South Valley Park
Location |
Website |
South Valley North Trailhead
8354 South Valley Road Littleton, CO 80127 South Valley South Trailhead 12447 Deer Creek Canyon Road Littleton, CO 80127 |
PDF Map
Trail Map
Park Fees
Free! Got to love Jefferson County parks.
Trailer Parking
There is a very large parking lot at the North trail-head. On the south side there is a sign that is labeled for "Oversized parking". Sam stepped out of the trailer and started eating grass right away.
Bathrooms
Yes, some pretty nice permanent bathrooms.
Water
I saw a human water fountain, did not see any spigots.
Mounting
There were some really big very convenient rocks next to the trailer-parking area.
Footing
The trail starts out nice and wide with small gravel. The way home on Coyote Song Trail the dirt is more packed and could be slippery in colder weather conditions. Riding on Prairie Falcon it is a single-track that crosses the road and continues through Grazing Elk.
Horse Hazards
Grass!! Again, the biggest problem I had with Sam was getting him to walk with the long amazing grass on either side of the trail. We did see a deer. The Swallow Trail did not allow bikers so this really cut down on the horse hazards. We crossed a few bridges but nothing big or scary. If you have a spooky or nervous horse I would not cross the road to the Grazing Elk Trail. On the map it is labeled as a private road, however, we saw quite a few cars so you do have to be careful.
Chosen Trail
We rode the Swallow Trail to Prairie Falcon, across the road to Grazing Elk then back across the road on Prairie Falcon to connect with Coyote Song trail. It took us about an hour and a half at mostly a walk and we covered 5.3 miles with a lot of grazing and picture stops. If I had known the trail better we probably would have trotted out then walked back.
Other Trail Options
Trail Experience
We started up to the left of the stairs to find the Swallow Trail, no bikers allowed. The red rock formations were pretty beautiful.
You go past a lake on the right on a really nice wide gravel-dirt path.
The trail was sooo beautiful.
We turned right at Prairie Falcon, over this bridge-like trail stopping to eat some irresistible grass.
Here we crossed the road to go up to the Grazing Elk Trail.
We walked and trotted through a really pretty meadow. We saw butterflies and birds and ate more grass. The trail was very clearly marked.
We went over some very mild easy bridges.
We did follow the single-track along some hill edges.
To the right is a fork that goes to Deek Creek Park. Briefly looking up this park it has more blue square trails that are more difficult. We stayed on Grazing Elk Trail.
Going back down the trail to the road the path was a little slippery. Sam slipped a couple times because he tends to get going a little fast. I would go slow and skip this additional trail if it is muddy, wet or icy. The picture below on the right shows the Coyote Song Trail continuing south and turning into a blue square, which is a more difficult trail. We turned left and headed back to the parking lot on the Coyote Song Trail.
You can extend the trail by 2 miles by taking Lyons Back to Cathy Johnson Trail. Read about it HERE.
Trail Experience
This may be my new favorite trail. It is breathtaking, great views, good footing, options to make the trail longer or shorter, not a lot of scary objects or hazards. The best part is walking out on Swallow Trail no bikers are allowed. This is a great trail for the spookier horses or the more nervous riders. We did see a deer and a lot of little birds and butterflies. It was very relaxing and beautiful and every view was out of a Colorado magazine.
Trail Videos
Below: Just starting out on Swallow Trail. This place is gorgeous!
Rating
Easy. All the trails I followed were green circles. If you want to keep things short and easy do not cross the road to Grazing Elk. Crossing the road and heading up the slope to Grazing Elk is more of a moderately difficult trail. If you can handle a single-track on the side of a hill then it is worth it to cross the road and ride through the beautiful meadow on Grazing Elk trail. The trail was a little slippery on the way down Grazing Elk and back across the road. I would not do this trail if it was muddy or icy.