P.O. Box 822 Golden, Colorado, 80402
schweich hill open space
Introduction
Schweich Hill is 3.94 acres of Urban Open Space at the north end of Washington Avenue. The site was designated open space by the City Council in 1993.
The Schweich Hill Open Space (formerly North Washington Open Space) is a 3.94-acre city-owned parcel in North Golden. Neighborhood housing borders the land as well as a small commercial district. Deeded to the city in 1993 as part of the Canyon Point development, it has been left fallow with only minimal care by the city, such as the spraying of noxious weeds.
This discussion references maps that can be downloaded at the bottom of this page.
more about schweich hill
There is a network of social trails that crisscross the property that provides short cuts for residents going to and from the commercial area. One of the social trails connects to the Colorado 93 trail. Without appropriate future management these trails put at risk the native plant population that exists on the space.
The open space land slopes upward generally from all directions to form a relatively flat hill at an elevation above that of the surrounding housing and commercial areas. A few of the social trails avoid the hill by staying close to the edge of the open space.
While the edges of the parcel are very much disturbed and were revegetated with non-native grasses, the center of the parcel at the top of the hill contains many native plants. Over 100 species of plants have been documented in this open space. Two-thirds of them are native to Colorado.
The native grasses comprise both short and tall grasses, and both cool season and warm season grasses, which together with the native forbs (perennial plants that are not woody) show that the top of the hill is a nearly intact remnant of mixed-grass prairie.
The vegetation is part of the Western Great Plains Foothill and Piedmont Grasslands, “characterized by diverse shortgrass prairie habitat” with “a good combination of plants representative of native prairie ecosystems. (1)
Some of the identified plants on this open space are Eastern Redcedar, Salt-and-pepper, Showy Milkweed, Missouri Golden Rod, Blanket flower, and Prairie Bluebells.
Click here to see Tom Schweich's complete 2023 Botanical Resources of Schweich Hill.
This space supports typical small mammal wildlife, birds and importantly is a good haven for pollinators.
The geology of the Golden quadrangle was mapped by Van Horn (1972) report.pdf (usgs.gov). The hill is mapped as vertically oriented Arapahoe Formation on the western portion of the hill and Denver Formation on the eastern portion of the hill. These are sandstones and claystone with conglomerates, some of which contain andesitic cobbles. However, the amount of gravel in the soil on the top of the hill suggests that this hill is, in part, composed of outwash from Golden Gate Canyon. The Golden fault zone passes to the west, between Colorado Highway 93 and Mesa View Drive. (2)
The expansive scenic views from the top of this open space are to the north and south foothills as well as North and South Table Mountains and to central Golden.
As an urban open space, this land provides for nature experiences either on informal trails or from views by residents from their homes. At night the open space provides a dark area of land and the height of this open space mutes sounds from nearby highways and the commercial and retails centers providing a quiet space environment.
The above noted CNHP study stated that the site “would be excellent for teaching plains and foothill plants, as well as weeds”. In similar fashion, a pollination botanist could share information on pollinators on this open space.
(1) Colorado Natural Heritage Program, Warner College of Natural Resources, Colorado State University, “Biological Survey of Golden Open Space Property”, 2021. (See the "Accomplishments" page, 2021 for access to the report.)
(2) Anderson, Donna S and Paul B. Haseman. (2021). Golden Rocks: The Geology and Mining
History of Golden , Colorado. Golden, Colorado (download at the bottom of the "Accomplishments" page)
Photo Gallery
Blue Flax along trail
Downloads
See Stewards’ "Golden Open Space Map" and "Map Index" downloads below.
The above discussion includes the following locations on the map:
Schweich Hill Open Space - number 67 on the map and index
In total, two parcels and approximately 4 acres
Copyright © 2019 Stewards of Golden Open Space - All Rights Reserved.