1–4 Foot Boulders

Colorado's Own Stone

Few landscape materials have the visual impact — or the staying power — of a natural Colorado boulder. MCG's boulders are one of our most popular products, and customers who use them consistently tell us the same thing: when the project is finished, neighbors ask where the stone came from. That's because this is genuinely local stone — Pikes Peak granite and associated gneiss, sourced directly from our Divide pit in Teller County, the same rock formation that defines the dramatic landscape of Colorado's central Front Range.

Pikes Peak granite is a 1.08-billion-year-old Precambrian syenogranite — one of the oldest exposed rock formations in the American West. Its signature coarse-grained texture, large feldspar crystals, and warm tones ranging from gray to buff to russet are the direct result of ancient magma cooling slowly deep within the earth, then being uplifted and exposed by millions of years of erosion.

MCG's boulders range from 1 to 4 feet in their longest dimension, priced at $50 per ton. Boulders larger than 4 feet are also available by special arrangement — see the Oversized Boulders section below for full details.

Boulder Size & Weight Guide

MCG's granite and gneiss boulders weigh approximately 165–175 lbs per cubic foot. Because boulders are irregular in shape, the table below gives realistic weight ranges rather than precise values — use them as planning guidance and round up for safety.

What Boulders Are Used For

MCG boulders appear in a remarkable range of finished projects across Teller, Park, Fremont, Jefferson, Douglas, El Paso, and Pueblo County.

• Landscape Retaining Walls — Boulder walls are the most-requested application. Their mass provides structural resistance without footings or mortar, they drain naturally, and they improve visually as moss and lichen colonize them over time.
• Erosion Control on Slopes — Boulders placed along swales, drainage channels, and steep slopes resist water erosion far better than any other aggregate. Their weight keeps them in place even during Colorado's heavy spring snowmelt events.
• Property Entry Markers & Focal Points — A single well-placed 3–4 ft boulder at a driveway entrance or garden corner anchors the landscape and gives properties a signature that visitors notice and remember.
• Natural Seating & Gathering Areas — Flat-faced boulders in the 2–3 ft range make excellent natural seating around fire pits, along pathways, and at overlooks. Zero maintenance, zero replacement, and they look better every year.
• Traffic Control & Property Boundaries — Boulders placed at the edge of driveways, parking areas, and property lines are more effective than any fence for keeping vehicles where they belong, and far more attractive than concrete barriers.
• Dry Creek Beds & Water Feature Surrounds — Larger boulders anchor the structure of dry creek beds and pond surrounds, combining with smaller river rock to create the natural, layered appearance of a genuine Colorado streambed.

Natural Colorado Boulder Wall — Divide Pit Stone, Teller County

Retaining Wall Planning — Know Before You Build

Boulder retaining walls are one of the most beautiful and permanent structures you can add to a Colorado mountain property. They can also be one of the most consequential to get wrong.

• Under 2 feet — Low landscape walls — Generally manageable for capable DIYers with appropriate equipment. Focus on a compacted gravel base, good drainage rock behind the wall, and boulders set with their widest face down for stability. Use 2 Inch Minus Rock behind the wall for drainage.
• 2–4 feet — Mid-height retaining walls — Most residential applications fall here. These walls are very achievable with a skid steer and careful execution, but good planning matters: compacted base, 12+ inches of drainage rock behind, a drain pipe at the footing, and boulders battered (leaning slightly back into the slope) at roughly 1 inch per foot of height.
• Over 4 feet — Structural walls — In most Colorado jurisdictions, any retaining wall over 4 feet in height requires a building permit and typically engineered plans from a licensed civil or geotechnical engineer. The consequences of a structural wall failure are serious. Please engage an engineer for walls of this height.

Delivery — What to Expect & How to Prepare

Boulder deliveries are made by End Dump Truck. The truck backs into your site and raises the bed, depositing the load in a stationary dump or while moving slowly forward. Boulders are heavy and they roll — once the bed tips, the material moves as a mass and individual boulders will roll, shift, and come to rest wherever gravity takes them.

• MCG Delivers by End Dump Truck — The most common option. We load, haul, and dump. You prepare the site, have your equipment ready, and take it from there. Call Tess to schedule. Rate is $135/hour for the End Dump Truck.
• Self-Haul with Your Equipment — If you have appropriate heavy commercial hauling equipment, you are welcome to come to the pit and load your own boulders. Standard truck beds and light-duty trailers are not appropriate for boulder hauls due to weight and bed damage risk.
• Customer-Contracted Licensed Hauler — You arrange and pay your own licensed hauling contractor; MCG loads them at the pit. Call Dominic to arrange.

Boulder Delivery & Placement — Excavator with Grapple, Park County CO

Oversized Boulders — Over 4 Feet

For the right project, a truly massive boulder — 5, 6, or more feet in its longest dimension — creates a statement nothing else can match. MCG does have oversized specimens in the pit from time to time, and we are happy to work with customers who want them. But the logistics of moving and placing these stones require a level of planning and specialized equipment that goes well beyond a standard delivery.

A 5-foot granite boulder can weigh 6,000–10,000 lbs or more. Standard dump trucks cannot safely carry specimens above approximately 25–30 tons total load. Very large boulders may require a lowboy or flatbed trailer rated for the load, a licensed heavy hauler with appropriate permits, and in some cases an oversize load permit from CDOT. The customer is responsible for arranging and paying for all transportation from the pit to the site.