Elk Falls | Staunton State Park Pine Junction, CO | 06/10/21 | 11.98 miles | 1,806' gain It's not too often that I hike to a waterfall, so I was excited to finally get up to Elk Falls with Diana. (It'd only been on my to-do list for years.) As far as Colorado waterfalls go, …
Castlewood Canyon State Park Franktown, CO | 01/23/21 | 8.86 miles | 885' gain On the plains just south of Franktown, CO, hidden among the low hills and prairie grasses, a forested canyon awaits exploration. Invisible until you're right up on it, Castlewood Canyon is an unexpected sight, out of place in an area that …
Continue reading Castlewood Canyon State Park | Colorado | 01/23/21
Timber/Kimmons Loop | Lory State Park Fort Collins, CO | 01/02/21 | 7.56 miles | 1,293' gain For my first hike of 2021, I chose a nice loop close to home in Lory State Park. The Timber and Kimmons Trails seemed to always be closed due to muddy conditions and I'd been waiting for a …
Fountain Valley Loop | Roxborough State Park Littleton, CO | 12/13/20 | 3.17 miles | 390' gain After a fresh December snow, I traveled down to Roxborough State Park to hike a short loop through the red sandstone formations. It was a beautiful afternoon and there were plenty of families enjoying the easy Fountain Valley …
Lory State Park's Valley Trails | Lory State Park Fort Collins, CO | 12/03/20 | 8.58 miles | 820' gain Lory State Park might be super busy on summer weekends, but Thursday mornings in December offer a bit of solitude that isn't often found right outside Fort Collins. I took Lady up to hike some …
Continue reading Lory State Park’s Valley Trails | Colorado | 12/03/20
South Shoreline Trail | North Sterling State Park Sterling, CO | 11/27/20 | 7.54 miles | 107' gain One Friday afternoon in late November, I took Lady out to North Sterling State Park to hike the South Shoreline Trail. Kyle and I had visited in April 2020 and hiked the numerous short trails in the …
Continue reading South Shoreline Trail | Colorado | 11/27/20
Fowler Trail | Eldorado Canyon State Park Boulder, CO | 05/07/20| 4.36 miles | 329' gain My friend Tori and I met up for a quick and easy hike in Boulder before work. The Fowler Trail extends east from Eldorado Canyon State Park into Boulder Open Space & Mountain Park (OSMP) property. I didn't realize …
Balanced Rock Trail | North Sterling State Park Sterling, CO | 04/18/20| 0.34 miles | 45' gain The goal was to find a place to hike with as few people as possible (due to coronavirus). Heading east (the opposite direction of the mountains) is a surefire way to avoid anything that could even resemble a …
Continue reading North Sterling State Park Mini-Hikes | Colorado | 04/18/20
Lumberjack Loop | Lory State Park & Horsetooth Mountain Open Space Portions of the Mill Creek, Loggers, Sawmill, and South Valley Trails Bellvue, CO | 04/11/20| 6.04 miles | 1,012' gain (Okay, I totally made up the name of this loop, but with trail names like Mill Creek, Loggers, and Sawmill, it should be expected …
Colorado was nearing a full shutdown due to the coronavirus and we were in the preliminary stages of social distancing. The goal: find a trail without a ton of people, short enough that Kyle will agree to come with, preferably one I'd never done before, and oh yeah, 90% of trails are closed due to …
Continue reading Lory State Park Mini-Hikes | Colorado | 03/22/20
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