Guides
The Bitterbrush and Nelson Loop Trails are fairly difficult mountain bike routes that form a lasso trail near Lyons, CO.
Unlike many of my other trail guides, this one is definitely a little more strenuous and technical. If you are riding a bike, prepare for steep climbs and rapid descents. There are some tricky corners and numerous rocks and roots in the trail. There is also great scenery, lots of wildlife, and a heck of a roller-coaster ride. Although this trail is...
6.2 mile trail near Fort Collins, Colorado
Horsetooth Rock is about 6.2 miles long and located near Fort Collins, Colorado. The trail is great for hiking and normally takes 1-3 hours. This is one of my all time favorite trails to hit near Fort Collins! It's close and can provide some spectacular views as well as a great workout!! You can add on a little distance and during a few months of...
Enjoy biking, hiking, or horseback riding on the Wapiti and Ponderosa Loop Trails at Heil Ranch northwest of Boulder.
Boulder has not been voted America's #1 Outdoor City for nothing. Heil Valley Ranch Open Space is one of the many reasons for Boulder's worldwide reputation. Although the name of this guide is Heil Ranch, the two trails featured here are the Wapiti Trail and the Ponderosa Loop trail. Together, they form what is known as a lasso trail. This trail...
Trips
10-Minute Encounter, Coyote Ridge
Trilby Corner, Colorado, United States
Hiking | 7.0 miles (6.1 miles away)
Hiking | 7.0 miles (6.1 miles away)
Since I'm not a "flower person", it's not often that I come back from a wildflower hike WOWed. But the experience on this wildflower hike with a local hiking group, I will never forget!It's been a couple of years since I last encountered a prairie rattler. Under quite different circumstances. Chuffy, my yellow lab went nose-to-nose with one on our early morning hike in the Maxwell Natural Area. Before I could pull...
Horsetooth Falls Trail
Horsetooth Heights, Colorado, United States
Hiking | 2.9 miles (10.3 miles away)
Hiking | 2.9 miles (10.3 miles away)
This fast trail runs through the canyons of Horsetooth Mountain Open
Space near Fort Colins, Colorado. It begins at the parking lot of the
open space, heading to the left. At a fork in the trail, bear right to a
lone pine tree to continue. The trail runs down into the canyon, past
cactus and scrubland, until you reach a small spur about 1.2 miles into
the trail. This spur takes you...
First off, this was my first attempt with the iPhone application. Not very impressive. Somehow the track got a bit messed up. and I had to manually create it. The pictures came across pretty good though.Nice day for a hike. In between storms. There was about three inches of fresh powder on the ground which made the initial climb from the parking lot doable despite the warnings to use the Mill Creek...
The Sleepy Lion Trail is a backdoor entry to the Hall Ranch Open Space, connecting with the Nighthawk and Nelson Ranch Loop trails. Parking is available before the gate on the service road to the Ralph Price Dam. As you walk along the service road, paralleling the North St. Vrain Creek, 0.25 mi.s from the gate, you pass the Longmont Reservoir Dam on the right (N'ly). Continuing along the service road, at...
The Blue Sky Trail, connecting the Devil's Backbone Open Space to Horsetooth Mountain Open Space along the Front Range mountain backdrop, has been on Larimer County's wish list for over ten years. Traversing through 4,000 acres of protected foothills open space is one of the premiere regional trails in Northern Colorado for hiking, biking, and horseback riding and crosses only one road over the total 15-mile distance. The land acquisitions to allow...
Sheep (aka Round) Mountain, 8,450'
Drake, Colorado, United States
Hiking | 9.2 miles (11.2 miles away)
Hiking | 9.2 miles (11.2 miles away)
So why does Round Mountain Trail lead to the summit of Sheep Mountain? Maybe the locals thought that there were 33 Sheep Mtns in Colorado, and wanted a unique name like "Round" Mtn....only 17 of those in Colorado. I don't know.Round Mountain is to Loveland, as Greyrock is to Fort Collins, except without the summit scramble and great view from Greyrock. However, along the way, you'll enjoy the interpretive markers, offering discussions...
