Day Trips Outside Denver

[COcheesehead]

Originally Posted by bluescreen73

A few points and some suggestions:

1. Brainard Lake is the only place in the Indian Peaks where you need a timed entry permit.
2. Mount Evans Highway typically closes after Labor Day Weekend.
3. Lair o' the Bear is a pretty small park. It has less than 5 mi of trails. You can hike the Bruin Bluff loop in about 30 mins.
4. The hike to Elk Falls at Staunton is good, but long. The shortest route is 10 miles out-and-back.
5. The whole Devil's Head area is closed for construction through December 1st. The fire tower itself has been closed since 2019.
6. Roxborough is another solid choice. Dogs are not allowed (if you're bringing one).

Suggestions:
A lot of this will depend on when you're visiting, your experience and fitness level, and what types of things you want to see. If you're planning to hike on the weekend, most of these places will be packed to the gills (esp. Labor Day Weekend). I have a folder of hiking pics here. If there are any pics in there that tickle your fancy, let me know and I can tell you about the hiking there.

Mount Morrison
This really strenuous hike is actually on the edge of Red Rocks. There's a small parking lot just outside the gate for Entrance 4 (Titans Road). The hike is about 3.5 mi round-trip, but it's about 2,000' of vertical gain (and there's almost no shade). It's a grind all the way up. The first/last half mile is steep and slick in spots, and the final 1/4 mile to the summit has a few Class 3 moves. You get great views of Red Rocks along the way, and you can also see west to Mount Evans and south to Pikes Peak.

Golden Gate Canyon State Park
You can drive to Panorama Point or you can hike to it. You can make a loop from either the Ole Barn Knoll or Bootlegger's Bottom by taking the Mule Deer Trail to Panorama Point then continue on the Mule Deer Trail to Frazier Meadow where you'll take the Coyote Trail back to Bootlegger's Bottom. The Coyote Trail has a really steep spot just above Bootlegger's Bottom that's rocky, but the trail has awesome views of the Continental Divide. It's about 9 miles if you start from the Ole Barn Knoll, but you can take a mile or so off that by starting at Bootlegger's Bottom. Golden Gate Canyon State Park Trails

Roxborough State Park
The Carpenter Peak Trail will take you to the highest spot in the park (7200'). It's about 6.25 mi round-trip and around 1000' of vertical gain.

Alderfer/Three Sisters Park
I'd actually go here instead of Lair o' the Bear. It's only another 20ish mins west of Lair o' the Bear in Evergreen and it has ~15 miles of trails. You can make a loop to the top of Evergreen Mountain or you can hike the north side of the park and make a loop out of The Brother/Three Sisters area. You can climb up to the top of the North Sister fairly easily if you're into Class 3 scrambling.

Mount Galbraith
Situated just north and west of Golden along Golden Gate Canyon Road. This is a 4.5 mi hike that takes you around the top of Mount Galbraith. No dogs or mountain bikers to contend with, and you can take a social trail to the summit if you desire. Great views down into Golden, east to Downtown Denver, north to Longs Peak, and west to Mount Evans.

If you're looking to get above timberline, here are a few easy-ish 13er hikes.

Mount Flora
Easy to get to. Just drive to the top of Berthoud Pass. 6.5 mi out-and-back and just under 2,000' of gain. The hike starts on the southeast side of the parking lot and you're on the Continental Divide Trail all the way to the summit. The first mile follows a road that goes to the top of Colorado Mines Peak, and then the next 2.25 miles are on a well-worn single-track trail.

Mount Sniktau
Another easy one to get to. Drive to the top of Loveland Pass, and take the trail on the east side of the road. It's 4 miles and change out-and-back, and around 1,500' of gain. The first mile is a grind. You'll gain nearly 1,000' of elevation. When you get to the ridge at 12,950' hang a left. It's another mile (and a false summit) to the top of Sniktau. Once you get to the ridge you'll have great views of Torreys Peak (with Grays peeking out behind it). You can also see west to the Gore, Tenmile, and Sawatch Ranges.

Horseshoe Mountain
This one is a little more difficult to get to. It's just outside Fairplay on the rough Fourmile Creek Road. I wouldn't go on this road unless you have a car with decent clearance. Once you get past the Leavick Site it's just under a mile of really rocky terrain before you get to the turnoff for Horseshoe Mountain. It's an easy Class 1 hike that's mostly on mining roads. 8 mi and a little over 2,000' out-and-back with awesome views of the Sawatch Range, and you'll catch Capitol and Snowmass Peaks in the Elk Range on the summit of Horseshoe. Here's a route description. Horseshoe Mountain East Slopes. If you're feeling a little more adventurous it's only another mile or so up the same road to the trailhead for 14er Mount Sherman. Sherman is one of the "easiest" 14ers in the state. 5.25 mi out and back and about 2,000' of gain. Mount Sherman Southwest Ridge Route.

