Snowshoeing in Clear Creek County. In search of snow on a warm Christmas Day.

Glittery snow sparkling in the sun

I have been dreaming of a white Christmas since September, when we decided we would stay in Colorado this year for the holidays instead of going 'home' to Michigan as we usually do.  Unfortunately for me, the Front Range didn't get a drop of snow, and in fact, it was in the mid 50s with sun and I was hot in my sweatshirt and jeans taking the dogs for a walk.  Josh and I decided since the snow wasn't going to find us, we were going to find the snow, and we drove into the mountains on I-70 west in search of some snowshoeing weather.  It wasn't hard to find a lot of snow about 35 minutes west of Golden, the mountains got slammed with a storm that measured in feet.  We drove to the Bakerville Exit off I-70 and there was plenty of snow on the south side of the highway to snowshoe on the Bakerville/Loveland trail that spans 5 miles.  It's popular in the winter for cross country skiing, snowshoeing and even some winter hiking.  In the summer, this is popular for mountain bikers and hikers. 

Grant Terry Park, Golden Colorado, Jefferson County

New bridge crossing Clear Creek

It has been weeks since I posted, shame on me; and I also haven't hiked much in the past month due to the busy holiday season for my business, but I am grateful for that.   Things are slowing down a little now that most of the holiday shopping is done and I am trying to get back into my routine of hiking (or snowshoeing) each week. 

This weekend, Josh and I went on a short hike just inside Clear Creek Canyon at a new Jefferson County Open Space called the Grant Terry Park.  The park was constructed when the new pedestrian bridge was built across Clear Creek Canyon giving access to the east side of the river.  The area then was made into a park with access to the river, and some trails on the west side of Lookout Mountain.