Staunton State Park
State Park in Pine, CO
Hours:
Park: Daily, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Entrance Fees:
Daily Vehicle Pass: $10
Individual Daily Pass: $4
Animals Permitted:
- Leashed Dogs
- Service Animals
- Horses
Park Address:
12102 S. Elk Creek Road
Pine, CO 80470
United States
Staunton State Park
State Park in Pine, CO
Hours:
Park: Daily, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Entrance Fees:
Daily Vehicle Pass: $10
Individual Daily Pass: $4
Animals Permitted:
- Leashed Dogs
- Service Animals
- Horses
Park Address:
12102 S. Elk Creek Road
Pine, CO 80470
United States
Navigate to:
Low Water Levels - Davis Pond
For dam safety, water levels have been lowered in the lower Davis pond. Accessing the pond from the east shoreline will be difficult, so please instead fish the upper pond or within the rip-rap of the lower pond. Low water levels will continue throughout this winter.
Jagged mountains partially covered with pine trees
Welcome to Staunton State Park
Staunton State Park offers diverse landscapes, ranging from grassy meadows at 8,100 feet to granite cliffs over 10,000 feet, supporting unique plant communities and a wide array of wildlife. This diverse landscape opens up countless possibilities for outdoor activities.
3,988
acres
25
campsites
25
picnic sites
37
miles of trails
Directions
Accessing the Park
From Denver
Take US Highway 285 south to Shaffers Crossing, about six miles west of Conifer. Turn north on Elk Creek Road and follow the signs 1.5 miles to the park entrance.
On busy weekends, the Lazy V parking lot fills up early in the morning. Please plan ahead. Parking in this lot is not guaranteed when we reach capacity. Park Rangers will evaluate availability on a 15-20 minute cycle. Please utilize all other parking areas.
The Staunton Visitor Center is located on the southeast side of the park on the park entrance road off Elk Creek Road.
Hours: 8:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. daily.
There are two electric vehicle charging stations located in the Visitor Center parking lot.
Fees and Passes
Pass |
Description |
Duration |
Cost |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Daily Vehicle Pass |
Single vehicle and its occupants |
1 Day |
$10 |
|
Individual Daily Pass |
For individual entry on foot, bicycle, horseback, etc at select parks |
1 Day |
$4 |
|
DMV vehicle registration renewal option for Colorado residents |
12 Months |
$29 |
|
|
Annual Vehicle Pass (Affixed) |
Pass for a single vehicle and its occupants |
12 Months |
$80 |
|
Family Annual Pass (Hang Tag) |
Members of the same household |
12 Months |
$120 |
|
Aspen Leaf Annual Pass |
Visitors 64+ |
12 Months |
$70 |
|
Centennial Pass |
Income-eligible Colorado residents |
12 Months |
$14 |
|
Columbine Pass |
Colorado residents with disabilities |
12 Months |
$14 |
|
Veterans License Plate |
DMV vehicle registration renewal option for military veterans (disabled veterans or purple heart plates) |
Lifetime |
Free |
|
Independence Lifetime Pass |
Colorado resident veterans with disabilities |
Lifetime |
Free |
|
Blue Spruce Pass |
Colorado resident first responders with disabilities |
Lifetime |
$10 |
Nature and Wildlife
The park has a mix of grasslands, foothills, cliffs and streams, creating a varied landscape. With an elevation gradient of over 2,000 feet, diverse terrain and water features, the park is home to many different plant and animal communities.
Be on the Lookout for Birds
Can you spot all the resident and visiting bird species? Download the Bird List Brochure (PDF).
Birds You Might Find
- American Robin
- Hose Wren
- Osprey
- Downy Woodpecker
Mammals You Might Find
- Elk
- Least Chipmunk
- Pacific Marten
- Coyote
Reptiles and Amphibians You Might Find
- Western Terrestrial Garter Snake
Geology at This Park
Most of the park lies on a large granite formation called the Pikes Peak batholiths. Formed as the Earth's crust was pushed up from below its hot liquid core, this batholith intruded into Precambrian metamorphic rocks. Millennia of uplift and erosion exposed the granite and eroded away most of the Precambrian rocks. Different rates of erosion created spectacular groupings of granite cliffs and outcrops like Lions Head, Chimney Rock, Elk Creek Spires and Staunton Rocks.
The rock found throughout the park has unique colors, shades and sparkles. Please leave rocks where you found them and do not take them home for your own collection.
Habitats and Plants at This Park
The variety of terrain and soils of Staunton State Park supports extensive vegetation diversity and complexity typical of Colorado Front Range mountains. In the upper montane forests, which cover the vast majority of the park, there are ponderosa pine, Douglas fir, lodgepole pine, Englemann spruce, limber pine and aspen scattered throughout the park.
Interspersed with the forest are several lush meadow wetlands and drier montane grassland communities. Riparian trees, and shrubs and wetland vegetation dominate the stream corridors.
Wildflowers are abundant throughout the park. Join one of our naturalist-led wildflower hikes to learn more about the plant life in the park. To help preserve their beauty for future generations, please do not pick the wildflowers or plants.
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History
The first parcel that would become part of Staunton was donated in 1986 by Frances Hornbrook Staunton.
What we know today as the park’s approximately 3,828 acres are made up of parcels of land acquired over the years. The properties that make up the park are rich in human history, having supported a variety of uses, including:
- Homesteading and a family retreat in the middle of the park site
- Ranching on the southern portions of the site
- Logging and a turn-of-the-20th-century sawmill in the northern part of the site
- A sportsman's club on the western side of the site
The first 1,720-acre parcel was donated to Colorado Parks and Wildlife in 1986 by Frances Hornbrook Staunton, daughter of Drs. Rachel and Archibald Staunton, who homesteaded the land beginning around the turn of the 20th century.
Subsequent parcels, including a portion of the Davis Ranch and Elk Falls property, were acquired in the late 1990s.
In 2006, a small key parcel, called the Chase property, was added to the park to reach its current land base of approximately 3,828 acres. This parcel was once owned by Mary Coyle Chase, a Denver native, journalist and playwright best known for her play Harvey, which won the Pulitzer Prize for drama in 1945.
In November 2014, former Colorado State Senator and Representative Allen Dines donated 80 acres and his family vacation home to Colorado Parks and Wildlife. It was the last private property surrounded by the park. This acquisition allowed for rerouting of the Staunton Ranch trail and an area for hike-in tent campsites. It remains a corridor for wildlife migration through the park.