Jefferson County Open Space – Golden, CO

Jefferson County Open Space manages more than 52,000 acres and 210 trails along the Front Range. There are twenty-eight parks within JCOS that are free to access year-round. Jefferson County has a slightly larger population than the entire state of Wyoming, but shares more than just demographics with the Cowboy State, the views are tremendous too.

The cities of Lakewood and Golden are the two largest communities in this, the fourth largest county in Colorado. To the west of both of these communities lies some of the most beautiful scenery in the entire Rocky Mountain region, including the towns of Morrison and Evergreen.

Activities

Parks within the JeffCo Open Space system offer a variety of recreation from hiking and biking to rock climbing and horseback riding. This well-managed network of parks makes living along the Front Range a mountain experience. The parks are located throughout Jefferson County, in the towns of Golden, Morrison, and Evergreen.

Crown Hill Lake Colorado Autumn — Crown Hill Lake in Wheat Ridge, CO. Photo by: Michael Kirsh

See the Activity Guide (PDF) for things to do at each park.

Camping:

Read about the camping near Golden and Black Hawk.
Read about the camping near Lakewood and Morrison.

Jefferson County Parks

Alderfer/Three Sisters
Apex
Cathedral Spires
Centennial Cone
Clear Creek Canyon
Crown Hill
Deer Creek Canyon
Elk Meadow – Evergreen
Flying J Ranch
Hildebrand Ranch
Hiwan Homestead Museum
Lair o’ the Bear
Lookout Mtn Nature Center
Matthews/Winters
Meyer Ranch
Mount Galbraith
Mount Falcon – Morrison
North Table Mountain – Golden
Pine Valley Ranch – Pine
Reynolds (*camping)
South Table Mountain – Golden
South Valley
Van Bibber
Welchester Tree Grant
White Ranch (*camping) – Golden
Windy Saddle

*Free walk-in camping is available by permit only at only two parks: White Ranch and Reynolds.

With more than two hundred trails it’s easy to find a scenic hike or bike ride. Each park offers something unique, like massive sandstones or quiet aspen groves. More Jefferson County recreation can be found at a number of city parks and two state parks including Chatfield and Golden Gate Canyon.