There's a Cowboy Being Carved Into a 200-Year-Old Tree on Hangman's Gulch Trail
I walked out to Hangman's Gulch Trail on Sunday, June 28 to see it for myself. It was a bright, sunny afternoon, the trail was busy, and the new cowboy is hard to miss. If you're heading east, it sits just before you duck under I-25; if you're walking west, it's right after you come out of the underpass. Either way, look to the south side of the path — there's a cowboy, hat and all, carved straight into an old tree.
Here's the story behind it.
What it is
The cowboy is the work of local artist Bill LaFleur, who has been carving it since April out of a dead tree that, by his own estimate, was about 200 years old — one of the oldest in Castle Rock. The tree had to come down for the safety of trail users, and rather than haul the stump away, the Town and the Castle Rock Parks and Trails Foundation turned it into public art, funded by a Castle Rock Arts and Culture Grant.
"It was one of the oldest trees in Castle Rock, for sure. So it was a shame that it died, but, you know, this is kind of a great opportunity to give it new life," LaFleur told CBS Colorado.
He's shaping it with a chainsaw and smaller power tools into a cowboy leaning against the tree, a lasso in hand, with a somber, tired look on his face. When it's finished it will be his largest sculpture to date — and if the style looks familiar, he's also the artist behind Billy the Beaver over in Festival Park.
The legend behind the name
Hangman's Gulch earns its name. As the story goes, before Colorado was even a state, an outlaw was hanged in the gulch after murdering a local homesteader, and people still whisper about his ghost out there. One tree may have even witnessed the whole thing — which is how the gulch got its name in the first place.
Why a cowboy, why now
"Castle Rock was founded in 1874, right at the height of cattle moving through the area down to Texas, and that's just our big culture," said Marne Hansen, executive director of the Castle Rock Parks and Trails Foundation. With Colorado's 150th and the country's 250th both landing this year, she said, it was a chance to highlight something that is genuinely Castle Rock.
For LaFleur, the somber mood is the point. He said he hopes people stop and think about how hard life was for the folks who built this place 150-plus years ago, and to be thankful for the life we all get now.
Where to find it
The sculpture is on Hangman's Gulch Trail, between Liggett Road and I-25, on the south side of the path right at the I-25 underpass. I parked over by the Castle Rock Community Recreation Center and the Senior Center off Woodlands Boulevard and picked up the trail there. It's a good stretch to walk — on the way I passed Douglas County High School (there was a baseball game going on the field) and had a great view of The Rock the whole way.
It's still a work in progress — LaFleur has the hands, feet, lasso, and clothing left to define, then he'll burnish the wood with a small torch and add a top coat, so it should keep changing for a few more weeks. It's free, it's outdoors, and it's worth the short detour next time you're on the trail. (Looking for more to do around town? Here's everything happening in Castle Rock this summer.)
The Details
- What: A larger-than-life cowboy carved from a ~200-year-old dead tree
- Where: Hangman's Gulch Trail, Castle Rock — south side of the path, at the I-25 underpass between Liggett Road and I-25
- Parking / trailhead: Park at the Castle Rock Community Recreation Center / Senior Center off Woodlands Boulevard and pick up the trail there
- Artist: Bill LaFleur (also carved Billy the Beaver at Festival Park)
- Funded by: A Castle Rock Arts and Culture Grant
- Status: In progress since April; finishing touches expected in the coming weeks
- Cost to see it: Free
A roughly 200-year-old tree that died on Castle Rock's Hangman's Gulch Trail is being carved into a larger-than-life cowboy by local artist Bill LaFleur, funded through a Castle Rock Arts and Culture Grant — you can see it for free on the south side of the trail at the I-25 underpass.
Sources: CBS Colorado — "Castle Rock artist carves 200-year-old Colorado stump into cowboy sculpture" (artist Bill LaFleur, ~200-year-old tree, carving since April with a chainsaw and power tools, cowboy-with-lasso design, largest sculpture to date, finishing steps; the Hangman's Gulch hanging legend; Castle Rock Arts and Culture Grant; Marne Hansen / Castle Rock Parks and Trails Foundation quotes; "founded in 1874" / cattle-drive heritage; Colorado 150 / America 250 tie-in) · Town of Castle Rock — Billy the Beaver public art (Bill LaFleur carved the Festival Park beaver, unveiled 2020). Trail location, the Sunday June 28 visit, parking at the Castle Rock Community Recreation Center / Senior Center off Woodlands Boulevard, the Douglas County High School baseball game, and the view of The Rock are firsthand from DougCo Social.
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