Michigan Creek Ranching

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

A small ranching community formed along Michigan Creek in the late 1870s when Charles Volz, August Leseburg, and brothers Henry and Peter Schattinger arrived from Ohio and purchased or homesteaded adjoining properties. Their shared German ancestry must have formed a bond between the families, which was strengthened by the marriage of Peter Schattinger to August’s sister Elizabeth Leseburg. Henry Schattinger came to Colorado in hopes that the mountain climate would improve his health and became one of the first settlers in the Jefferson area to achieve success in ranching and hay production. The descendants of the Schattingers married into other well known ranching families in the Jefferson area, including Eshe and Steiner, and added hundreds of acres to their holdings. Today, the old Volz, Leseburg, and Schattinger homesteads are part of the expansive 74 Ranch northwest of Jefferson.

Schattinger Ranch around 1890, courtesy of the Park County Local History Archives

From Highway 285, take county Road 35 north from Jefferson to County Road 54 (Michigan Creek Road) and continue toward Georgia Pass.  Drive past Michigan Creek Campground to a switchback, then turn left on to Forest Service Road 136, which will lead you to the cache. Most high clearance vehicles can traverse this road in good weather, but it also makes for a nice hike. Please obey all posted signage along the road.