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Douglas County Parks Series: McCabe Meadows

By Kari Ploysa, Macaroni KID Highlands Ranch-Parker-Castle Rock-Lone Tree Administrative & Marketing Assistant July 18, 2022

McCabe Meadows
19700 Indian Pipe Ln., Parker 

Hours:
 6:00 AM–11:00 PM 

Formerly known as East Bank Park, McCabe Meadows is a 6-acre park just east of Salisbury Park on Parker Road.

McCabe Meadows is home to the Parker Arboretum, which showcases more than 50 different types of trees that are able to grow in the area. Cottonwoods, willows, and more bring a variety of migrating and nesting birds to the park. We made a note to keep an eye out for the differences in the trees as well as the many birds as we walked through. 


Along the way, we caught a glimpse of the StoryBook Trail and ran to find out what it was all about. 

Created by Avery Hendrick in 2019 for her Girl Scout Gold Award, Storybook Trail features 16 different panels, each with two pages of a book with prompts to get you and your children thinking and active. The book is changed out a few times a year.

The book we were able to read was Be Nice to Spiders by Margaret Bloy Graham. We counted the number of animals on the page, ran like lightning, and thought about what we would do if we saw a spider. StoryBook Trail loops around and brings you back to where you started. It's a fun little dirt-trail hike that keeps even the youngest children engaged. 


Next, we decided to take a walk down Cherry Creek Trail. The Cherry Creek Trail is paved and usually filled with people on bikes, skateboards, scooters, and more. There is a dirt trail on the shoulder of the paved trails for hikers to walk on, as well as dirt trails that lead away from the Cherry Creek Trail.

Walking along, we saw a multitude of grasshoppers hopping along with us as well as the occasional butterfly, moth, and dragonfly.


A large bridge crosses the Cherry Creek Trail. This spot is a favorite of local photographers who use it for backgrounds in photos. The water is crystal clear here. Looking down, we saw tiny fish, damselflies, dragonflies, and even some birds swooping in for lunch on the different bugs. There is a sign about the Preble's meadow jumping mouse and how protecting its habitat here is important.


The first fork in the road led us to a memorial. A ring of plaques with names and dates surrounded an angel with uplifted hands. A sign says this is The Christmas Box Angel given by the Rowan Tree Foundation in memorial of all the children who have died. It is a beautiful yet somber place to sit and reflect. 

The next fork led us to Danny's Rock. This memorial has numerous large rocks and the surrounding trees provide a good bit of shade. It was a fun place for the boys to climb the rocks and jump off into the air. We ended up laying on the ground between the rocks looking up into the canopy above.

This is such a peaceful place; no wonder Danny's parents decided to put his memorial here. 


There were trees all around, perfect for climbing. We made sure to find a nice thick tree with low limbs to start our adventure safely. Not many children know the excitement of climbing high in a tree these days. I want to make sure that mine do!

We decided it was time to turn around to go back, and then we found a man-made dam. This dam made it shallow enough to walk across the water without getting water into our shoes. It was slippery in places but a lot of fun.

The water felt warm and delightful on our toes. We were surrounded by damselflies, dragonflies, and water striders. The boys hurried to try to count them all, but there were way too many and they moved too quickly. 

We finished our trek through the arboretum and talked about all we had seen on our exploration. What a great showcase of our natural habitat!

FEATURES

  • StoryWalk
  • 2.0 miles: Colorado Front Range Trail/Cherry Creek Trail
  • Danny's Rock
  • The Christmas Box Angel
  • Arboretum
  • Cherry Creek

SEATING

  • Shelter/Pavilion
  • Picnic tables
  • Bench seats
  • Rocks

AMENITIES

  • Restrooms
  • Water fountain
  • Bicycle fixing station

NEARBY SWEETS AND TREATS

About a mile down the road, you'll find Hurts Donut Company (near the intersection of Parker Road and Hess), known for their amazing handmade doughnuts with fun toppings like cereal and frosted animal crackers.


Get outside and play more! Visit the Parks and Playgrounds section of our directory to learn about other Douglas County parks.


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