In my quest to find new hikes, near the metro area, that are at least semi-toddler friendly, I stumbled across a trail outside of Leyden, Colorado -- which is fairly close to Arvada just off Hwy 93 between Golden and Boulder.
When I arrived on a weekday morning, the parking lot was nearly empty and it took me a while to get Magnolia out of the car and into the Ergo carrier. I still have not mastered this and its a struggle each hike to get her on my back. I am much more comfortable when hiking to wear the Ergo (which is extremely comfy on the back), over the hiking backpack. The downside with the Ergo, no place for water. During this hike, I had the baby on my back and the water in the camelback on my front, talk about feeling like a pack mule!
The trail has no sign, just paths, we started up the mountainside, which goes pretty much straight up to the top of the plateau. The entire time we were hiking, we could hear coyotes hollering from across the street, I looked at my watch and it was 11am, so I was surprised to hear them in the day like that.