Taking a relaxing detour, between the Colorado towns of Lyons and Estes Park on highway 36, sightseers will find the Button Rock Preserve and Ralph Price Reservoir. The manmade reservoir is named after a former mayor of the city of Longmont and is their primary water source. The North Saint Vrain Creek fed the reservoir and also provides fly-fishing opportunities along its 2-mile creek-side trail. A special fishing permit from the Longmont clerk’s office allows you to fish for splake, brown and rainbow trout.
   If you are geared up for a longer hike, the Sleepy Lion Trail is what you are looking for. Measuring about 5 miles, the trail leads begins through a forest of juniper and ponderosa pines. After a few switchbacks, views of the twin peaks, Mount Meeker and Longs Peak, appear to the west. Soon the waters of Ralph Price Reservoir come into view and you will hear the rush water at the base of Button Rock Dam.
   The preserve is home to various bird species, including the golden eagle, pygmy owl, osprey, bald eagle, ducks, geese, great blue heron, Steller’s jays, and assorted hummingbirds. Preserve visitors share the land with fox, big horn sheep, mule deer, yellow-bellied marmots, cottontail rabbits, Abert’s squirrels, black bears, and prairie rattlesnakes. Sightings are rare, but mountain lions and coyotes are a few of the other forest denizens.

     Area Map