Minton Park Cemetery Trail, Empire Colorado hiking

Empire Colorado is one of my favorite towns on the Front Range; its at the heart of the Rocky Mountains and the gateway to Berthoud Pass with Clear Creek River running through it.  Last weekend I wanted to try a hike with Josh and the dogs someplace new, farther into the mountains to get away from the 100 degree heat in the city!  I also wanted to test out the second of two hiking packs that we were given by friends now that Magnolia fits into this one.  I tried out the first pack by myself at the Centennial Cone trail but it bothered my shoulders, and this second one that I wanted to try with Josh around so that he could help me adjust it while I was wearing it.  This pack is an Eddie Bauer pack, and I was hopeful that it would work for me after trying on every single pack at REI and not finding one that fit me comfortably.  Even with the staff helping me to find the best fit, none were quite right.  I guess that's a downfall of being petite.  
I was pleasantly surprised that after several adjustments with the Eddie Bauer pack, that it ended up feeling pretty good, not great, but I could get used to it and this trail starting at Minton Park in Empire Colorado happened to be a great trail to test out the pack on.  The hike was easy with scenic views of the river and surrounding mountains and no other hikers to speak of, probably because its more of a local walking trail than a hike. 

Getting there:   From the metro Denver area take I-70 west to exit #232 toward Empire Colorado; continue into the town of Empire and when you reach the town center turn left (south) onto S. Main Street (also called Baird Creek Road), after just .3 of a mile turn left into Minton Park. 
Specs:  At Minton Park you can find restrooms, a playground, picnic tables, a ball field, skate park and the old Empire Cemetery.  The trail starts behind the restrooms to the LEFT of the horseshoe pit and to the left of the cemetery (the trail is outside of the cemetery).   The trail continues along the river and circles around toward the highway and to the east end of the town of Empire.  Finish the loop by walking through the town, turning on S. Main street and walking back to your car.

We parked at the Minton Park lot, but across the street from the park was what looked like a trail (which was the reason we stopped in the first place *note* photo above is across street from Minton Park).  I wasn't sure where this trail would lead and decided to walk it a little bit while Josh got Magnolia and the dogs ready.  I happened to pass a lady who told me this was just a meadow loop of about 1/4 of a mile and she brings her dog here to chase the marmots.  She told me that there was a trail by the cemetery at Minton Park and gave me these directions:  
'To the left of the cemetery there is a trail that runs along the river; its about 30 minutes and ends up back in town and you can loop around to your car.  Part of the trail is on private property, so be respectful.' 

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Minton Park sign and ball field.  
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We walked over to the start of the trail near the playground and picnic tables and behind the bathrooms to the left of the cemetery.  We decided to walk through the park and cemetery first because it was a pretty cool playground and a very old cemetery.
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The trail is to the left of this gate, however we wanted to check it out, so we walked around inside first.  

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The tombstones were very old, and many were hand carved.  I wouldn't mind laying to rest in this peaceful place, after a long, long healthy and happy life of course.
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After checking out the cemetery we walked out the gate that we came in and then past the horse-show fields to the start of the trail.  The trail has views of the town of Empire and a water supply below from near the beginning of the trail.  
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You can see the trail follows the cemetery fence for about 400 yards.  Belle, our dog, is on the trail. 
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Eventually the trail went downhill rather steeply toward the river below.  
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   Once down the steep embankment there was a decision to make, right or left, we chose right because the trail look wider and more traveled.  I was doing pretty well with Magnolia on my back for the hike, so far, although I definitely felt the added weight and I was much slower.
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 The trail went through an aspen grove and then up a hill into a beautiful field of flowers. 
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 We hadn't hiked very far yet, otherwise I would have suggested we stop in this magnificent field to eat our lunch.  It was so pretty with all of the wildflowers and I kept thinking it would be a great place for a photoshoot!   
In the photo above, the top right side, you can see a white sign, it says "no trespassing."  I am not sure if it meant beyond the sign, or the entire area; but the trail doesn't get very close to the sign and I didn't see any more signs along the trail.   
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 Purple Locoweed (I think?)
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The trail leads down to this bridge, and we continued across the bridge and then turned right on the trail just after the bridge. 

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Standing on the bridge
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Family photo :)
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We took the trail to the right after the bridge, it looked wider and lead away from the home that we saw after the bridge crossing.  
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 This is such a beauty, not sure of its name.  
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The trail that we continued along got real trashy.  Many pieces were car parts, presumably from a car crashing over the guardrail (above us) and wrecking in the river valley.  
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The trail continued beside, and then above the river. 
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You can see the river and waterfall below. 
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The trail comes to another intersection; this one was obvious; one direction had 4-5 huge "no trespassing" signs, the other direction was this dirt road.  (shown above). 
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Views from the walk up the road. 
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It was at this point that I decided to have Josh carry Magnolia for the remainder of the trek, so we swapped baby for camelback and continued on. 
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We continued up the road for about 1/4 of a mile or more. 
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When the town comes into view you can see the path (photo above) that takes you out to the Hwy 40 that you came into town on.  We chose not to take the path to 40, but instead just continued along this dirt road, parallel to Hey 40, back to S. Main Street.  We had to walk through some neighborhoods, but it was pretty easy to find our way back to S. Main street, we made a left onto S. Main and walked back to Minton Park and our car.  
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Magnolia seemed to have a good time!  Although she would have liked to have a chin rest in the pack and I am wondering if I can make one for it...
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These pretty daisies were near our parked car.  I can't resist flowers with a view! 
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After we hiked, we were starving and had brought lunches with us but the sky was clouding up, so we decided to save what we packed and stop at one of the restaurants in Empire.  I've gone to Jenny's cafe a few times, but wanted to visit someplace new; we saw the sign on the way into town for 1860 Tavern and their special was $3.99 burger & fries and they boasted 'The Best Burger in Empire."  So we decided to give them a try.  We pulled up and I said to Josh, 'are we taking our daughter into some dingy bar?'  But we were pleasantly surprised when we walked in, the place is very nice and modern; outside there is a deck with great views of the surrounding mountains, the owner was very gracious and allowed us to bring our dog outside on the deck so that she didn't get too hot in the car.  (Otherwise we probably wouldn't have stayed) 

 The deck had great views of the surrounding mountains and it seemed like a great place to hang out, I was very surprised that this place was nearly empty.  I said to Josh, 'if we didn't have Magnolia we could hang here all afternoon, playing horseshoes and drinking beer on the side of the mountains!'   We ordered beer and burgers, the owner brought us a high chair for Magnolia and a leash for Belle and continued to check on us.  I checked out the cool deck (which is huge) and surrounding horseshoe pits, there is a second pit up a stairwell higher up on the mountain that looks down on the restaurant and deck, very cool!    ***

 
Eventually the rain started and we had to head inside to finish our food.  The burgers were indeed the best in Empire, I have no doubt of that, I think it was the best cheeseburger of my life actually (and I am not one who orders burgers very often), and the fries were cooked to perfection.  Our bill was under $20, and I said that if this place was in Golden, we'd be here all the time!  We will definitely be back and in fact, I am looking for another hike in Empire just to go back to the 1860 Tavern!
Overall it was a great Sunday and a fun new trail in an area that I haven't been to before; its fun to explore new trails, but I would have liked this one to be a little longer.  If you'd like to check out other hikes in Empire I've hiked Jones Pass here and the North Empire Loop Exploratory hike here, I'm especially interested in more information regarding the North Empire Loop if anyone has any info!   
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Do you have a hike suggestion, or more info on this trail or others in Empire.  If so, please leave a comment or question -- thanks.