The Backcountry Got Bison This Summer. Its Fall Calendar Is Where Residents Get Their Turn.

The bison at Daniels Park have been a Denver Mountain Parks herd since 1938. For most of that time they grazed on the far side of a fence line from Highlands Ranch. This summer their grazing range moved onto prairie inside the HRCA Backcountry Wilderness Area. According to the Denver Zoo Conservation Alliance, bison hadn't roamed that land in more than 150 years.

The resident trails are only part of how you get onto the Backcountry. Between now and the end of the year, HRCA is opening more of it through a short list of ticketed evenings and afternoons, and the biggest of them starts Friday, Oct. 23.

What Changed on the Prairie This Summer

Four partners announced the project in an HRCA release dated June 29, 2026: the HRCA Backcountry Wilderness Area, Denver Mountain Parks, the Denver Zoo Conservation Alliance and Sanctuary Golf Course. The zoo's own August write-up adds Colorado State University and the TallBull Memorial Council. The arrangement is seasonal grazing. The herd stays under Denver Mountain Parks management, so these are still Denver's bison, using Highlands Ranch prairie.

Sources don't agree on the size of that prairie. HRCA's May post on its Backcountry Field Notes blog described a newly prepared 200-acre pasture. The June partner release said about 150 acres, and so did The Denver Post's June 26 story. The Castle Pines Connection reported a 160-acre addition. It also put the Daniels Park herd at 24 to 40 animals in a typical year, depending on how many calves are born.

The herd is being tracked, too. The Denver Zoo reported in June that two bulls and two cows got GPS collars, and the rest of the herd got GPS ear tags. That data shows partners how the animals use the new ground. The zoo says these grasslands, together with the Backcountry and Cherokee Ranch, are one of the largest stretches of untilled prairie left in Colorado. The zoo's Great Plains Restoration Coordinator, Tim Luethke, described the timeline to the Denver Zoo Conservation Alliance:

"We want to think about the next 100 to 1,000 years of pasture management for these bison. As long as the City of Denver exists, this herd is going to be here."

The Land the Bison Use Is Land You Book

The Backcountry is about 7,000 acres, according to HRCA CEO and General Manager Mike Bailey in the June release, and HRCA runs it as managed recreation. These are the access rules posted on HRCA's Backcountry Trails page and its Map and Directions page:

• The 11.2 miles of private Backcountry trails are open to HRCA residents and the guests with them. You need to carry your HRCA recreation ID.
• HRCA says nonmembers on those trails are trespassing.
• Rocky Gulch Trail is the only private trail system that allows dogs, and they must be leashed. Leashed dogs are also allowed on the public Douglas County East/West Trail.
• The Outdoor Center has no public trailhead, and Base Camp doesn't take drop-in visits. You get in by signing up for a program, lesson or activity.

So far, the bison side follows the same pattern. The Castle Pines Connection reported that the herd would be visible from a vantage point in Daniels Park. Denver's Daniels Park map marks the bison pastures as closed to the public. Visitors stay on the park's multi-use trail and in its parking areas. In May, HRCA said special UTV tours of the grazing area and related education programs would come "in the coming months." 5280 described them as reservation-only herd tours. For now, HRCA's Backcountry event listing for the rest of 2026 shows October's Haunted Forest events and a December Winter Solstice event. No bison tour is listed.

Outside the resident trails, those two events are how the Backcountry opens up this season.

Haunted Forest Weekend, Sorted by Who's Coming

The main event is the Haunted Forest, a three-quarter-mile walk through the woods recommended for ages 10 and up. It runs Friday, Oct. 23, from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. and Saturday, Oct. 24, from 7 to 10 p.m. General admission is $15 and a fast pass is $25. HRCA warns there will be flashing strobe lights in the forest.

Saturday is built in tiers, so a household with a toddler, a 9-year-old and a teenager can each find the right slot:

1. Haunted Forest Fall Fest, 1 to 4 p.m. Tickets are $10 per child and $5 per adult, and children under 1 get in free.
2. Haunted Forest Fright Lite, 5 to 7 p.m. Tickets are $10. HRCA calls it a toned-down trail walk with no active scare actors.
3. The full Haunted Forest, 7 to 10 p.m. This is the ages-10-plus version at $15 or $25, the second of its two nights.

All three events use the same entrance. Park at Rocky Heights Middle School, 11033 Monarch Blvd. HRCA's listing gives the address as Lone Tree, CO 80124. Then walk the trail off the south end of the parking lot to the Haunted Forest Community Area, where music and lights mark the way. If you've only ever driven past the Backcountry on the way to somewhere else, this short walk in the dark is the most direct look at it you'll get this month.

The line at the bottom of HRCA's listing ties the weekend back to the prairie. All proceeds from the Haunted Forest go to the Backcountry Wilderness Area Fund. Your $15 ticket supports the same conservation area the partners chose for the bison. In the June release, Bailey said the Backcountry's mission is to balance habitat protection, education and carefully managed recreation.

After the Elk, Before the Solstice

The Backcountry's wildlife has a schedule, and HRCA's Field Notes blog tracks it. The September post on elk bugling said elk bugling is the signature sound of September and early October, as the rut moves elk across the wider area. It asked visitors to keep their distance and stay on designated trails. HRCA's guided Elk Bugling Hike for this year was on Sept. 17. In July, Field Notes covered the summer closure on Wildcat Mountain for nesting golden eagles. The same post said trail cameras sometimes catch elk, bears and other wildlife. HRCA's Trails page has the closure details for the purple Wildcat trail and the affected section of the Douglas County trail.

HRCA also offers free guided Nature Walks for ages 14 and up, according to its Backcountry education programs page. Its booking page currently shows no open classes, so check back before you plan around one.

After Halloween, the next Backcountry date is the Winter Solstice Celebration on Saturday, Dec. 19, from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. It's at Backcountry Base Camp, 6005 Ron King Trail, and costs $30 per car, with tickets through HRCA's page. Base Camp doesn't take drop-ins the rest of the year, which makes the solstice one of the few times you can drive in with a carload and simply show up with a ticket. The solstice is the last ticketed event on HRCA's Backcountry calendar for 2026.

If you're comparing Haunted Forest tiers with your kids this week, or wondering how close a given street is to Rocky Heights or the Backcountry trail system, I'm happy to talk it through. When you want a read on your own Highlands Ranch home, Showcase Properties offers a free home valuation or market consultation. Let's connect.