Pueblo Mountain Park Trail

Closed as of September 2026. The Aspen Acres Fire, which burned more than 100,000 acres of the Wet Mountains in July and August 2026, swept through Pueblo Mountain Park and destroyed historic buildings; the City of Pueblo and the Nature and Wildlife Discovery Center have closed the park to the public while they assess the damage and plan a rebuild, and they have not set a reopening date. This page describes the park as it was and stays here so it can be updated when the trails reopen.

Pueblo Mountain Park is 600 acres of ponderosa, meadow, and granite in the Wet Mountain foothills at Beulah, 30 minutes southwest of Pueblo, run as a nature center with a trail network that links into a 4-mile loop with 800 feet of gain. It tops out on a ridge above Devils Canyon with a view of the Sangre de Cristo to the west, and it is ten degrees cooler than Pueblo on a summer afternoon.

From the Mountain Park Environmental Center, the Northridge trail climbs north through ponderosa along the park's longest ridge, about 2 miles, with the meadow below and the Sangres on the skyline to the west. The Devils Canyon trail drops from the ridge into the canyon, a mile of shaded creek bottom and rock, and rejoins the Northridge trail lower down.

The Tower trail climbs to the park's stone lookout tower for the widest view, and the Mace trail and the meadow trails connect the pieces into the 4-mile loop. The junctions are signed and the center's map shows the combinations; the park is small enough that a wrong turn costs ten minutes.

Do not drive out expecting to hike until the City of Pueblo announces a reopening. When open, the park is reached from Pueblo by Colorado 78 southwest about 25 miles to Beulah, then Pine Drive 2 miles to the park; it is owned by the City of Pueblo and managed by the Nature and Wildlife Discovery Center, parking is free, and the center has toilets and water. The surrounding San Isabel National Forest east of Highway 165 is under a Forest Service closure order through December 31, 2026 for the fire.

Dogs are allowed on leash. The loop suits kids who hike a couple of hours, and the meadow trails near the center are fine for small ones; the center runs youth programs and a summer camp. Carry water; the creek in Devils Canyon is seasonal. Bears and mountain lions use the park. Beulah has a general store; Pueblo has everything else. The Pueblo hikes page has the Colorado Springs classics an hour north.