Daniels Park: Denver's bison preserve on a Douglas County rim

Drive a few miles north of Sedalia and the road climbs onto a grassy rim where the plains just fall away. This is Daniels Park, and the Denver Mountain Parks Foundation calls it the only Denver Mountain Park in Douglas County. It is also the only one set in high-plains prairie rather than the foothills, which is why the view runs so far. On a clear day the panorama reaches from Pikes Peak in the south all the way to the Snowy Range in Wyoming.

Below the overlook, real bison graze. Denver keeps two conservation herds in its mountain parks, and one of them lives here, descended from animals brought to the park in the late 1930s. They roam fenced prairie, so plan to watch from the rim or your car and keep your distance. These are wild, powerful animals, not livestock.

Up top sits a stone picnic shelter built in 1922, designed by architect J.J.B. Benedict, the same hand behind landmark buildings around the region. It is a fine spot to sit with a sandwich and let the wind do the talking.

Daniels Park is day-use only, so come for a morning or a sunset and head home. Hours and the occasional closure can change, so check the Douglas County parks page before you go.