Maryann Gaug - Best Hikes Near Denver and Boulder

Copyright 2010 by Morris Book Publishing, LLC

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, except as may be expressly permitted in writing from the publisher. Requests for permission should be addressed to Globe Pequot Press, Attn: Rights and Permissions Department, P.O. Box 480, Guilford, CT 06437.

FalconGuides is an imprint of Globe Pequot Press.

Falcon, FalconGuides, and Outfit Your Mind are registered trademarks of Morris Book Publishing, LLC.

Interior photos by Maryann Gaug unless otherwise credited

Art on page iii Shutterstock

Project editor: Julie Marsh

Text design: Sheryl P. Kober

Layout artist: Maggie Peterson

Maps by Trailhead Graphics Morris Book Publishing, LLC

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Gaug, Maryann.

Best hikes near Denver and Boulder / Maryann Gaug.

p. cm.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-1-4930-0297-9

1. Hiking--Colorado--Denver Metropolitan Area--Guidebooks. 2.

Hiking--Colorado--Boulder Metropolitan Area--Guidebooks. 3.

Trails--Colorado--Denver Metropolitan Area--Guidebooks. 4.

Trails--Colorado--Boulder Metropolitan Area--Guidebooks. 5. Denver

Metropolitan Area (Colo.)--Guidebooks. 6. Boulder Metropolitan Area

(Colo.)--Guidebooks. I. Title.

GV199.42.C6G38 2010

796.5109788--dc22

2009034239

The author and Globe Pequot Press assume no liability for accidents happening to, or injuries sustained by, readers who engage in the activities described in this book.

Contents

The Hikes

Acknowledgments

First Id like to thank all of my contacts in the nineteen different agencies responsible for the lands and the trails in this book. These wonderful people work for city and county open space departments, city mountain parks, Colorado State Parks, USDA Forest Service, National Park Service, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. They took time from busy schedules to answer questions, review chapters and provide feedback, and in two cases, hike with me on trails that were not yet open to the public.

I would especially like to thank all those people who came before who not only saw the need to preserve open space and wildlands, but who followed through on their visions. Over the years many people have continued their work to create the wonderful collection of parks and open space lands, along with the national forests, parks, and wildlife refuges that we enjoy today in Colorados Front Range. Thanks also go to the citizens in the various cities and counties for consistently voting to tax themselves to purchase and preserve more lands, not only for their recreation, but also to protect wildlife habitat. We all owe a great debt to these people, and to the people who continue the work of maintaining existing lands and procuring new ones.

Thanks to all the individuals in the many volunteer groups who help the land management agencies with everything from trail maintenance and construction to fund-raising to keep these special lands, well, special! Please consider joining one of these groups to add your talents to help in whatever way you can.

Thanks also to all my friends and co-workers who put up with two years of I have to work on the hiking guide when they asked me to do things.

A special thanks and a big hug to my Mom, recently deceased, and my Dad, long dead, for encouraging me to do what I want to do and to strive for peace and happiness.

Last, but not least, thanks to you readers and fellow hikers for buying Best Hikes Near Denver and Boulder . I hope you find it useful and interesting, and may you enjoy many hours hiking the trails described between these covers.

Introduction

Hikers in the Denver and Boulder area, rejoice! Within about an hours drive, you can experience every facet of hiking in Colorado except western canyon country. From open prairies to old ranches preserved as parks in the foothills to crystal clear mountain streams and lakes, you can select a terrain and length to suit you on any given day. With such beautiful public lands so close, you have no excuse to stay at home. Time to take a hike!

The spine of mountains that lie easternmost in Colorado from the Wyoming border to about Castle Rock is known as the Front Range. To confuse everyone, the cities just east of the mountain range are also called the Front Range.

Since 1912 people in the Front Range have seen value in preserving land and in wandering about in natural areas to replenish their spirits. As I mentioned in the acknowledgments, Im so grateful to people over the last hundred years for having the foresight to preserve lands, maintain them, and continue to obtain and care for lands into the future. I often said thanks while hiking when a trail would suddenly wind past a subdivision or when a new huge house appeared in the backdrop of an area I had previously hiked. If these lands had not been preserved, Im confident they would be covered with hundreds of houses by now.

Continental Divide from Buchanan Pass Trail at mile 3.6 (Hike 31)

Because the Denver metro area is roughly 30 by 40 miles, I used the metro-area beltways as the starting places for the hour drive. Originally I had not planned to include anything near Colorado Springs, but Cheyenne Mountain State Park opened in 2006 with great trails and I couldnt resist.

Cities, counties, the state of Colorado, USDA Forest Service, National Park Service, and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service have all designated lands for both recreation and wildlife preservation from the eastern edge of Denver west to the Continental Divide. Whether you enjoy wildlife, geology, or history, or just want to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city, you cant go wrong living in Denver- Boulder area. Many people move to this metropolis on the plains because so many outdoor amenities are available in relatively short distances.