Gross Reservoir - Boulder Colorado, 30 minutes from Golden and lots of hiking trails!

View from a field along the trail

The summer weather has been beautiful lately, and I wanted to get into the foothills for a hike while all the wildflowers were still in bloom.   Colorado has some of the best wildflowers and I enjoy photographing them and love looking at them lining the trail. 
I decided to hike at Gross Reservoir a place Josh and I found years ago while taking a motorcycle ride one day in the mountains.   Last summer, I spent most of my time hiking in the Indian Peaks Wilderness (use the search tool to the right on blog to find many trails in the Indian Peaks) and passed the turnoff to Gross Dam Reservoir numerous along the way.   This summer, with the limitations of being pregnant, I decided to explore the numerous trails around the dam west of Boulder.   The trails aren't very popular during the week and its a great place to get a taste of high country hiking but staying closer to home.  Gross Dam Reservoir in Boulder County in Coal Creek Canyon off of Hwy 72. 

Map of Eldorado Canyon SP trail on the way to the dam,
I ended up picking up this trail accidentally and hiked to
 the marked parking lot and back.

Getting there:  From Golden, Colorado take Hwy 93 north toward Boulder; turn left/west onto Hwy 72 at a well marked stop light.  Take Hwy 72 for about 7.5 miles west, and turn right onto Gross Dam Road.  Continue on this dirt road which is mostly downhill following small signs to reservoir, don't turn off the road onto a paved road.  There are several access points to the Reservoir,  and you will pass Boulder Creek hiking trails on the road down to the park.  Reach a stop sign at a T intersection approx 5 miles down the road, it has a park map that directs you to activities.  I continued right toward the South Access of the Res and parked at the first small parking area 1 mile from the main sign. The lot is small with a picnic table, hiking access and boat access on the river in the canyon below.  Click here for google map to the south side of the reservoir. 
Specs:  There are numerous miles of hiking trails near and around Gross Dam, click here for the county link on the page and here for the Denver Water information.  I wasn't able to find a good map of area activities and parking online, and I should have taken a photo of the map while at the Res.  I didn't see any restrooms in the area's that I visited, but it's a large park and there could be at a larger lot with restrooms.   Park is free. 

The Hike:   The trail starts at the South parking lot high on the mountainside and it immediately heads downhill toward the river.  The trail is very obvious in the beginning and is lined with rocks and railroad ties to keep the hiker on the down slope going in the right direction. 

Bright yellow daisy and many other flowers lining the trail as it starts going downhill to the river immediately. 

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At the time that I hiked this trail in mid June, 2011; the river levels were very high and the trail that is near the river was washed out in many spots and not easy to follow.  On the way back to my car, I happened to find a trail higher up the mountainside that still takes the hiker along the river, but higher up to avoid high waters.  Its not easy to find on the downhill, but there is a large boulder about 1/4-1/2 mile down the trail, make a left at the boulder and you will see the trail. 

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The river was rushing higher than I had ever seen before.  In many places the trail was washed out or completely underwater beside the river.  There are also large boulders along the riverside that you have to climb over to reach the trail on the other side.  Many times I thought I'd have to go back because the trail ended, only to find that if I climbed around the rocks, I'd locate the trail on the other side.  This was a little treacherous and probably not the most safe thing for a pregnant lady.  I also had to keep a tight leash on Rock who would have jumped into the river at any moment due to the heat.  The water was so high, she would have been washed down immediately. 

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All the river tributaries are filled with rushing water and many of the tree trunks are submerged. 

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Eventually the trail alongside the river runs into the pedestrian bridge and I took this across the river to what was the Eldorado Canyon State Park Crescent Meadow section, Walker Ranch Loop.  I didn't realize this was the trail I was on until I reached the parking lot that I had passed on the way down to the south parking lot.  The map above reflects this section of the trail.  Walker Ranch loop is 7.2 miles and I wasn't up for doing that long of a hike in the heat. 

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I turned left as these arrows show and hiked up the hill for some views. 

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Along the uphill there are views to the left and river below. 

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Once I reached the top of the hill I saw a small social trail leading out to a meadow, I decided to walk down this trail for the views, and to rest and eat some food. While sitting here, admiring the wildflowers and views and deer ran right past the dogs and I. She went so fast that the dogs didn't have time to react and I was able to grab their leashes before they followed her over the mountainside. It was a cool experience being alone in nature and seeing that deer, I am suprised she didn't see us and ran so close to 2 dogs. I tried to push out of my mind that she might have been running from something, like a mountain lion.

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Colorado wildflower beauty!  Snap dragons, I think?

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Happy dog on a hike but she is a little miffed she didn't get to chase the deer. 

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The trail continued uphill for a while after the valley of flowers, and it was during this time several mountain bikers passed me going downhill, and I passed a few hikers going the opposite direction.  This Walker Loop is much more popular than the Gross Dam trail that I initially started on.  Eventually the trail comes out of the woods to another high altitude meadow; shortly after this the parking lot that I had passed on the drive down to the trail came into view.  I hiked to the parking lot and took a photo of the trail sign (above) but then opted to turn around because the loop was more than 7 miles and I wasn't up for that distance in the heat. 

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Turning around and heading back the way I came

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Some of the views of Coal Creek from the trail.  You can see the river below too. 

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Back down to the river, back across the bridge, and heading back to the car. 

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Views from the very beginning of the hike, there is a small social trail that takes you up a few more feet to check out the views in the canyon.  I sat here and ate some lunch before heading home.

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Tired doggies at the end of the trail.

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Home after the hike, showered and tired.  21 weeks pregnant. 

The hike was just what I needed and during my second trimester, I feel pretty good while hiking, except for my sore feet.  There are numerous other trails at Gross Dam that I didn't even drive to reach and I plan on heading back next week for more exploration of this great area just west of Boulder.