Steinhoff Hill and Larimer Foothills

Steinhoff Hill is 480 acre plot that is part of Colorado's 3-million acre Land Trust Program, leasing of which benefits CO's K-12 school system. The Steinhoff Hill parcel is open to hikers year round. Steinhoff Hill is a great day-hike area, and would be a great family off-trail adventure. There are no trails, but there are no trees (except for a couple of cottonwoods in the gulch) so visibility on the ridge-line is excellent for orientation.  Just a lot of cheatgrass and brome. It's also an interesting area to see Mountain Mahogany grow only on the hot, dry, west slopes, and not the east slopes. And if you're lucky like us, you'll see an elk herd browsing on the Mountain Mahogany. A special view is the Elliott's “Symbol Rock”. The Hill is situated between the Lone Pine on the south, and Rabbit Creek on the north. Below the Hill on the Lone Pine Creek, you'll see two ranches that were formed by Larimer county's earliest settlers. The Hansen Ranch easterly, and next door neighbor the Scottdale Ranch to the west. These ranches date back to 1893, and one of Larimer county's early English “remittance men”. Now what is a “remittance man”? Well hike the Hill, enjoy the views of the snow-capped Mummy Range, Calloway Hill, the broad valleys of the Lone Pine and Rabbit Creek, the N Fork of the Poudre....and then read about the remittance man that formed the ranches below you.