Pawnee Buttes

There's a reason why tourists and native Coloradoans alike are drawn to the mountains - they are beautiful and teeming with fun things to do. That's where we spend most of our free weekends in Colorado. However, on this beautiful day in May we decided to visit an area where we had never been before - the Pawnee Buttes. The Buttes are a part of the Pawnee National Grasslands in the Arapaho and Roosevelt National Forests.



The Pawnee National Grasslands encompasses 193,000 acres of public land, so the Pawnee Buttes are just a small portion of it.

The hour trip to the Buttes down Highway 14 from Fort Collins is like no other drive we have ever taken in Colorado. Once we got past the little town of Ault, we saw very few other cars and very few people. (Make sure you fill up your gas tank before you get out of town.) What you will see is short grass prairie - and more short grass prairie, and a world away from the mountains to the west.

To get to the Buttes from the main road, we took a series of dirt roads, passing a car or a motorhome occasionally. Each vehicle that we passed kicked up a cloud of thick dust, but we welcomed those vehicles, dust and all. Had it not been for therm, we might have questioned whether we were on the right road. Dirt roads crisscross the area - get on the wrong one and you could drive a long time before you realize you are on the wrong road. There aren't a lot of signs in the area.

We finally reached the parking lot and were pleasantly surprised that it wasn't going to cost us anything to park our car or see the Buttes.

From the parking lot, it is a mile and a half to the West Butte and another half to the East Butte. We didn't think to take water with us, and there was no water anywhere in the area. This was in May, and it was very hot. Dehydration can be a serious problem here, so take water with you.Take away the heat, and the hike was easy. The trails are on rolling land with small slopes. We saw children walking the entire route, laughing and having a great time.

Te Pawnee Buttes rise to a height of 350 feet. The genesis of their creation began between 70 and 90 million years ago when this area was covered in seawater. Eventually, the surface of the earth began to move, draining the sea. Streams carried sediments, which hardened into sandstone. Approximately 5 million years ago, this area was pushed up. Fast running streams caused severe erosion. The Buttes are what didn't erode. The tops of the buttes are close to what the rest of the area looked like before the erosion.

The Buttes are one of the world's finest sites for vertebrate fossils; over 100 species have been found here.

The area was once hunting grounds for Pawnee Indians, and the Buttes served as landmarks for tribal meetings.

Eagles, falcons and other birds of prey nest in the area, and some areas are closed during certain parts of the year. We didn't see any on our visit. Nor did we see antelope which are supposed to be common in the area. The only wildlife we saw were some small birds. This is rattlesnake country so keep your eyes open.