Lyons

Location: Lyons is located at the confluence of North St. Vrain Creek and South St. Vrain Creek, 20 miles east of Rocky Mountain National Park. Due to its location at the intersection of State Highway 7 and U.S. Highway 36 which lead to Rocky Mountain National Park, it is sometimes referred to as "The Double Gateway to the Rockies".

History: The town has large red sandstone mountains on three sides. E. S. Lyon established the quarrying business in the town, his business was not a big success, and he left for California. 

Services: The Town of Lyons is served by the Lyons Fire Protection District and the Boulder Sheriff's Department. Lyons is part of the St Vrain Valley School District and is home to Lyons High School and an elementary school.

Music: Major concerts in Lyons are the two annual music festivals held at Planet Bluegrass: the Rockygrass Bluegrass festival, and the Folks Festival folk music festival. It draws people from across the nation because of its nationally known lineup and its general seating in open grassy, treed grounds, at the base of a red sandstone mountain along St. Vrain Creek. In addition to a new stage for the festivals in recent years, they have built the Wildflower covered pavilion which allows for smaller year-round concerts.

Recreation: Areas of recreation includes mountain biking, hiking, camping, fly fishing, climbing and Kayaking. Lyons is bordered by Hall Ranch Open Space and Heil Valley Ranch Open Space. Hall Ranch provides over 12 miles of multi-use trails and consists of 3,206 acres of back country. Heil Valley Ranch consists of 4,923 acres of back country. Trails are open to hikers, mountain bikers and equestrians. Picture Rock Trail was opened on September 22, 2008, connecting Heil Valley Ranch trails to Lyons and to Hall Ranch trails. Picture Rock is 5.5 miles and well designed and built by volunteers. The north end of Picture Rock is at Red Gulch Road, then Old St Vrain Road and Highway 7 lead to the Hall Ranch Trailhead or Lyons. The south end of Picture Rock is 4.5 miles from the Heil Ranch Trailhead off Lefthand Canyon.