Staunton State Park Davis Ponds

Staunton State Park Davis Ponds

Staunton State Park is one of my favorite places in Colorado. It is the place I really decided I liked hiking. There are a lot of trails but most of them are a little more difficult such as the Elk Falls hike I wrote about earlier this year. The Davis Ponds trail is an exception in that it is an easy trail that doesn’t take too long to complete but still has some pretty spectacular views.

Getting Started

The best way to get to the Davis Ponds hike is to park directly behind the Staunton State Park visitor center. There is a small crosswalk near the exit that takes you across the street to the trailhead. From there you can take either trail. The trail to the right will take you towards a picnic area and a restroom but it also will circle around and loop to the ponds.

The trail is really nice and wide and well manicured. It feels very much like a city park walk with very few rocks or anything on the path to trip you up. The views are really nice. In the distance you can see Lions Head and forested hills. There are a ton of squirrels and chipmunks running around and if you get lucky you might even see a deer like I did on this trip.

The Ponds

About a mile in you will come to the ponds. There are two ponds separated by a small man made dam. Fishing is available at the ponds but you need to have a fishing license. The ponds are relatively small but there were about a dozen or so people fishing at them when I got there in the morning.

The loop back walks through a nice meadow and continues back to where you started by the parking lot. There is a linking trail called Chase Meadow on the north side of the loop that will take you to the Historic Cabins. The cabins are cool if you like history as they are the 19th century farm houses that were part of the original homestead that now makes up Staunton. The historic cabins is another fairly easy trail to take but the Chase Meadow trail is about 7/10 of a mile so keep in mind the added distance. I did not do either of those trails this time so they are not included in the stats below.

Video

I put together this time-lapse video of the hike to show the trail and what the hike is like. If you enjoy the video make sure to subscribe to my YouTube Channel. It is free to subscribe and you will get notified for the latest updates!

Elevation and Distance

If you don’t have the AllTrails app you might want to check it out, I really love mine. It records your progress and is a great way to search for hikes that are nearby and gives you difficulty measurements. According to AllTrails today’s hike was around 2.49 miles and had a total elevation gain of about 226 feet including undulations. That put the high point at around 8,350 feet. I was also moving for a total 53 minutes.

I am a Pro member of AllTrails and love it. If you are interested in the platform, please consider using my affiliate link for AllTrails. It gives me a small commission with no extra cost to you.

Effort

This was a nice easy hike. Perfect for someone starting out or just wanting a simple pretty hike that won’t take very long. There are plenty of more difficult hikes in Staunton State park if you are looking for a bit more of a challenge. Here are my stats from Fitbit.com.

Terrain

The trail here is as close to a sidewalk as it gets. It is a dirt trail that is wide and well established. This section of the park is also hikers only so you don’t have to worry about avoiding bikes. Regular athletic shoes would be OK for this trail but if you went anywhere else in the park you would probably need some hiking shoes.

Access

Staunton State park is located on Elk Creek road just off of 285. The park does require a $9 day pass for all vehicles. Yearly park passes are available as well. There is a pretty good sized parking area and several restrooms with pit toilets at the park. There are also several picnic areas available.

Wrap up

The Davis Ponds trail at Staunton State Park is a nice easy trail that all should be able to enjoy. Bikes are not allowed so you don’t have to worry about dodging those. The trail is well maintained and the walk is really beautiful. This would be a good hike for someone at a lower level to try if they want to enjoy the state park system.

Just a reminder that I now have an interactive map where you can see the different hikes and restaurants that I have reviewed along with get directions to them. You can find the map here.

If you have a suggestion for a hike that you would like me to try, feel free to email me at fatmanlittletrails@gmail.com or you can follow me on the below social media platforms.