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Bradford House IIBradford House II · Photo: Jeffrey Beall · CC BY 3.0
A+Outdoors
Outdoors in Dakota Ridge

24% of Dakota Ridge’s land is conserved, and virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park

Virtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park. 24 miles of mapped trail cross Dakota Ridge, 2.6 per square mile of land. 24% of Dakota Ridge’s land is conserved, about 1,422 acres.

Among the top 1% of U.S. towns · #12 of 159 in Colorado. What drives it

Conserved land
24%
1,422 acres · of 9.4 sq mi of land
Trails
24 mi
2.6 per sq mi of land
Park land
1,298 ac
38 acres per 1,000 residents
Near a park
99%+
of residents within ½ mile
Bike routes
30 mi
5.5 mi lanes · 25 mi paths
Lakes & rivers
6

What kind of outdoors town is Dakota Ridge?

Read from the map. The page puts what stands out first.

Land that stays wild24% of the land is conserved; a typical Colorado town, 7%.A trail town2.6 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land, more than 96% of U.S. towns.Parks close to homeVirtually every resident lives within a half mile of a park.
Outdoors grade

How much outdoors does Dakota Ridge have?

On conserved land, trails, park land and how close residents live to a park, Dakota Ridge is among the top 1% of U.S. towns, #12 of 159 in Colorado. All four inputs are above most U.S. towns; trail miles rank highest, park acres per resident lowest.

A+
OutdoorsA character grade: shown, never part of Dakota Ridge’s overall grade.
Conserved land24% of the land · typical CO town 7% · U.S. 4%ATrails2.6 miles of mapped trail per square mile of land (24 mi) · CO 1.3 · U.S. 0.4A+Park land38 acres of park per 1,000 residents (1,298 acres) · CO 14 · U.S. 13A−Parks close to homeVirtually all residents within a half mile of a park · CO 97% · U.S. 72%A+
All U.S. towns we grade (21,298)Among the top 1%
LessMore
Colorado towns of 2,500+ (159)Ahead of 93%

Colorado towns conserve more land than most (a typical one, 7%; the U.S., 4%), so Dakota Ridge’s 24% is ahead of 89% of Colorado towns, while its trails per square mile lead 80% of them.

How sure. Graded on any three of the four inputs instead, the letter would still be A+. Trails and many small parks come from OpenStreetMap, mapped by volunteers, so coverage varies from town to town; the half mile is a straight line from each census block, so a river or highway in the way isn’t counted against it.

PAD-US, OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors), Census 2025 Gazetteer and 2020 blocks; details in Sources below. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →

The map

Conserved land, trails & bike routes

Tap a number to zoom to a park. Tap a layer to hide it.

12345678
Easements protect land from building but are usually private.© OpenStreetMap contributors · USGS PAD-US
Places to walk

Pick a walk

The longest trail network is Robert A. Easton Regional Park, with 3.1 miles. Directions go to the nearest trailhead or public parking.

Robert A. Easton Regional Park

Managed by Foothills Park & Recreation District
448 acres3.1 mi of trail
Hine Lake Loop TrailLeo's Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the trailheadWebsite ↗

Harriman Lake Park

Park
132 acres3.1 mi of trail
Harriman Lake Loop Trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot

Weaver Creek Park

Park
21 acres0.8 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot

Trappers Glen Park

Managed by Foothills Park & Recreation District
19 acres0.4 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗

Timothy M. Mossbrucker Park

Managed by Foothills Parks and Recreation District
20 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
Directionsto the parking lot

Sunrise Creek Park

Managed by Foothills Park & Recreation District
8 acres0.3 mi of trail
Sunrise Creek
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yet

Lakehurst Park

Managed by Foothills Park & Recreation District
8 acres0.3 mi of trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗

