Donimages Photography: Castle Rock City Trails

Castle Rock, CO, has a series of city supported trails and open spaces that are available to visitors and residents. I took a walk with the kids along the East Plum Creek Trail. (Official website: www.crgov.com )

Much of the trail is concrete paved, so it is an easy trail for anybody, even wheelchairs.

There are many photo opportunities along the trail, even just from the paved portion. It wanders along a creek much of the way, with the plants and animals that are normally found near water.

It was February when I walked through, so animals weren't in evidence except for the occasional rabbit. The plants were mostly brown with some green appearing due to the early spring-like weather this year.

I recommend leaving the paved trail. There are several tracks branching off around Wilcox and Plum Creek that allow you to follow the train tracks. There are bridges with some rather benign graffiti worth checking out.

I'm from Southern California and used to gang graffiti. This isn't gang graffiti. It's suburban teenager graffiti, with political slogans, personal messages of love, and in one place a memorial to a teenager that was recently killed. Artistic work, but very non-threatening.

The railroad is a significant part of Castle Rock's history. There are still two active railroad tracks through town, the Northbound side on East side of I-25, and the Southbound track on the West side of I-25. I wandered along the Northbound track for a short distance.

The trails run near homes and businesses as well, providing some opportunities for suburban and industrial photography.

A portion of the paved trail was under construction to add a bridge over the creek. That provided some interestingly incongruous images of construction equipment in the trees.

There is much more to the trail than what I walked. But since I had my kids with me, my little girl was getting pooped out. I'll visit again, preferably once spring comes and the plants begin to flower.