The North Saint Vrain CCC Bridge: Bridging Generations of Family Hiking History
North St. Vrain CCC Bridge: Bridging Generations of Family Hiking History
By Daniel N. Gossett
This fall, when I heard that the North Saint Vrain CCC Bridge in Wild Basin, Rocky Mountain National Park, was being replaced, I had a few thoughts. One was reflecting about all the family history we had built with the bridge over the years. My other thought was of the history of this bridge being built by the depression-era men that joined the Civilian Conservation Corps.
These men came to the Park to have meaningful work, cutting trees, building trails and infrastructure, including this beautiful bridge, between 1933 and 1942. Records from the Park Service Superintendent Reports show that it was likely built in the summer of 1935 while the first two miles of the Wild Basin trail was reconstructed. Part of the character of this bridge was the historical “Naturalistic Landscape Design” rockwork, built at the bridge ends. This style of work is also seen subtlety along many trails throughout Wild Basin, as well as on many other structures and trails throughout the Park.
06.22.2016: “Lover’s Leap” Falls above the North Saint Vrain CCC Bridge
06.22.2016 Looking down trail across the North St. Vrain CCC bridge.
In this case, the rockwork incorporated the ends of the rails, adding a feeling of permanence to the structure. From my perspective, the bridge never appeared to change in all the years my family and I hiked over it.
My father worked in Allenspark in 1949, and Wild Basin was his local recreation. As a child in the 1960’s, I remember hiking to Calypso Cascades up this trail with my grandparents. In the late 1960’s and early 1970’s we were joined by our cousins on this trail. Working on the Southern Trail Crew, I spent most of seven summers up and down this trail in the 1970’s. The bridge was always a break spot, providing a cool breeze, before heading up the steep section of trail, or going the other way up the “fisherman’s trail” to the other North Saint Vrain (NSV) bridge, on the trail above Ouzel Falls. One brother and my Dad and I skied into Thunder Lake one year in the late 1970’s, and my Dad and I hiked into Thunder Lake in 1978 on another trip.
In 1982, my wife and our four kids hiked to Thunder Lake, taking a break at this bridge on the way. With the extra mile added for hiking from the “Winter parking lot” on the Wild Basin Road, the distance was perfect for a cool water stop.
In 2008, we took five grandkids up the trail. We stopped at the bridge. While grandson Falon fished, we had to make sure he did not catch the American Dipper, which was foraging underwater below the bridge. Everyone posed for a photo against the upper bridge railing. “Lover’s Leap” falls (Susan Joy Paul) is seen upstream off this bridge.
Five Grandkids and Stephanie on North Saint Vrain Bridge.
07.19.2014: The downtrail approach to the bridge.
07.19.2014: Granddaughter Stephanie on CCC Bridge, “Lover’s Leap” falls is the in background.
In 2014, my granddaughter and I hiked to Bluebird Lake for a chapter in my book. We stopped by this bridge before cutting up the fisherman’s trail, since we had to backtrack down the trail because the Ouzel Falls bridge was washed out due to the 2013 floods.
In 2016, my grandson, Tyson and I hiked to Thunder Lake and rested at this bridge. We came back down via Ouzel Falls so he could see the falls and the new bridge near the falls. That was the same day my article on the new Ouzel bridge was published in the Greeley Tribune.
07.27.2016: Grandson Tyson at North St. Vrain Bridge
07.27.2016: The bridge during our hike to Thunder Lake.
The new NSV bridge was built in the NPS Trails Shop and transported to the site by pack animals. The old bridge was stripped down to the steel I-beam, and new decking, posts, mid-rails, and handrails were installed during the third full week of September 2022. While the new rails were not incorporated into the rock landscaping, the rockwork was retained to keep its character. The handrails were cut from trees in the vicinity of the bridge.
03.12.2023: The new North St. Vrain bridge.
03.12.2023: Naturalistic Landscaped Rocks at Bridge Ends.
03.12.2023: The waterscape below the new bridge.
03.12.2023: The rail looks low due to the packed snow deck, Falon on the new bridge.
Winter is an enjoyable time to travel in the backcountry without the crowds. On the morning of the daylight time change, March 12th, my now 29-year-old grandson Falon and I hiked from the winter parking lot to the new bridge, ate lunch and then hiked up to Calypso Cascades. Our total trek was 5.6 miles roundtrip. The wind was brisk, and a few snow flurries flew. Although we carried snowshoes, the trail was hard-packed snow. The waterfalls were buried under sculpted snow, beautiful, but almost colorless with the overcast for photography. With five cars in the parking lot at our start, and 5-6 people on the trail early in the day, we found the anticipated spring break crowds coming up trail late, on our way out. We counted twenty-five parked cars when we left. The hike was spectacular with the company, and the new bridge looked great.
In the future, I look forward to our first hike to the new bridge with our two great-grandsons, now six, and 20 months old.
03.12.2023: Calypso Cascades (Cony Creek) in winter landscape.
Dan Gossett is a longtime hiker and former trail crew employee of Rocky Mountain National Park. He is a natural resources writer and photographer who lives in Eaton, Colorado. He is the author of Precious Water in Rocky Mountain National Park, published in 2022. He may be contacted at Daniel.N.Gossett@gmail.com.