Bobby Hyatt Jr Memorial Park

Managed by Foothills Park & Recreation District
7 acres0.3 mi of trail
Bobby Hyatt Jr Trail
Dog rules not recorded
No trailhead mapped yetWebsite ↗
All 23 parks & preserves
Robert A. Easton Regional Park448 acres · 3.1 mi of trail · Foothills Park & Recreation District
Directions
Harriman Lake Park132 acres · 3.1 mi of trail
Directions
Weaver Creek Park21 acres · 0.8 mi of trail
Directions
Trappers Glen Park19 acres · 0.4 mi of trail · Foothills Park & Recreation District
Timothy M. Mossbrucker Park20 acres · 0.3 mi of trail · Foothills Parks and Recreation District
Directions
Sunrise Creek Park8 acres · 0.3 mi of trail · Foothills Park & Recreation District
Lakehurst Park8 acres · 0.3 mi of trail · Foothills Park & Recreation District
Bobby Hyatt Jr Memorial Park7 acres · 0.3 mi of trail · Foothills Park & Recreation District
Blue Heron Park15 acres · 0.2 mi of trail · Foothills Park & Recreation District
Sunrise Creek Greenbelt14 acres · 0.2 mi of trail · Foothills Park & Recreation District
Powderhorn Park9 acres · 0.2 mi of trail · Foothills Park & Recreation District
Directions
Weaver Hollow Park27 acres · 0.1 mi of trail
Directions
Stafford Hogback79 acres · Jefferson County Open Space
Directions
Country West Greenbelt12 acres · Foothills Park & Recreation District
Powderhorn Meadows Greenbelt12 acres · Foothills Park & Recreation District
Directions
The Ridge at West Meadows Park7 acres · Foothills Park & Recreation District
Directions
Alpers Farm Park5 acres · Foothills Park & Recreation District
Westbury Park5 acres · Foothills Park & Recreation District
Belleview Acres Park3 acres · Foothills Parks and Recreation District
Westfield Park2 acres · Foothills Park & Recreation District
Lakehurst West Park2 acres · Foothills Park & Recreation District
Westbury Greenbelt1 acres · Foothills Park & Recreation District
Alkire Greenbelt1 acres · Foothills Park & Recreation District
Who protects it

1,422 conserved acres

24% of Dakota Ridge’s land. Who manages Dakota Ridge’s conserved land, from the USGS Protected Areas Database. Approximate, because parcels can overlap.

Regional agency1,012 ac
Regional Water Districts316 ac
County86 ac
Private owners42 ac
Local Recreation Area · 736 acLocal Park · 363 acPrivate Other or Unknown · 316 acPrivate Park · 42 ac
The biggest protected parcels
Parcel (PAD-US)Managed byAcresPublic access
The Meadows Golf Club
Local Recreation Area
Regional agency375Open
Fehringer Ranch
Private Other or Unknown
Regional Water Districts304Closed
The Ridge Recreation Center
Local Recreation Area
Regional agency177Open
Harriman Lake
Private Other or Unknown
Regional Water Districts122Open
Stafford Hogback
Private Park
Private owners72Open
Eagle Ridge Greenbelts
Local Recreation Area
County55Open
Weaver Hollow Park and Pool
Local Park
Regional agency36Open
Recreation Campus
Local Recreation Area
Regional agency36Open
Weaver Creek Park
Local Park
Regional agency26Open
Eagle Ridge Greenbelt
Local Recreation Area
Regional agency24Open

5 smaller protected places aren’t shown.

Things to do

51 places to go in Dakota Ridge

Beaches, playgrounds, peaks, falls and more. Pick a kind.

Playgrounds in Dakota Ridge
Lakehurst West PlaygroundIn Lakehurst West Park
Directions
Tot LotIn Lakehurst Park
Directions
Trappers Glen Park PlaygroundIn Trappers Glen Park
Directions

36 playgrounds are on OpenStreetMap in all; the list shows named ones from the first 30.

Trails & water

6 named trails and 6 lakes & rivers

Named trails
Open to bikes · 6.9 miUnpaved · 12.3 mi
Harriman Lake Loop Trail1.6 mi
Hine Lake Loop Trail0.5 mi
Leo's Trail0.5 mi
Open Space Trail0.3 mi
Bobby Hyatt Jr Trail0.3 mi
Sunrise Creek0.2 mi
Lakes & rivers tap for directions
Beers Sisters Lake ReservoirreservoirBergen East ReservoirreservoirBergen Number 5 ReservoirreservoirBergen West ReservoirreservoirHarriman LakelakeHine Lakereservoir
Biking & sports

30 miles of bike routes

Bike lanes are often missing from the map in smaller towns, so that number is likely low.

