BOULDER VALLEY MINE

This route is a 4.2-mile round trip that heads west from the Depot and drops down the hill to cross the trestle at Coal Creek, ending at Old Town Erie. This trip features an uphill climb on the return so riders should expect more of a workout with this route. Spectacular views are found throughout the ride. Look for sweeping views of the Front Range. The largest mountain to the left is Thorodin Mountain (10,540’), the headwaters of Coal Creek. To the north you can see Longs Peak (14,259’).

Just as you come through the trees near the Erie Disc Golf Course is where the original Boulder Valley Mine was located— just to the left of the tracks. The mine was owned by the Union Coal Company, part of the Union Pacific Railroad, and in 1884 the miners went on strike for better working conditions. Union Coal threatened to close the mine permanently if the miners didn’t settle the strike. Believing the threat to be a bluff, the miners held out and the coal company abandoned the works and took out the machinery. The mine eventually re-opened under new ownership in the 1890’s and you can still see some of the tailing piles up on the hill.

You will turn west and cross Coal Creek on the 130’ long timber trestle. Starting on the east side of Thorodin Mountain, the Coal Creek drainage cuts a deep canyon down through the foothills and then runs northeast through Superior, Lafayette, and Erie before joining Boulder Creek. While it may look peaceful right now, Coal Creek has seen dramatic flash flood events damaging the railroad and downtown Erie.

Our staff will stop and flag for the Briggs Street crossing. This is the main street into Old Town. In the 1880’s, the Boulder County News referred to Erie as, “one of the most lively little towns in this part of the country.” That may have been in part because Erie was the only “wet” town in the area with eleven saloons on Briggs Street by 1895. The Old Mine building at the corner of Briggs and Moffat was the State Mercantile Company general store back then.

Just past Briggs you will come to a bike path crossing. This is where the Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy railroad crossed over the Union Pacific tracks at a “junction”. The tracks were pulled up in the 1990’s leaving a gap between the houses that makes a perfect park with a path connecting Old Town Erie to the regional trail system. You can see the footings of the old railroad station just to the north of the tracks.

Your route will end at E County Line Road where your crew will turn the bikes while you can learn more about a Railroad Town, relax on the benches, or play some games.

You are following in the tracks of 150 years of Erie Coal Trains on this route!

Longs Peak Route

The 8-mile round trip from Erie Station goes west, passing through the hill cut, Boulder Valley Mine, and Old Town Erie. It continues west of County Line Road to Wise Homestead Open Space and Highway 287 before coming back. This is our longest ride with limited departures. After County Line Road, you will cross 119th Street. In the 1870s, this area competed with Erie in commerce due to the nearby Rob Roy coal mine. Canfield, north of our tracks, had a post office, general store, blacksmith shop, and a grain mill by 1878. A narrow gauge railroad, Denver, Longmont, and Northwestern Railroad, ran 8.2 miles north to Longmont to transport Rob Roy coal.

Just 10 years later a competing standard gauge line, the Chicago, Burlington, and Quincy opened a north-south route from Denver through Erie to Longmont, putting the DLNRR out of business.

Crossing 119th you enter the beautiful Wise Homestead Open Space, 169 acres of rural landscape purchased by the Town of Erie in 2019. The Wise Homestead Museum, sitting just across Jasper Road north of the tracks, is one of the oldest farmhouses in Boulder County.

About a half mile into the Open Space you will notice the Lower Boulder Ditch running along the tracks. There is a wooden trestle where the ditch passes under the tracks. This irrigation ditch diverts water from Boulder Creek near 95th St and channels it all the way to Firestone, about 15 miles east. It has the first water rights claimed from Boulder Creek in 1859.

Another half mile brings you to 109th St. In the 1860’s this was the route of the Overland Stage between Denver and Laramie. The Boon’s Ranch Stage Stop was just north of the tracks, where 109th crosses Boulder Creek. Stagecoach passengers would have a chance to get out and stretch their legs while the driver swapped out the team for the next leg of the trip to the St. Vrain Station in Longmont.

You get the same opportunity when your railbike pulls into our Stagecoach Stop Turnaround. Get off your bike, stretch your legs, enjoy some activities or soak in the scenery while our crew turns the bikes around for the trip back to Erie.