Dome Rock Wildlife Area — Aspen Lakehouse

Dome Rock State Wildlife Area (formerly Mueller), located in Teller County, Colorado, is approximately 6,962 acres and ranges in elevation from 8,190 feet to 9,728 feet. There are several hiking trails through the area. We took one along Four Mile Creek and hiked to the remnants of Jack Rabbit Lodge. The scenery was great with large outcroppings of Pikes Peak granite and lots of ponderosa pine and fir trees along the way. Along Four Mile Creek, there were several beaver dams which created a large marshy area. Horseback riding is allowed along the designated trails and we saw 3 people riding horses on our trail. The hike was relatively easy except for the uphill return leg which was a little strenuous but nothing that an average hiker could not handle.

The Dome Rock State Wildlife Area offers the following recreational activities:

Fishing: Brown trout
Hunting: Deer, elk, rabbit, and dusky (blue) grouse
Recreation: Hunting, fishing, hiking, and wildlife viewing.
Restrictions:
a. Camping, dogs, fires, and rock climbing prohibited.
b. Riding horseback or having pack animals is allowed only on designated roads and trails except if used as a big game hunting aid.
c. Closed December 1 to July 15 on Spring Creek and Dome View trails, as well as Dome Rock Trail from Jackrabbit Lodge.
d. On foot or horseback only from parking lot and trails from Mueller State Park.

History

Jack Rabbit Lodge was a private hunting lodge that burned to the ground in the 1940s with all that remains being the stone chimney and part of the foundation. In 1904, John Delano Husted, a prominent Cripple Creek Banker, incorporated the Crescent Cattle Company to purchase grazing land between Divide and the Four Mile area. He sold stock to religious ministers in the Boston area who would travel to the ranch and stay during the summer months at an elaborate cabin called the Jack Rabbit Lodge.

It is rumored that Teddy Roosevelt was a guest at the Lodge during a hunting trip to the Pikes Peak area. In the 1950s, W.E. Mueller began purchasing the Crescent Cattle Company Land after it went bankrupt in 1924. In 1978, he sold the land to the Nature Conservancy, and in 1991, Mueller State Park opened.