The Valleyview Silt Cliffs separate Juniper from Valleyview.   A number of trails go up the gullies, ridges, and across the treeless benchlands.   Hiking or biking across this area means going up and down, and skirting steep silt cliffs to the heads of gullies.   A number of narrow clay bridges provide access across the tops of the gullies, and behind the bridges are sinkholes.

Many years ago, I was running some of these trails in an area between Owl Road and Highland Drive.   I noted a depression to the side and went over to have a look.   This turned out to be a sinkhole, and a dangerous one.   It had the shape of a well and was 30 feet deep.   Anyone falling in that one wasn't coming out.   Water funnels down these holes and over time they collapse or erode through to become a new ravine.    Stomping through the snow recently, I found the spot, but the site is now a depression with a sinkhole at the bottom surrounded by shrubs.   How deep it goes is a mystery, and getting too close is never a good idea.   There are 3 sinkholes in this area and they can be seen from aerial photography:

While exploring another former sinkhole, I found that it had eroded through the rim wall to make a natural arch:

There are many more trails east and south of Valleyview Arena, although there are a number of fences now to restrict access.   Nonetheless, hikers and bikers can work their way east to the head of two large gullies.   Crossing gullies and clay bridges, a complex area of sinkholes is found.    Most of these are crater shaped with the bottom full of coarse vegetation, but each time we visit the area, the land changes shape and a new deep sinkhole can be found. 

The terrain can also be seen form aerial photography:

There are many small sinkholes throughout the area.   There are even several above Valleyview Arena, shown as black triangles on the map:

The trails of the Valleyview Silt Cliffs are always interesting, but are at their best when the bluebirds and meadowlarks of spring call out from the gullies along your route, but we also like the area in winter when the vertical bluffs stand out from the snowy ridges.    We trudge along the routes peering to the sinkholes along the way.