Colorado’s greatest natural wonders are mostly in its
mountains . It’s very rare to make anything on the Great Plains anywhere east of
Denver into a destination, and there are very few attractions in what was
called “The Great American Desert” by early explorers. One exception to that is
the Pawnee Buttes in northeastern Colorado, a landmark to which I have
surprisingly never been before despite having lived in nearby Cheyenne, Wyoming
for a year and a half as well as many years in the Denver/Boulder area.

So in trying to find something different to do, I suggested
to my friend Jerad that we check out the Pawnee Buttes. He had never been there
either and was game for it. However, when I mentioned it to other people their
response was, “Pawnee Buttes in the middle of July when it’s going to be about
100 degrees? Are you crazy?” Well, it’s Colorado, so it’s going to be “a dry
heat”! I know, that’s what they all say. Yes, I agree, a cooler time of year
might be better for the Buttes, but I want to go now.

The Pawnee Buttes are located about 10 miles south of where
Colorado, Wyoming, and Nebraska meet and are about 125 miles from Denver . It
doesn’t look all that far on a map, and there aren’t any major physical
barriers like mountains along the way, but in the West’s wide open spaces
distances are long. It was about noon by the time we got there (yeah, I know –
hottest time of day), but there’s no rush. The distance from the trailhead to
the Buttes is only about 1.5 miles…and it’s not as if it involves walking up a
mountain.

In some ways the grasslands east of Denver seem more remote
than the mountains. Like elsewhere on the Great Plains, it’s Big Sky Country
where you can see almost to the horizon in the rolling waves of grass. Much of
the plains is farmed and depending on time of year looks mostly like dirt fields,
green wheat shoots that turn brown in summer and fall, or irrigated corn
fields. The area around the Buttes, though, is part of Pawnee National
Grassland so much of the land is covered with rather natural grassland that
probably looks much the way it did before European settlement.

Anyway, the trail to the Buttes is about 1 .5 miles and
relatively level. We didn’t encounter any rattlesnakes or anything, probably
smarter than we humans out in the midday heat. In fact, we didn’t encounter any
other humans either. The Pawnee Buttes are around 300 feet tall and are all
that remains of a higher plain that was eroded away. In geologic time it probably
won’t take very long until they are entirely gone as well. You can walk all the
way around the western butte, but the eastern one is technically on private
land and can only be approached at some distance. Altogether it’s not the most
exciting hike in Colorado, but it’s quite unique scenery and completely
different from mountain hikes. Colorado’s immense variety is one of the reasons
I love living in the state.