There are some easy hikes a person can take in Southwestern Colorado if time is a consideration.

Faced with some time to kill before another assignment later in the evening one Friday afternoon, I decided to check out a few quick trails in and around the Cortez area.

I happened, by chance, to have stopped at the Sleeping Ute Mountain Rest Area, located a few miles east of Cortez on U.S. Highway 160. Near the restroom facilities, I spotted a sign for trailhead. I decided to take it. It winds through piñon pine and juniper trees. It has a pea gravel surface and winds for about a quarter-mile or so and then returns along the west side of the parking area at the rest stop. This is an easy hike or walk. Considering it is such a short trail, it does takes hikers deep into the trees. It is accessible to a person who is physically challenged in a wheelchair.

Well, that didn’t take long. Faced with more time to kill, I decided to take a walk around Totten Lake. Although administered by the Colorado Division of Wildlife as a State Wildlife Area, the reservoir does not have developed trails around the water’s edge. However, people have worn many different paths around the lake.

Starting from the boat ramp area, where there is ample parking, there is plenty of room to walk without many obstacles to negotiate. There is sand and crushed slate rocks. Several paths cross the dam at the southern end of the lake. The top one is the easiest to take. It is sandy and not many rocks to walk over.

The west side of the lake is filled with small pinon pine and juniper pine trees. Walking along the water’s edge is easy. Heading north, though, the trees are cottonwoods. There is a lot of swampy areas which must be negotiated. This is where the inlet for the reservoir is located. This area almost is a true wetlands. There are many trees on this side of the reservoir, which makes for a cool walk.

Trudging along the east side, trees turn back into junipers and pinons. The trees are on the side of the hill and mesa top. Walking along the water, there are lot of large boulders. But there are paths around them, so walking is still easy.

It takes about an hour to two hours, depending on pace, to walk around the whole reservoir. Many people walk their dogs. But unfortunately where you find people, you will also find trash. Totten Lake, especially at the parking area near the restrooms, is often filled with cans and bottles. Even around the shore, I picked up a small grocery bag of cans.

Many different varieties of birds call the reservoir environment home. These include bald eagles, turkey buzzards, swallows, starlings, ducks, geese and gulls. Keeping an eye also on the ground, I spotted shells. I guess these must be from freshwater mollusks. I also spotted some fossils in the slate rocks.

Although this trail is about an hour drive from Cortez, it is probably one of the most unique in all of Colorado. It is called Geyser Spring Trail, located just off the West Fork Road north of Dolores. The trailhead is located about 18 miles north of the turnoff from Colorado Highway 145 on to West Fork Road (about 2 miles south of Dunton).

What makes this hike special is the trail leads to a small hot springs. In the middle of the hot spring is a spring-fed geyser. The pool begins to look like its boiling. It’s not really, it’s just starting to erupt. It certainly isn’t much, the water shoots up only a few feet every 30 to 40 minutes. Old Faithful it’s not. The pool stays at a constant 82 degrees and it is large enough to sit in.

The trailhead is marked with a small sign near a barn structure. This is small fenced lane leading down to the river where there is a large blue spruce tree. The West Fork Dolores River can, at times be hard to cross when the river is flowing high, but most of the time all it takes is a little balance in crossing some rocks when the water is low after runoff.

Look for some well worn paths that are very deep up a meadow. The trail heads up the east side of the canyon staying north of the creek. The trail, though, forks. Don’t head north. Head to the right (south). Several large trees, apparently knocked down from an avalanche, block the trail. Hikers need to climb over, under or around these trees to get back on the trail. Hikers also need to watch for rocks. The trail winds around the side of a hill and there are rock slide areas. The trail then makes a sharp turn toward the east. At the end of the trail, near the creek, is the geyser, the only one in Colorado.