Flowing Park
Flowing Park was arguably our favorite trail of the entire Grand Mesa trip. It was the first of many trails we'd see in one day, so we were off to a great start. Our plan was to do Land's End Road and other trails around Grand Junction, but the day wouldn't work out quite as planned due to a road race on the switchbacks down the mesa. We still had a great time.
The trail is easy to find off of Land's End Road. We discovered that the main trail, Forest Service Road 109, was graded and easy all the way to the reservoir at the end. It was the spurs that we enjoyed the most.
The first spur took us through some bumpy land and through some sections shaded by thick trees. We came around a corner and found ourselves at the edge of the mesa. We talked about how amazing it would be to wake up, leave your tent, and have your coffee on the flat rock on the edge. The scenery was absolutely amazing, and worth a side trip just to see it. We felt like we were watching the world wake up, and it was a fabulous way to start our day.
With some reluctance, we headed back to the main trail. We weren't on it long before leaving it for our next spur. This one took us past a large ranch house that looked like it was still used, and through a big meadow to a reservoir. We were hoping we'd get close to the edge of the mesa again, but it was a little far from the trail through tall grasses and thick trees. After a little discussion, we decided to skip the trek to the edge, so we continued on. This meadow was beautiful, though, so it was still worth the trip.
We took the other spur near the end, and ended up spending a lot of time there, too. There was a developed and relatively modern cabin and buildings next to the reservoir, though no one lived there at the moment. There was a lot to explore, and it was beautiful so we hung out for a long time. We drove to the end of that spur and turned around to head back.
The end of the trail had lots of vehicles parked there and a few people out and about. We snapped a couple photos but didn't get out, turning around there to head back. What an awesome trail and amazing start to a day!