5.5 mi
painted or protected bike lanes
25 mi
off-road bike paths
Weaver Gulch TrailBike route
0.8 mi
Courts & fields
20Soccer
18Tennis
15Baseball
11Basketball
10Lacrosse
8Field hockey
6Football
2Softball

Includes school and college facilities, which aren’t always open to the public.

History along the way

1 place on the National Register

The country’s official list of places worth saving (National Park Service). The map also marks 1 historic points from OpenStreetMap: plaques, memorials and old buildings.

History →
Peterson HouseBuilding · listed 1981
About it
When to get out

The best walking months in Dakota Ridge: April to June and August

NOAA’s 1991–2020 normals for the town and the daylight at its latitude. Outlined months have long days, highs of 59 to 86 °F and little rain for the place.

JanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec
Daylight (h)9.710.611.813.214.315.014.713.712.411.19.99.4
High (°F)474856617082878578665446
Rain (in)0.60.81.62.32.61.82.01.91.31.20.90.6

January is the driest month (0.6 in) and July the warmest (highs of 87 °F). 2.6 inches fall in May, the wettest month. Summer highs reach 87 °F, too hot for the outline. The climate in Dakota Ridge →

Next door

Dakota Ridge and its neighbors

Dakota Ridge has the second most mapped trails of the 3 towns around it. Tap a town to see its outdoors.

Lakewood123 miDakota Ridge24 miKen Caryl8.7 mi
TownConserved
of land		Trail mi
per sq mi		Park acres
per 1,000		Near a park
½ mile		Outdoors
Dakota Ridge24%2.63899%+A+
Ken Caryl18%0.93599%+A+
Lakewood25%2.84099%A+

The four inputs of the Outdoors grade, from the engine; shares are of land, not water.

Questions about parks and trails in Dakota Ridge

Where can I hike in Dakota Ridge?

The longest trail networks: Robert A. Easton Regional Park, 3.1 miles; Harriman Lake Park, 3.1 miles; Weaver Creek Park, 0.8 miles; Trappers Glen Park, 0.4 miles. Each one is on the map above, with directions to the nearest trailhead or parking.

How much of Dakota Ridge is conserved land?

24% of its land, against a typical 7% for a Colorado town and 4% nationally (PAD-US). Conserved doesn’t always mean open to visitors: easements are usually private land.

Are dogs allowed on Dakota Ridge’s trails?

Robert A. Easton Regional Park and Harriman Lake Park don’t have dog rules recorded on the map; check the signs at the trailhead.

Where can I bike in Dakota Ridge?

30 miles of bike routes are on the map: 5.5 of painted or protected lanes and 25 of off-road paths. Named routes: Weaver Gulch Trail.

Is there public land near Dakota Ridge?

45,476 acres of parks and open public land lie inside Dakota Ridge or within 10 miles of it (PAD-US), 1,298 of them inside the town line.

How much outdoors does Dakota Ridge have?

Among the top 1% of U.S. towns on the Outdoors grade, #12 of 159 in Colorado. The grade combines the share of land that is conserved, miles of mapped trail per square mile of land, park acres per 1,000 residents and the share of residents within a half mile of a park. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

Trail talk

Conditions, parking and favorite walks from Dakota Ridge neighbors.

Town Square →
Share a tip
Sources

Where this page comes from

Conserved and public land: USGS Protected Areas Database of the United States (PAD-US), service updated July 2026. Parks, trails, playgrounds, beaches and other places: OpenStreetMap (© OpenStreetMap contributors, ODbL), map data as of 2026-10-28. Land and water area: Census 2025 Gazetteer. Residents near a park: 2020 Census blocks. National Register: National Park Service. How TownRatings grades the outdoors →