Please see the Natural Resources
Trail Conditions
The Keyhole is now closed for the nesting season from March through July. The west sides of the first two loops of the Devil's Backbone are closed to bicyclists, and the west side of the first loop remains closed to horseback riders. The east sides of the first two loops on the Backbone trail are open for multi-use. The Laughing Horse Loop and Blue Sky Trail are multi-use.
Wildlife
Mule deer, elk, bobcats, fox, and coyotes are daily residents at the Devil's Backbone Open Space, and tracks and other indications of wildlife can be seen all around if you just take a close look. The best time of day for viewing wildlife is dawn and dusk.
Bird Sightings
The ravens continue to return to the Keyhole area each year to have their young. Two adult prairie falcons have made the Backbone rock formation their home. Golden eagles, red-tailed hawks, and American kestrels have been seen along the trails, as well as turkey vultures. If you see a brilliantly bright blue songbird flying over the grassland areas, then you can tell your friends that you saw a mountain bluebird.
Wildflowers
Keep an eye out for sand lilies, penstemon, sunflowers, yucca, yellow salsify, western blue flax, evening primroses, wild onions, cinquefoil, field chickweed, wavyleaf dandelion, yellow montane violets, and locoweed.