Lair O’ the Bear trails connect into Corwina Park so the trail system is far larger than 5 miles. The trail up to the top of Corwina gives the hiker a spectacular view of Mt Evans and there are some Ute modified tress along the way as well as a supposedly haunted mansion. Cue the spooky music.

The falls in Staunton is cool, but if that is too far, there are other shorter trails that lead to some beautiful overlooks. There is even an old sawmill with an old car tucked off into the woods. The old Girl Scout camp is fun to walk through as well.

[jrlowreyva]

Thank you so much for taking the time to list this information for me. I will look at your folder!

[wamer27]

Is the Greeley, Ft Collins on the list due to looking at schools? If not, I don’t see an appeal to go see them. (I went to CSU and lived in Ft Collins after) If you go to them, there’s back ways to into the mountains through Rist Canyon from Ft Collins that reach Estes Park, then Estes Park to Blackhawk is a cool drive (my “larger families” cabin they built in 40’s is on a river in this section). Then Blackhawk to Golden is awesome too via highway 6. One thing I love about the state is there’s roads to everything, especially if you have a jeep or 4x4 something.

[jrlowreyva]

Greeley is where the Colorado Sound radio station is located. We want to swing by and say hi. I've heard good things about Loveland as far as retirement. Fort Collins is supposed to be beautiful, particularly around CSU - plus, there's a game that day and I expect the atmosphere will be fun.

Thoughts?

[bluescreen73]

Originally Posted by jrlowreyva

Greeley is where the Colorado Sound radio station is located. We want to swing by and say hi. I've heard good things about Loveland as far as retirement. Fort Collins is supposed to be beautiful, particularly around CSU - plus, there's a game that day and I expect the atmosphere will be fun.

Thoughts?

The on-campus stadium at CSU is 10,000 times better than Hughes. I hated Hughes. It was a dump. The CSU football program is coming off a handful of down years, and the fanbase can be pretty fickle. The stadium honestly might not be full, especially if it's the South Dakota State game. The Vandy game might be a little better.

[wamer27]

Originally Posted by bluescreen73

The on-campus stadium at CSU is 10,000 times better than Hughes. I hated Hughes. It was a dump. The CSU football program is coming off a handful of down years, and the fanbase can be pretty fickle. The stadium honestly might not be full, especially if it's the South Dakota State game. The Vandy game might be a little better.

I went to Hughes once and that was enough, haha. Is the CU game still first of season and now in Denver? Old town area I liked, has a train track running down middle of downtown street that trains often use, runs through campus too. We used to drink for free in town via all breweries, is that still possible?

[wamer27]

Originally Posted by jrlowreyva

Greeley is where the Colorado Sound radio station is located. We want to swing by and say hi. I've heard good things about Loveland as far as retirement. Fort Collins is supposed to be beautiful, particularly around CSU - plus, there's a game that day and I expect the atmosphere will be fun.

Thoughts?

Loveland you have to take notice of where in town you’d someday want to live. There was a giant flood in 2013 right before we came to visit. From Denver north all rivers flooded, Loveland flooded via Big Thompson flows right through town. Same river flooded in maybe late 70’s or 80’s with some family members of mine having to climb to safety of a wall of water flowing through Big Thompson Canyon. It’s worth looking into.

[bluescreen73]

Originally Posted by wamer27

I went to Hughes once and that was enough, haha. Is the CU game still first of season and now in Denver? Old town area I liked, has a train track running down middle of downtown street that trains often use, runs through campus too. We used to drink for free in town via all breweries, is that still possible?

The Rocky Mountain Showdown ended up not being renewed. CSU doesn't play CU again until 2023 and 2024 with home-and-home games (Boulder in 23, Fort Collins in 24). After that it's TBD when they'll play again - especially now that the PAC-12, B1G, and ACC have formed an alliance.

Train track is still there, and I don't know about the breweries (especially post-COVID). You used to be able to get 1 or 2 complementary beers at the Budweiser Brewery back in the day.

[wamer27]

Originally Posted by bluescreen73

The Rocky Mountain Showdown ended up not being renewed. CSU doesn't play CU again until 2023 and 2024 with home-and-home games (Boulder in 23, Fort Collins in 24). After that it's TBD when they'll play again - especially now that the PAC-12, B1G, and ACC have formed an alliance.

Train track is still there, and I don't know about the breweries (especially post-COVID). You used to be able to get 1 or 2 complementary beers at the Budweiser Brewery back in the day.

Wow, for a non-conference game, it had to make each school a lot of money, it was the only game we cared about. Seems odd they wouldn’t keep it going.

We would start at Budweiser, then New Belgium, finish at Odell’s. All would ask, tour or samples. Samples was correct answer.