Ralph Price Reservoir, Coulson Gulch (Lyons, Colorado)

Trip date: June 10, 2018

Looking towards Button Rock Mt. near the edge of the Button Rock Preserve.

Caltopo map here: caltopo.com/m/BEPS

My original plan was a much longer loop that would hit Button Rock Mountain, Coulson Gulch and then return alongside the north side of Ralph Price Reservoir.  This was going to involve a short bushwhack up onto a hill to gain access to Button Rock Mountain.  There were some trails indicated on Caltopo's "MapBuilder Topo" map layer that I had planned on using near the start but on the drive in it was pretty obvious it was actually private property.  The route turned out being a little shorter than expected but was still fun.  

Longmont Reservoir Dam. This is the first of the two reservoirs and is much smaller than the second (Ralph Price Reservoir).

High pressure spillway below Ralph Price Reservoir. The opening was probably ~4'x4' and projected water ~50-80 feet. I've never seen something like this before but maybe it's common in dams like this.

Main Ralph Price Reservoir spillway.

From here I headed over towards Coulson Gulch (on National Forest land) and passed through a peaceful, green valley at the edge of the Button Rock Preserve.