Bluff Lake in Denver, CO was a complete surprise to me this summer. I’ve visited Denver numerous times and even lived there for several years and never knew this park existed. The Denver Post had a story one weekend about places you could take your family to hike and see nature. Bluff Lake was one such place mentioned so I checked into it and made my way there at dawn one summer morning. What a beautiful spot!
I was lucky to have a cloud cover the first day I went. I much prefer not to have really bright light for most of my photography. As a side benefit to the softer light, the morning was nice and cool. A long stairway leads down to the lake from the bluff and parking. It was hard to look at my surroundings and take a few pictures of the rabbits and birds and still keep an eye on my feet. When I got to the bottom I saw one of the park employees setting up an activity for a group of children who were coming later to visit the lake. I asked her where I might have the best luck finding wildlife and she directed me to the best trail to take. There were a good many walkers out getting their exercise so I didn’t really have a chance to sneak up on the animals but it turns out that most of the wildlife is used to having people nearby. I had such a good time that I got up and back out to the park even earlier the next morning. This time I was the first one there!
I knew where to look this second trip although the wildlife isn’t that predictable; I did not see the same animals the second day. I got lucky though. Right off the bat I almost literally ran into a group of mule deer! Just like what happened at Barr Lake, I was looking at my camera settings and looked up to see deer right in front of me! These bucks had just walked up from the sandy river banks and I was more surprised than they were. The light was really bright coming through the trees and I was not in the best place but animals really don’t care to move or turn a different way so you can get a better shot! I was shooting as fast as I could when a couple of people came running by. Needless to say that was the end of my deer opportunities. Even though it’s not a very good shot I will add a photograph of these people scaring off my mule deer so you can see for yourself. I tried following the deer but they were able to escape and get “lost” among the trees and brush.
I will definitely make more trips to Bluff Lake on my next trip to Denver. Go if you get the chance but be sure to take your mosquito repellent!