Sunset hike to Horsetooth Rock
Horsetooth Heights, Colorado, United States
Hiking | 2.5 miles (10.3 miles away)
Hiking | 2.5 miles (10.3 miles away)
We completed the Blue Sky Trail northbound, from Devil's Backbone to Lory State Park. I do think I prefer doing this trail north bound vs. south bound. I like getting the more difficult part of the trail done first (at Devil's backbone) and also I think the view is prettier heading north.
Sheep (aka Round) Mountain (8,450') Scramble
Cedar Cove, Colorado, United States
Hiking | 7.2 miles (11.2 miles away)
Hiking | 7.2 miles (11.2 miles away)
Funny how mountains are like people: approach them from a different angle, and you might see a different character. My previous hike in 2010 of Sheep Mtn followed the well-worn trail to a less than impressive summit.This time we chose to go off-trail at the "pot rock", and follow the ridge to the summit. The summit hasn't changed, but the 1,100' of vertical bushwhacking was a joy. Rock outcrops had to be navigated along...
This is a pleasant, short hike (2 miles, one-way) that goes through some of the "hogback" formations of the Front Range in Northern Colorado. The trip starts straight and flat, a converted dirt road that gently takes you towards the hills. About a mile in, you reach a ranger station (open in the summer only) and a public restroom should you need it. The trail from here becomes narrower, and winds around...
We connected Coyote Ridge to Blue Sky to the Towers trail to continue to get some high mileage for our upcoming CT through hike.Our GPS recorded 24.45 miles.
We were able to see smoke from Day 2 of the High Park fire along this hike. The smoke had laid down a bit over night.
Picture Rock Trail, Heil Valley Ranch, Boulder Open Space
Lyons, Colorado, United States
Hiking | 10.3 miles (16.6 miles away)
Hiking | 10.3 miles (16.6 miles away)
Picture Rock Trail is a popular mountain-bike trail, located in the Heil Valley Ranch Open Space, of Boulder County. Not many mountain-bikers on the day of our hike....mid-week, and WIND.....be sure to check out the video at the end of the slideshow!Picture Rock Trail is one of 5 trails in the Heil Ranch Park. It's a trip back in time, to when ranching was big in the foothills of the Rockies. The...
The "Alexes", Neighbors to Alexander Mountain
Little Dam, Colorado, United States
Hiking | 4.2 miles (8.6 miles away)
Hiking | 4.2 miles (8.6 miles away)
What I'll call the "Alexes" are the siblings of the big brother Alexander Mountain (7,105'), that are separated by the geologic gouge of the Big Thompson River. The peak names (assigned)...."Narrows", "Step-Up", "Alexandra", and lastly added "Alexandria" are a carryover from a mentor who inspired us to go beyond his trek of "Alexandra".Ascending out of the steep "Big T" canyon is precarious. The loose scree slope is above US-34, so you'll have...
Coffintop (8,031') Loop, Button Rock Preserve, City of Longmont
Pinewood Springs, Colorado, United States
Hiking | 8.9 miles (18.3 miles away)
Hiking | 8.9 miles (18.3 miles away)
It's a real stretch of the imagination to see a "coffin" in Coffintop Mountain (8,031'), but then again, I didn't name it. Hard to see a coffin in the elongated summit ridge.The real summit of Coffintop Mtn appears to be contrary to the USGS maps. The USGS shows an extra contour line at the north end of the summit ridge, suggesting that the true summit is on the north. But when you...
Alexander Mountain (7,105'), Big Thompson River Canyon
Little Dam, Colorado, United States
Hiking | 3.0 miles (8.9 miles away)
Hiking | 3.0 miles (8.9 miles away)
Alexander Mountain (7,105') can be reached by a gentler approach from the east, near the Best Dam Store, and requires crossing private pasture land owned by the Sylvan Dale Ranch. We chose to stay on public USFS land, and bushwhack out of the Big Thompson River Canyon, up one gulch, and down another. In short, about 1600' ascension in about one mile.The ascension is a balancing act. Hike too low in the...
