Chief Mountain, Evergreen Colorado

Chief Mountain is Colorado's 1,452nd highest peak at 11,709 feet tall located in the Arapaho National Forest. It is located just minutes outside of the Denver metro area and is a very do-able hike with incredible 360 degree views. I plan to take visitors here the next time they are ready to do a hike, you get a great alpine experience without the long, long hiking.

Jones Pass and Stanley Mountain

Over this Thanksgiving weekend I wanted to get out and hike a big peak instead of sticking to the warmer Front Range trails. After searching and searching for an accessible winter peak online, I came across the Henderson Trailhead in the Arapaho-Roosevelt National Forest outside of Empire Colorado. This trailhead gives access to Stanley Mtn at 12,521 ft, Vasquez Peak at 12,947 ft, Berthoud Pass at 11,315 ft and Jones Pass 12,451 ft and all of those peaks are on the Continental Divide.

Clear Creek Canyon Hike 11-9-09

Clear Creek Canyon is West of Golden, Colorado on highway 6 and the canyon continues up the gorge to Blackhawk Colorado.
Jefferson County Open Space has been building trails in Clear Creek Canyon for several years and their efforts are an ongoing project. Eventually the the goal is to have a trail which connects to the Continental Divide Trail.
Because the project is currently underway, there is often construction on parts of the trail and the only way to find out which is open is to start driving up the canyon. And that is what I did today!
I woke up on my Monday off, feeling very restless and in need of a good hike. I had a couple of hours of work to do then I gathered up my gear, laced up my hiking boots, and got the dogs ready to hike. The dogs and I drove into Clear Creek Canyon and kept our eyes peeled for a trail-head. Since the canyon trails here are new, I don't know where they are all located but I knew of one farther up the mountain near the city of Blackhawk. As I drove up the winding mountain with the music blaring, wind in my hair and two dogs eager to hike, I was taking the time to reflect on my goals in life. The reflection time was much needed. After driving up the mountain for 20 minutes, I came across my hike, which was closed due to construction on the road in that area and no parking.

Lumpy Ridge, hike to Gem Lake, Rocky Mountain National Park.

Park History
Lumpy Ridge rises above Estes Park on the North side of the town. It is part of Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP), but there is no fee to hike here. Lumpy Ridge has a large raptor habitat, and the birds live in the rocks and cliffs on the ridge. One important point to remember is that in 2007 the Twin Owls Trail head was relocated south and is now renamed Lumpy Ridge Trail head. It encompasses the Gem Lake Trail, Twin Owl Loop and all the Lumpy Ridge Climbing destinations. It now has a larger parking lot and bathrooms. Some of the newer maps do not reference this change, if you are seeking to hike Gem Lake or Twin Owl trails, this is where you start.

Mountain Biking at Centennial Cone Park

Last weekend Josh and I decided to go mountain biking. This is something we don't do very often because it is so much harder to take the dogs; and because I am not the most adventurous mountain biker and it's more fun for my hubby to go with the boys. I would prefer rolling hills to steep rocky trails for my biking experience, but after hiking at Centennial Cone Park, I knew I had to go back and try it on the bike.

Centennial Cone Park, Jefferson County Open Space, Colorado

Park History
The Centennial Cone Park is north of Clear Creek Canyon and it sits on top of the foothills outside of Golden Gate Canyon. It was acquired by voter approval in 1999 to be preserved as Open Space land. The park is created to sustain the elk and mountain lion habitat in the area. You will see many old ranches and homesteads throughout the property which were purchased to preserve the land in the 90's. Now this park has over 3,000 acres of land and is one of the largest Open Space Parks in the Jefferson County System.

Deer Creek Canyon Park, Jefferson County, Colorado

History of the Park
In the late 1800's Deer Creek Canyon was once a homestead for John Williamson from Plymouth England; as well as a campground for Ute and Arapahoe tribes. Deer Creek Canyon was also a hideout for Jesse James and other villains with it's large scrub oak habitat, creeks and fertile grounds it was a great place to hide out. The Plymouth Creek Trail has been a passage way into the mountains since the 1900s. In 1991 Jefferson County purchased the land and named it Deer Creek Canyon Park and it became part of the Jefferson County Open Space.

Getting There
To get to the park from the metro area, take C-470 and exit at Kipling Street. Go west onto W. Ute Avenue, then west or right onto Deer Creek Canyon Road. The streets are well marked with the signature brown Open Space signs at each turn.
Follow Deer Creek Canyon Road into the canyon for a few miles, you will pass South Valley Open Space on your right (which is another good hike deserving of a blog post soon) and continue on Deer Creek Road until you see the Open Space Sign to turn LEFT onto Grizzly Drive.

Grizzly Drive will take you up the mountain through a neighborhood of huge houses and beautiful scenery! Each time we have driven up this road we have come across an animal, most recently a deer and her fawns, we have also seen coyote, fox and turkeys. Continue up Grizzly drive and turn Right into Deer Creek Canyon, you will see the sign above on your right.

The Park
As you drive into the Deer Creek parking lot you will almost always notice that it is busy!

Mt. Falcon EAST Entrance, Morrison Colorado

The East Entrance of Mt. Falcon Park is south of Morrison, and it's a close hike in proximity to the city, with incredible city and mountain views.
Mount Falcon Park East is located South of Morrison on Highway 8. Driving west through the town of Morrison, turn left or South on Highway 8; next go .8 of a mile to Forest Ave. This is an easy road to miss, if you go more than 1 mile after turning on Hwy 8, you have gone too far. Shortly after turning on Forest Avenue, you make a right or North turn onto Vine St. This dead ends into the park.

One of the main trails in the park is the Castle Trail, which used to be a narrow road that once carried Stanley Steamer automobiles in the 1800s. The Castle Trail starts at the East entrance of the park and provides hikers, mountain bikers and horseback riders access all the way up the mountain to the Mr. Falcon Park West Access (which can be reached via 285 and Parmalee Gulch Road). There are also picnic tables for those who just want to enjoy a picnic in the area with great views!

The Castle trail starts by winding through gullies and plains then starts up Mt. Falcon with a pretty steep incline.

Camping & other activities outside of Leadville, CO, Collegiate Peaks Wilderness

Over the weekend of September 5th; Josh, Rock and I decided we needed to get in another weekend of camping and hiking before it got too cold. We choose the Leadville area in the Collegiate Peaks Wilderness which is part of the San Isabel National Forest on County Road 390. (called Chaffe County Road 390 or Clear Creek Canyon Road) We had been planning to hike Mt. Belford one of Colorado's 14ers, and this road was the access road to the trail.

Mt. Belford, 14,197 feet; Leadville Colorado

On Saturday September 5th, Labor Day weekend, Josh, Rock and I hiked Mt. Belford which is outside of Leadville, Colorado in the Collegiate Peak Wilderness that is part of the San Isabel National Forest. This was our first fourteener (peak over 14,000 feet) of the 2009 season, and the 8th that we have hiked so far in Colorado. Mt. Belford proved to be one of the most beautiful and most difficult hikes that we have ever done!

Getting there:
We woke up at 4:00am Saturday morning and hoped to be on the road by 4:30. We needed to drive out to the area to get a campsite and set up our tent before we went to the trail-head for the day. Being Labor Day weekend, we figured we'd get a better campsite in the morning to ensure we'd get a good site, also if there was bad weather when we were done with the hike we would have shelter already to sleep in while it rained.