Westminster Station to Pecos Junction Station: Goodbye to North Denver (for awhile)

The B Line is a commuter line to Westminster, Colorado. It shares three stations with the G Line and has only one to itself. I've decided to make this my last station-to-station hike in North Denver for awhile and check out the E and H lines from Ridgegate Station in Lonetree to Broadway Station... that's 16 stations in the southern part of the Denver Metro area. I'm not sure what I want to do with the remaining three sections of the RTD light rail system.

Many of the stops along the N, A, and R Lines are pretty far apart and most of them are industrial or residential and they're all on the plains. I can find points of interest anywhere, and I don't mind long hikes if they have a lot of interesting points, but I don't want to do both "long" and "boring".

After the southeastern lines, I might take a break from RTD and hike the 24.6 mile Cherry Creek Trail in sections and maybe extend it to Castle Rock. Then maybe I'll take selected stations along the rest of the light rail system.

The B Line is a short stretch between Westminster Station and Union Station. Between Westminster and Pecos Junction, where it joins the G Line, it follows Little Dry Creek to it's confluence with Clear Creek. I was there earlier this year (http://adventuringbcc.blogspot.com/2023/04/clear-creek-station-to-pecos-junction.html?m=0) and I visited the Westminster terminus back in 2019 (http://adventuringbcc.blogspot.com/2019/06/terminus-westminster-good-morning.html).

I started out from Union Station on the cushy G Line commuter train. From the window, I watched the familiar sights go by: Coors Field, apartment buildings, the South Platte River, Fox Station, industries, and Pecos Station. 

The Colorado monsoons (hmmm...that should be a sports team) were still in affect but this early there were just scattered clouds. The mountains were hazily visible, partially blurred by smoke drifting down from the Canadian wildfires.

I made a stop in Arvada Olde Town for a milkshake before backtracking to Pecos Junction to switch to the B Line.

Westminster Station's curved canopy and clean lines belie it's recent addition to the light rail system. It opened July 26, 2016 with the intention of extending the B Line to Broomfield and Boulder. That hasn't happened yet and it's still the terminus of the B Line. Still, the city of Westminster has developed the area around the terminal nicely.

Little Dry Creek runs through this intricately landscaped park.

This Little Dry Creek is "little" because it's smaller than nearby Big Dry Creek. It's mostly fed by runoff from the surrounding neighborhoods but, running through the concrete structures at Westminster Station, it looks clear and clean.

The area attracts a great variety of both water fowl and song birds.

The trail is popular with bikers, joggers, and local strollers and the area is dotted with small lakes. Since I have seen people fishing and lots of water fowl, I'll assume that the lakes are stocked, though I haven't seen any fish.

Very soon after leaving the park at Westminster Station, I saw the grain elevator near Pecos Junction that marks the end of my hike.

64th Avenue crosses Little Dry Creek Trail a short walk from Pecos Street. Clear Creek here can reasonably be called a river. I hiked this route on the Clear Creek Station to Pecos Junction Station hike, so it was familiar.

Back at Pecos Junction, I took the G Line back into Denver.

I miss the waterways of the East but the many trails in the Denver Metro area remind me that water is still a major part of life in Colorado. What part do the streams in your area play in your life and the life of your community?