Here at Santa Fe Trail Hunts we are offering you a unique opportunity to come and view the LESSER PRAIRIE CHICKENS age-old mating ritual. As you watch the sun come up over the grasslands and sage brush you will watch the males dance a unique courtship dance, and listen to their booming courtship calls and wheezing.

They have been performing here

for many years and have been studied locally. For the first time we are offering you a chance to come and view these amazing birds.

Your package will include

a one night stay in our newly built, luxurious lodge, dinner and breakfast, and a guided trip to view the Prairie chickens, along with use of some of our facilities, including fishing in the stocked ponds or relaxing in the hot tub.

The Lesser Prairie Chicken

is listed as Threatened in Colorado. Populations have declined dramatically in past several decades and it is estimated that only 50,000 breeding birds remain nationwide.

The reason for the decline

is a loss of native prairie as a result of agriculture and overgrazing by livestock. Colorado’s population currently numbers 1,200 to 1,600 breeding birds, located mainly in SE Colorado.

They thrive in sandy grassland

areas that have an abundance of midgrasses, sand sage and yucca. We have the prime habitat
on the south side of the ranch. Display grounds (leks) used for breeding are characterized by low-growing vegetation on open ground.