Trinidad Lake State Park, State park and recreational area in Las Animas County, US
Trinidad Lake State Park is a protected area in southern Colorado built around a reservoir framed by pinyon-juniper woodlands and open grasslands. The park includes camping and picnic facilities along with hiking trails that pass through several different natural habitats.
Trinidad Lake State Park lies 4 miles west of Trinidad, Colorado, where a dammed reservoir on the Purgatoire River is held back. The park also preserves a portion of the mountain route of the Santa Fe Trail and the coal mining ruins at Cokedale. An exposure of the Cretaceous–Paleogene boundary is visible in its southern part.
A portion of the mountain route of the Santa Fe Trail runs through the park, the trade road that linked Missouri with New Mexico. The park also holds the coal mining ruins at Cokedale, remains of the area's later industrial past that visitors can walk among.
The park is open year-round, but the drier months tend to offer the best conditions for hiking the trails and using the water. Parking areas and a visitor center near the entrance make it easy to get your bearings before heading out.
In the park's southern section, an exposure of the Cretaceous–Paleogene boundary is visible, the rock layer marking the mass extinction that ended the dinosaurs. Visitors can also find ruins from the coal mining community of Cokedale.
The community of curious travelers
AroundUs brings together thousands of curated places, local tips, and hidden gems, enriched daily by 94,589 contributors worldwide.
