Lookout Mtn Preserve & Nature Center

About the Park

The Preserve is open 8 AM to dusk, year-round, hiker only, no dogs allowed. Lookout Mountain Nature Center staff and volunteer naturalists inspire kids and adults to connect with the natural world.

Interactive exhibits take visitors on a tour of the flora and fauna of the foothills ecosystem. Kids enjoy a hands-on play room and observation room. The Nature Center offers free naturalist-led programs in every season for individuals, families, and schools and groups.

Visitors can also enjoy a walk through the nature preserve while visiting. Jeffco Open Space Educators offer programs throughout the year covering the county’s wildlife, plants, history and more.

Call 720-497-7600 for more information.

Park Information and Trail Map

History

The Nature Center and Preserve shares the site on top of Lookout Mountain with the Boettcher Mansion. The property was purchased by Charles Boettcher about 1916 after the owner was not able to build a planned resort. Boettcher had the Lorraine Lodge built in 1917 to serve as a summer home and seasonal getaway.

The Boettcher family continued to enjoy the retreat and granddaughter Charline Humhreys Breeden purchased the estate in 1958. She bequeathed the 110-acres to Jefferson County prior to her untimely death in 1972. The mansion was remodeled by the County and opened as a Confereence and Nature Center in 1975. Initially the Nature Center was located in one room of the Mansion, then it was moved to converted garage.

In 1990, it moved to the servant’s house and in 1997, the present Nature Center building was completed. The facility is an example of sustainable design with floors from recycled railroad boxcars, decking of recycled soda bottles and saw dust, plus floor tiles from recycled windshields.