#BACKBONE ROCK SERIES#

This connection was made possible by an extraordinary amount of community support, more than a decade of careful land purchases and a little bit of luck. Hikers can start at the DevilвЂ™s Backbone Trailhead and travel 15 mil es to Lory State Park west of Fort Collins without leaving Larimer County land.

#BACKBONE ROCK SERIES#

Its trails are connected to others in a series of adjacent open spaces, creating a natural break between the urban zones of Loveland and Fort Collins. Though it rises along Highway 34 in stark contrast to the land around it, the Backbone is no island. It makes perfect sense, she said, that a place like DevilвЂ™s Backbone should be open to the people who can appreciate its complex beauty. вЂњOutdoor recreation is a symbol of the quality of life of people in Colorado,вЂќ said Kerri Rollins, program manager for Larimer County Open Lands.

This human habitat offers recreation options for hikers, bikers, horseback riders and trail runners. Today, nearly 2,200 acres on the east side of the formation are preserved under Larimer County law as the DevilвЂ™s Backbone Open Space. Prehistoric fossils are discovered here, too, including an ancient elephant with 5-foot-long tusks now on display at ChicagoвЂ™s Field Museum. Early summer visitors are privileged to find a yellow flower of the rare BellвЂ™s twinpod, which grows her e and in a few isolated spots in Boulder and Jefferson County вЂ“ and nowhere else in the world. Keen eyes might even spot lizards sunning themselves on rock outcroppings. Mammals like mule deer, elk, bear and mountain lion lurk under its slopes. The BackboneвЂ™s crags are safe haven for nesting raptors like red-tailed hawks a nd great horned and barn owls. Pinnacles rising more than 200 feet above sur rounding valleys are eroded into angular arches the most famous portal is the Keyhole. Like its sister hogbacks common along ColoradoвЂ™s Front Range, including Roxborough State Park and Garden of the Gods, this Larimer County landmark has its own ghoulishly beautiful character. The Backbone is a beloved, two-mile strip of Dakota sandstone that rises from the rock and soil in a buffer zone between mountains and plains west of Loveland. This unusual geological formation between Loveland and the Rocky Mountains instead attracts solace-seekers to find their own version of heaven on Earth. Backbone Rock Recreation Area is a part of the Cherokee National Forest, a large National Forest created in 1920 encompassing over 655,000 acres.November/December 2012 CL issue of Colorado Life Magazine)ДЄ place named Devil's Backbone may conjure images of a hellish landscape to be avoided at all costs. There are rustic but clean bathroom facilities at Backbone Rock managed by the US Forest Service. The Backbone Rock Recreation Area offers hiking, rappelling, camping, and fishing, including a hike with one trail leading across the top of the rock and another trail taking you to the beautiful 45 foot high Backbone Falls. This short day trip is an excellent adventure (and easily accessible if you are able to walk up a large set of stairs) just minutes away from Damascus.

The highest parts of Backbone Rock rise over 100 feet above the ground. This arch is clearly visible today and makes the short tunnel a very interesting site. The top of the tunnel had to be hand chiseled to resolve the problem, creating an arch in the fin around ten yards thick. After the hole was created and the track was laid, the narrow gauge railroad engineвЂ™s smokestack could not pass through the tunnel. The rock is home to what is called вЂњthe shortest tunnel in the world.вЂќ In the early 1900вЂ™s, when the harvesting of timber was the primary industry of Damascus and the surrounding areas, a 20 foot long hole had to be blasted through the rock to accommodate the railroad. The creek offers excellent fishing and swimming. The ridge is surrounded by a bend in Beaverdam Creek, flowing directly below Backbone Rock. Backbone Rock is a solid pillar of rock which is a part of Holston Mountain. Backbone Rock Recreation Area in Cherokee National ForestДЄ short 10-minute drive outside of Damascus, Virginia is Backbone Rock Recreation Area.

Backbone rock