DM Ranch

This geocache is part of Colorado's South Park GeoTour, which means you can win prizes by finding 20 or more caches. Visit our website for more information and to download your GeoTour Passport!

Container Type: Lock & Lock
Code Location: Inside Container
Access Info: This cache is located on USFS property.
Winter Access: Same

The land that would become the DM Ranch was first patented in 1879 by Civil War veteran Anson Burlingame. The high-protein grasses of the South Park fed a wide variety of wild game, which made it a good place to raise livestock to feed the miners and to ship high-quality hay to the eastern states and Europe. This ranch went through a series of owners in the 1880s but eventually a man named John W. Drake took ownership and fully devoted himself to working the ranch in 1895. By most accounts, the ranch was successful during Drake’s ownership and this trend continued when it was sold in 1912. Today, many ranchers have placed their land in conservation easements to insure that the open ranges will remain grazing areas for not just their livestock, but also for the herds of elk, deer, and antelope that winter in the South Park.

This cache is located just off the roadway on County Road 22 (Weston Pass Road), which runs west from highway 285. The DM Ranch is located a short distance further down the road and is denoted by interpretive signage by the gate.