Castlewood Canyon Dam Ruins Trail

Front Range • Franktown, Colorado

easyout and back

1.8

Miles

200

Elevation Gain (ft)

1.5

Hours

6,200

High Point (ft)

Overview

Castlewood Canyon is the sandstone gorge that Cherry Creek cut through the plateau south of Franktown, and the ruins of the Castlewood dam, which failed on August 3, 1933 and sent a wall of water through Denver, stand at its center. The walk to them from the east entrance is 0.9 mile each way on the Lake Gulch trail with 200 feet of descent, a short state park hike with a real story and a creek to sit by.

Trail Highlights

Historic dam ruins

Sandstone canyon

Cherry Creek

Diverse ecosystems

The Route

From the Canyon Point lot near the visitor center, the Lake Gulch trail heads west along the rim with the canyon opening below, then descends gently through scrub oak and juniper to the creek at the site of the old reservoir, which drained the night the dam broke. The trail follows the creek to the dam ruins, two stone abutments with the gap between them where the center washed out.

The Inner Canyon trail returns from the dam along the creek bottom under the cliffs for a loop of about 2 miles, with a short climb back to the rim at the end. The Rim Rock and Creek Bottom trails continue west to the falls and the west entrance for a longer day. Return the same way for the 1.8-mile version.

Getting to the Trailhead

The east entrance is on Colorado 83, 5 miles south of Franktown and about 30 miles north of Colorado Springs; the west entrance is on Castlewood Canyon Road off Colorado 86. A Colorado State Parks pass is required, paid at the entrance. Gate hours change with the season and are posted at the entrance; the visitor center is open 9 to 5 Wednesday through Sunday and closed Monday and Tuesday. The Canyon Point lot has flush toilets and water in season and fills on weekend mornings in spring and fall.

Best Time to Hike

The canyon sits at 6,200 feet and the trail is open year-round. Spring and fall are the best seasons, with the cottonwoods along the creek yellow in mid-October and the creek running best in May. Summer afternoons are hot on the rim and the canyon bottom is the shade; storms cross the plateau by mid-afternoon. Winter is quiet and the trail is often dry, with ice on the north-facing descent after storms.

🌸spring

☀️summer

🍂fall

❄️winter

Good to Know

Dogs are allowed on leash throughout the park. The walk is one of the easiest on this site for kids, and the dam is the kind of ruin they remember. Rattlesnakes are common on the rim and in the rocks in warm months. Stay off the dam abutments, which are crumbling. Carry water; the creek is silty. No bikes on the trails. Franktown and Castle Rock have the services. The Castle Rock hikes page has the rest of the county's trails.

Sources

Figures and access details on this page were checked against these pages on 2026-09-04. Conditions change; confirm with the managing agency before you go.