Round Trip Distance: 0.2 miles
Difficulty: Easy
Elevation: 7629 - 7645 feet
Cellphone: 3-5 bars
Time: 15 mins.
Trailhead: West Mount Falcon
Fee: none
Attractions: Falcon Castle Ruins
The Walker Home Ruins, also known as the Falcon Castle Ruins, is located in Mount Falcon Park near Morrison, Colorado. The short trail begins off of the Castle trail and leads to the last remaining walls of the former home of the John B. Walker family, a self-made millionaire, as among other things, the owner of Cosmopolitan Magazine and the Stanley Steamer steam-powered automobile company. The house was struck by lightening and burned to the ground in 1918 leaving the remaining walls that can be seen today.
To get to the trailhead drive south on Highway 8 from its junction with Highway 74 for 2 miles. Keep right and merge onto Highway 285 and continue for 2.58 miles and turn right onto the Parmalee Gulch Road. From there simply follow the signs for a little over 1.5 miles to Mount Falcon Park.
The trail to the Walker Home Ruins begins around the 3/4 mile point of the Castle trail beginning at the West Mount Falcon Park trailhead.
The actual trail is very short. Most of the distance for this hike is spent in getting to the trail and then walking around the ruins themselves.
The inner courtyard offer a place from which to view much of what remains from one location.
The tallest structure is the chimney where one of the homes fireplaces can be seen on a ground floor while above it on the next floor another can be seen facing in a different direction.
A sign mentions that the mansion was built by stone masons from Italy and upon completion included 10 bedrooms, a music room, observation deck, 8 fireplaces, a library and servants quarters.
This is a view of the tower where supports have been installed to help preserve one of the remaining walls.
A kiosk at the site provides several insights about John Walker and the mansion. Apparently the Denver Mountain Parks and Jefferson County Open Spaces have benefited from 4,000 acres of land in the area that John Walker had purchased.
The Walker Home Ruins doesn't take a lot of time to visit which leaves more of the trails in the area waiting to be explored. If you continue along the Castle trail you can also visit the Walker's Dream site where an effort was made to build a 'Summer White House' for the President of the United States. There is also the Two Dog trail in that direction that leads to an overlook of the Morrison and Denver areas. Across from where the Walker Home Ruins trail connects to the Castle trail is the Meadow trail which is a nice alternative for returning to the West trailhead. As far as the Walker Home Ruins goes, if you would like to see it for yourself then all you have to do is 'Take a hike'.