Castlewood Canyon -

castlewood canyon hike

Castlewood Canyon State Park is located near Franktown, Colorado. It is the site of a

dam built in 1890 and the collapse of the dam in 1933. We hiked it on April 10, 2025.

The map of Castlewood Canyon.

The trailhead from the north parking lot on the west side
of the canyon.

The first original homestead
in the park.

We cross the river from the
east side to the west side.

View of Franktown from
the canyon east rim.

The parking lot.

The trail on the canyon
rim looking north.

Tim on the canyon rim
trail.

Pikes Peak to the south.

View of the Cherry Creek
that flows to Denver and
into the Platte River.

The park has many
wild turkeys.

There are some very long dead trees in the very dry climate of Colorado.

Our first view of the dam.

The remainder of the dam
from the south side.

Tim on the trail to the
top of the dam.

On the dam.

The history of the doomed dam.

Large rocks were cut into
a square to form the dam.

The overflow tube
on the dam.

A look back at the canyon
wall as we start back.

A panoramic view of the canyon.

The creek from the
canyon floor trail.

Typical trail on the
canyon floor.

The loop hike was 5 miles long with a vertical change of 200 feet.