The Backcountry After Dark: How Highlands Ranch's Wild Land Opens Up This Fall

Trail hours in the Backcountry Wilderness Area are sunrise to sunset, and that rule holds every day of the year except the nights HRCA sells tickets around it. Between Oct. 23 and Dec. 19, the Highlands Ranch Community Association has four dated chances to be on this land outside the usual daylight walk or ride. Two are after dark, one is a daytime festival on the same trail, and one takes place at Base Camp, which is closed to drop-in visits the rest of the year. Then the winter closures begin. If you mostly know the Backcountry as a Saturday-morning loop off Monarch Boulevard, this short stretch of fall is when the place runs on different rules.

The Daylight Rule, and What the Events Change

Under the normal rules, HRCA has 11.2 miles of natural-surface private trails open to residents and accompanied guests. The Douglas County East/West Regional Trail, which is open to the general public, adds about 12 more miles through the property, for a total of more than 25. On the private trails, HRCA requires members to carry their recreation cards, and there's no general trail pass for nonmembers. Dogs are allowed only on Rocky Gulch and the public East/West trail, on leash.

Base Camp and the Horse Corrals work differently. HRCA says they aren't drop-in facilities. You can visit them only through a program, a lesson or an activity.

So for most of the year, the hours and the access points are fixed. The fall calendar loosens both, one event at a time.

Here's the full window in date order:

1. Fri., Oct. 23, 6:30–9:30 p.m. Haunted Forest, first night
2. Sat., Oct. 24, 1–4 p.m. Haunted Forest Fall Fest, daytime
3. Sat., Oct. 24, 7–10 p.m. Haunted Forest, second night
4. Sun., Nov. 1 The Wildcat Mountain archery range closes for the season
5. Sat., Dec. 19, 3:30–5:30 p.m. Winter Solstice Celebration at Backcountry Base Camp
6. Fri., Jan. 1 The Wildcat Trail System closes through March 31

One Trail, Two Versions on Oct. 24

The Haunted Forest is a three-quarter-mile walk through the woods, open for two nights. It runs Oct. 23 from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. and Oct. 24 from 7 to 10 p.m. You park at Rocky Heights Middle School, 11033 Monarch Blvd., and take the trail from the south end of the lot to the Haunted Forest Community Area. HRCA says music and lights will guide the way. Tickets are $15 for general admission or $25 for a fast pass. HRCA recommends the walk for ages 10 and up and warns that there will be flashing strobe lights in the forest.

That parking lot is also one of the regular Wildcat Trail System trailheads. HRCA lists Rocky Heights Middle School and 11950 Monarch Blvd. as the two access points. If you've parked there for a morning ride, you already know the trailhead. On Haunted Forest nights, you start the walk well after the usual closing time.

On Saturday afternoon, the same community area hosts the Haunted Forest Fall Fest, from 1 to 4 p.m. HRCA describes it as a family celebration for younger children, with a bounce house, food trucks, crafts and a "not-as-scary walk" through the decorated trail. Kid tickets are $10, adult tickets are $5, and children under 1 get in free. Parking and directions are the same as for the night event.

Proceeds from both events go to the Backcountry Wilderness Area Fund. The Fund is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit that supports wildlife habitat, conservation, environmental education and community engagement. Its Future Conservationists Initiative pays for no-cost classroom programs for second graders, and Fund money also goes to habitat restoration and outdoor education. So the money from the nights the land stays open late goes back into caring for it.

Another fall event is easy to mix up with these. HRCA's Haunted Hayrides run the same two nights, Oct. 23 and 24, with rides between 6 and 8:30 p.m. They're held at Stockton's Plum Creek Stables, 7479 W. Titan Road, not in the Backcountry. Tickets are $16 for adults and children, and children under 2 ride free on an adult's lap. The page says the hayrides raise money for the Cowboy 4H Club, not the Fund.

Base Camp, Open for One December Afternoon

The next opening comes eight weeks later and starts at a different gate. The Winter Solstice Celebration is Saturday, Dec. 19, from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. at Backcountry Base Camp, 6005 Ron King Trail. Tickets are $30 per car. HRCA lists s'mores and warm drinks by the fire, seasonal crafts, a guided intentions walk and a lesson on winter ecology. Since Base Camp is normally open only through programs and lessons, this is one of the few afternoons on the calendar when a household can drive in with just a ticket and stay into the evening.

Before then, Base Camp runs on scheduled programs. The October 2026 HRCA newsletter promotes single-day and week-long Nature and Horse School Break Camps at Camp Backcountry. It also lists Astronomy Night Kids, Little Acorns Nature Playgroup and Basic Horsemanship among the programs to try this month, though it doesn't give their dates. HRCA offers guided trail rides August through May, subject to scheduling. These are paid, guided rides, not open riding.

Why the Window Closes on New Year's Day

The fall events land where they do partly because winter takes part of the property off the map. The Wildcat Mountain archery range, which sells day and season passes to the public, closes for the season from Nov. 1 through March 31. The Wildcat Trail System, five and a half miles of beginner to intermediate trails, closes every year from Jan. 1 through March 31 for wintering wildlife. HRCA also notes that individual trails in that system can close for eagle nesting.

The wildlife is the reason the land is set aside in the first place. Mission Viejo's master plan reserved 8,200 acres as a conservation property. HRCA began operating Wildcat Mountain in 2006 and took over management of the full Backcountry from Shea Homes in 2009. HRCA's overview lists elk, wild turkeys, coyotes, bluebirds and golden eagles among the wildlife on the property.

The trails page still shows a notice that the Wildcat Mountain Trail is closed "until September 1" for nesting golden eagles. That date has passed, so check HRCA's live closure updates before planning a Wildcat ride this fall.

The Next Parcel Will Keep Different Hours

The daylight rule covers the Backcountry as it works today. A 202-acre parcel at its edge is set to follow different rules. In its Oct. 16, 2025 announcement, Douglas County said it was transferring the land to HRCA along with $3.5 million for construction. The deal requires trail development within three years, and the finished park is to be open to all county residents. HRCA's July 2026 board packet records that the $3.5 million has been received.

HRCA's Wildcat Regional Park project page describes a park with no gates and no seasonal closures planned for now. Proposed hours run from one hour before sunrise to one hour after sunset. That's a longer day on both ends than the current Backcountry trails allow. The concept lists a bike skills area, about five miles of bike-only trails, about three miles of surfaced trails and about three miles of natural-surface multi-use trails. The map section of the same page gives somewhat different mileage and proposes making Rocky Gulch pedestrian-only. Rocky Gulch is one of the two trails where dogs are allowed today, so that change would matter to dog owners. HRCA describes the park's high-use zone as year-round habitat for about 150 elk.

The project's timeline is still a projection. HRCA's timeline block shows design finishing in fall or winter 2026, construction starting in early 2027 and an opening in late 2027 or early 2028. An undated FAQ on the same page still says construction would begin "this summer." With summer 2026 now over, the early-2027 timeline block is the more current guide, and it may still change before anything breaks ground. Until it opens, the Backcountry keeps daylight hours, and the Haunted Forest nights on Oct. 23 and 24 are the only after-dark walks on the calendar this year.

For many households near Monarch Boulevard and Ron King Trail, easy access to this land counts as much as anything inside the house. If you're curious how the Backcountry, and a planned park with longer hours, factor into your home's value, Lynn Marie Baxter can take you through it calmly and without pressure. Start with a free home valuation.

This article is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. Consult a qualified professional about your situation.