Wheat Ridge's newest public trail and some of its oldest buildings are listed at the same intersection. Prospect Park, at West 44th Avenue and Robb Street, is where the city sends visitors for the new Tabor Lake Trail and where it's installing its first universally accessible playground. The Baugh House, with its 1859 log cabin, sits at 44th and Robb, and the Historical Park, home to a sod house from the 1880s, is at 4610 Robb Street. Most of what's new on this corner is a fresh way into land that early settlers farmed. Water still runs through it in ditches dug in the 1860s.
That history explains why the corner feels the way it does. It also tells you what you're actually walking through when you head out this fall.
A shoreline path that finally has a surface
For years the route around Tabor Lake was an informal, unstable path along the shore. In June the City of Wheat Ridge held a ribbon-cutting for the Tabor Lake Trail on June 4. Construction had wrapped up in April 2026.
The project took a while. The Wheat Ridge Parks and Recreation Commission first proposed a safer, more accessible lake path in 2021. Colorado School of Mines engineering students drew up the preliminary plans, and that work led to nearly $900,000 in grants from Jefferson County Open Space's Trails Partnership Program and the Land and Water Conservation Fund, which Colorado Parks and Wildlife administers for the National Park Service.
The city's project page describes the route. It's a soft-surface trail along the lake's east and north shores, connecting the Clear Creek Trail to Van Gordon Street. It's open to pedestrians and equestrians. Cyclists are asked to walk their bikes on this stretch because the curves around the lake are narrow. For the opening, the city told visitors to park at Prospect Park and follow the signs to the trail. That still works as a starting point for a loop.
The lake itself got work too. The city's release says rising temperatures over the last several years had hurt water quality, leading to algae blooms and occasional fish kills. A new aeration system paid for through CPW's Fishing is Fun program started running this spring. It circulates the water and raises oxygen levels throughout the lake.
In June the city said a few final improvements were still to come later in the summer. We haven't seen a public notice confirming they're done. The trail itself is open.
A playground going in this month, next to one that stays
If you've been to Prospect Park in the last week, you've probably seen the construction. Wheat Ridge Parks & Rec scheduled playground installation at Prospect from September 28 to about October 16, and parts of the park are affected while the crew works.
This will be Wheat Ridge's first universally accessible playground, built so kids of all abilities can play together. Residents picked the design from three concepts. It includes accessible swings, ramps, transfer stations and climbing features, and the ground is fully poured-in-place surfacing instead of wood chips. The traditional playground on the west side of the park is staying, so families will have two play areas once the new one opens.
Prospect is one of three parks getting new playgrounds this fall. Fruitdale and Louise Turner parks are on the same schedule, and kids helped shape Fruitdale's design, which is why it got a zipline.
A new playground and a new trail in the same year give a park a different feel. The ground they sit on has been watered the same way for much longer.
The water under the lawn is from the 1860s
The Neighborhood Gazette has traced James Baugh's homestead and the ditches around it. According to the Gazette, the Baugh-Lee ditch, dug in 1860, waters Prospect Park. The Baugh-Brown ditch, dug in 1865, still runs through the Historical Park and the surrounding neighborhood.
So the green lawn at the trailhead parking lot is fed by an irrigation system from Wheat Ridge's homestead era. The new playground surfacing and the new lakeside trail are the latest layer on that landscape.
The Baugh House, at 11361 West 44th Avenue at Robb Street, is where that era is easiest to see. The city describes it as James H. Baugh's hand-hewn 1859 cabin, enclosed inside a Victorian farmhouse built around 1904 by a later owner, Samuel Longnecker. The farm was divided starting in 1889, and the farmhouse addition that enclosed the cabin was assessed in 1904. The Baugh House was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2012.
What's at 4610 Robb Street
Wheat Ridge Historical Park, at 4610 Robb Street, holds most of the rest. The Wheat Ridge Historical Society's site map lists seven major structures. A few have stories that tie back to the Baugh farm and the early town:
- The Soddy. This pioneer sod house went up around 1886, likely as shelter for Baugh's hired hands. It's listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
- The First Post Office. The building began serving as Wheat Ridge's first post office in 1913 and was moved here from 38th Avenue. Behind its recreated post-office front, it now holds the Society's archives and research library. A mural was added in May 2025.
- The Coulehan-Johnson Cabin. This second 1859 log cabin originally stood near 48th Avenue and Upham Street. It was moved to the Historical Park in 1985.
- The White Family Home. It used to be called the Red Brick House. It's a Sears Roebuck kit home that Bert White built for his wife, Etta, and the Society still holds its monthly board meetings there.
The Society lists public tours of the Historical Park on Fridays from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., with a suggested donation of $2 to $5 per person. Groups of 10 or more are asked to book by phone.
Three second Saturdays, one corner
Each month the Society hosts a Second Saturday social from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Its site says the May, July and October socials are at the Historical Park and the rest are at the Baugh House. This fall's three events all land on second Saturdays, so they move between the Historical Park and the Baugh House.
- Apple Cider Day, Saturday, October 10, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Historical Park. Bring your apples and clean containers to use the Society's press, with donations appreciated. The day also includes apple demonstrations, music by the Golden Strings Bluegrass band, craft demonstrations, animals, games, sock puppets and the Mile Hi Smokers BBQ food truck.
- Hootenanny/Community Song Fest, Saturday, November 14, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Baugh House. Bring an instrument or just your voice. In February the Gazette reported that the Society planned three hootenannies for 2026.
- Holiday Celebration, Saturday, December 12, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., Baugh House. Caroling plus cookie and gift exchanges.
Apple Cider Day is four days away. The Prospect Park playground work is scheduled to run until about October 16, so parts of the park may still be fenced off that morning. The cider press is set up at the Historical Park, 4610 Robb Street, which is a separate site.
Coffee before, a pint after
West 44th Avenue makes the walk easy to bookend. Early Dog Coffee lists its Wheat Ridge shop at 9005 W. 44th Ave., open daily from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m., with online ordering. That's early enough for a lake loop and back before noon.
Farther west at 9505 W. 44th Ave., the New Image Brewing taproom has indoor seating and a patio. The Localworks community calendar lists New Image trivia every Thursday in October and November, a weeknight option once the lake trail gets dark early.
For more on Wheat Ridge parks and errands, our guide to everyday living in Wheat Ridge covers the wider Greenbelt and the commercial corridors. The Wheat Ridge neighborhood page has the broader picture.
If you live near the Greenbelt and you're wondering how this year's park and trail work fits into your own plans, Brian Grace is glad to talk it through over coffee on 44th, with no agenda. Call Brian to start with a conversation about your home.
