Lockhart Ranch Trail
NPS Romantic old gate hangs partially open at the Lockhart Ranch Difficulty: Easy Beyond the Barry’s Landing junction, the park road becomes dirt. Follow the dirt road for 2.5 miles to the Lockhart Ranch. The gentle flow of Davis and Cottonwood Creeks is the life force of this place. Like a heartbeat, the water kept the ranch going. The water from Cottonwood Creek irrigated Caroline Lockhart’s garden and orchard. Ditches running from Davis Creek used the topography of the land for gravity irrigation in the surrounding pastures. The pastures have long been abandoned, but the creeks are still part of the life force of this area. Beavers build dams, birds make nests, and deer find a refreshing drink. The short loop trail introduces visitors to western ranch life in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The longer loop trail offers extra time for reflection as visitors hike along the old road and through old pasture lands. Either trail, brings about a certain amount of respect for the people that lived out here. |
Did You Know?
Fort C.F. Smith, was the most isolated of the posts which guarded the Bozeman Trail. Active from August 1866 to July 1868, it was under constant threat from the Sioux and Northern Cheyenne tribes during Red Cloud’s War. The U.S. government was forced to abandon the fort and trail. Some historians have called this conflict, “the first war the United States ever lost.” More...