pressure but it is becoming more popular. The second set of ponds is about a four mile hike in. These ponds are fed by Elk creek. The creek has a self-sustaining brook trout population which has provided a prolific brookie population in the ponds. Lewis shared a story of a time when he was just starting to learn about fly fishing. He only had a heavy rod which would have been over kill to the small brookies. So he took a willow branch and tied some tippet to it with a fly. He proceeded to catch one brookie after another.
Speaking of brook trout, I am not sure if there is a more splendid sight in nature than a male brookie in its fall spawning colors. There are no special regulations at Staunton, so you can use whatever baits or techniques you like. A few regulars are even ice fishing at Staunton through the winter. It’s also a great place to harvest a few fish for the table. The park is an excellent place for a family outing especially if you want to get some youngsters into fishing and at the same time appreciating how spectacular the outdoors can be.
If you venture to Staunton, don’t plan on driving around to check it out. Staunton is almost exclusively a walk in facility. You will have to leave your car in the parking lots. Somehow for a place like this that seems appropriate.
For more complete information on Staunton State Park, including the rich history of the area visit .
To hear my full interview with Lewis, click on the links below.
https://soundcloud.com/1043thefan/tackle-talk-82716
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