Glade Guard Station Trail in Summer

The Glade is a wide and long meadow area in the western part of the San Juan National Forest in southwest Colorado. The hiking access that I used is about 15 miles north along Forest Road 504 from the Bradfield Recreation area on the lower Dolores River. At 14 miles the Forest Road passes the 50 acres Glade Lake, a good waterfowl bird watching site.

The Glade extends east and west for about 2 miles between Forest Roads 504 and 514. I think the mountain in the distance is called Glade Mountain. In the spring, there is a lot of water flowing through the Glade, but in early July the streams were dry. Besides Glade Lake, there are some other wetlands ponds in the area. There are a fair amount of wildflowers throughout the meadow area.

Besides the waterfowl at Glade Lake, I had the luck to see a small herd of Elk resting among the Ponderosa Pines along the north edge of the Glade. Most of the group was lounging in the shade. I might have missed seeing them if two of the group hadn’t ventured out into the open.

They retreated back into the forest when I got to within about 200 yards. From the distance I thought there were about 15 animals in the herd. Besides the Ponderosa Pines, this section of forest has many Aspens and Gamble Oaks.
 

Toward the east end of the Glade there is a Forest Road Junction of roads 514 and 497. At this junction the historic Glade Guard Station is visible.

The station was established in 1905 and was very isolated at the time. The existing structures were built in 1916 and the station continued to operate until the 1970s when it fell into disuse. There is a current volunteer project to restore the structures and make them available for public rental.

The main thrust of the restoration is to preserve the past, with former forest workers providing the momentum. I just observed from a distance, as it appeared that work was going on during my visit to the area.

 I explored into the forest in the area above the junction of 514 and 497. From here I could see one of the wetlands areas but didn't go over to it. Along a cow trail that followed a fence line I had a Black Bear sighting.

The bear stepped out of the brush and stood up for about 5 seconds, seemingly very calm. It then ducked back into the brush in an unhurried manner. Elk herds and Black Bear on the same hike is a rare double.

Besides the Glade, I did some hiking in the forest area between Glade Lake and the Glade. Compared to the spring, the water level is lower with a wider band of dark green wetlands vegetation. I just took a quick glance at Glade Lake, but I think I saw American Coots, Shovelers and Redhead ducks.
 

There are several fence lines in the area, usually with cow trails along them that a hiker can follow. My total hike was for 3:00 hours for about 6 miles. It was a 95 F degree day in the Cortez, CO area but comfortable in the forest. I carried and drank 2 liters of water.

Glade Lake Trail

Glade Lake is a 50 acre wetlands area in the western part of San Juan National Forest in southwest Colorado. From the Bradfield Bridge Recreation Area on the Dolores River it is 14 miles north on Forest Road 504. Glade Lake is clearly visible on the east side of the Forest Road.

On the southwest edge there is the remains of an old corral and there is a fence around the site to exclude cattle that is easy to step through. The surrounding forest is Ponderosa Pines with patches of Aspens. There isn’t as much cattail and bulrush here as I was expecting. 

There is a current multiyear wetlands restoration project that features Glade Lake. The fence that excludes cattle encloses 280 acres around the lake and good vegetation responses have been observed. This project has already received an award from the Forest Service Program Wings Across the Americas, a program focused on birds, bats and butterflies. There are four other wetlands in "The Glade" area that are part of the project.

At the north end of Glade Lake there is what looks like an historic berm with an antique flow control structure, constructed using locally available rocks. It reminded me of the 800 year old water management efforts at Mummy Lake at Mesa Verde National Park.

I spent 0:50 minutes walking completely around the lake clockwise, on a windy 56 F degree early May day. The most common bird I saw was the American Coot, mostly congregating in the center of the lake. Near the edges I saw several Mallards and Northern Shovelers, plus one Eared Grebe and one Canada Goose.

A fight of Yellow Headed Blackbirds passed through and there were groups of Swallows. Around the edges were Killdeers. About 1.5 miles north of Glade Lake the Forest Road crosses the area called “The Glade.” This wide level area between forested hillsides had some flowing water and looks like a good area for hiking and apparently has four wetlands areas associated with it.