Stewart M. Green - Best Hikes Colorado Springs

Based in Colorado Springs, Stewart M. Green has hiked, climbed, photographed, and traveled across the American West as well as the United States and the world in search of memorable images and experiences to document. Stewart, a freelance writer and photographer for Globe Pequot Press and FalconGuides, has written and photographed forty-five travel and outdoor adventure books, including Best Easy Day Hikes Colorado Springs, Scenic Driving Colorado, Scenic Driving Californias Pacific Coast, Best Climbs Moab, Best Climbs Denver and Boulder, KNACK Rock Climbing, Rock Climbing Colorado, Rock Climbing Utah, Rock Climbing Arizona, and Rock Art: The Meanings and Myths Behind Ancient Ruins in the Southwest and Beyond. His photographs and writing are also published in many magazines, books, catalogs, and websites. Stewart is a professional rock climbing guide with Front Range Climbing Company. Visit him at green1109.wix.com/stewartmgreenphoto for images and information.

Best Hikes Colorado Springsis an exploration of the wild lands surrounding my home-town. Almost every day in summer when I grew up near North Cheyenne Caon, I would pack a lunch, fill my steel army canteen with water, and shoulder an Austrian rucksack for the days adventure.

I would walk in the cool morning to the pine forests at the canyon entrance. Some days I puttered along the creek, taking off shoes and wading in glassy water. Other days I watched 10th Mountain Division soldiers give climbing exhibitions at an amphitheater below the Pinnacle. But usually I logged miles on my boots, hiking Columbine Trail, then branching to St. Marys Falls and the summit of Mount Rosa or hoofing it up to Captain Jacks, Tenney Crags, and Mount Arthur. I would arrive back home in the eveningfootsore, tired, but always happy.

This book details those hikes I did as a boy and more. There is no shortage of great hikes near Colorado Springs. The city park system is simply one of the best in the United States. There arent many cities that offer so much hiking on public lands. The Springs was fortunate to have General William Jackson Palmer, its forward-thinking founder, donate natural areas as parks but also to have a wealth of undeveloped land for recreation, including El Paso County parklands, Colorado state parks, and Pike National Forest. My thanks to the general, as well as other residents who love Pikes Peak Country and work to preserve and protect its natural values and diverse trails.

Thanks to all of my trail companions over the years as well as other hiking experts, FalconGuides editors, and park staff at state and city parks who reviewed the manuscript, offered advice, proofread sections, and added their ten cents, including Deb Acord, Kevin Baker, Howard Brooks, John Burbidge, Bob DAntonio, Jimmie Dunn, Dave Golec, Aubrey Green, Ian Green, Isaac Hamilton, Doug Hatfield, Mike and Sherry Heinrichs, Bob Hostetler, Dennis Jackson, Jewels Johnson, Mitch Martin, Cindy McCaffrey, Martha Morris, Max Phelps, Brian Shelton, Bill Springer, Spencer Swanger, Autumn Thorpe, and Jeff Wolin.

DAntonio, Bob. Hiking Colorados Front Range(2nd Edition). Guilford, CT: Falcon-Guides/Globe Pequot, 2012.

Duvall, Linda, and Marty Banks. Insiders Guide to Colorado Springs(2nd Edition). Guilford, CT: Globe Pequot, 2011.

Galas, Judith, and Cindy West. Walking Colorado Springs. Guilford, CT: FalconGuides/Globe Pequot, 1997.

Gaug, Maryann, and Sandy Heise. Best Hikes Near Denver and Boulder. Guilford, CT: FalconGuides/Globe Pequot, 2010.

Green, Stewart M. Best Easy Day Hikes Colorado Springs(3rd Edition). Guilford, CT: FalconGuides/Globe Pequot, 2018.

Green, Stewart M. Rock Climbing Colorado(3rd Edition). Guilford, CT: FalconGuides/Globe Pequot, 2019.

Green, Stewart M. Scenic Driving Colorado(5th Edition). Guilford, CT: Globe Pequot, 2019.

Paul, Susan Joy. Hiking Waterfalls in Colorado: A Guide to the States Best Waterfall Hikes. Guilford, CT: FalconGuides/Globe Pequot, 2013.

Paul, Susan Joy. Touring Colorado Hot Springs(3rd Edition). Guilford, CT: Falcon-Guides/Globe Pequot, 2018.

Sprague, Marshall. Money Mountain: The Story of Cripple Creek Gold