Cataract Campground, White River National Forest - A Small Campground with great hikes nearby

Campground and site #1 with best views of surrounding mtns

Camped over Fourth of July weekend, 2011, 23 weeks pregnant.  


Even though pregnancy has slowed me down this summer, I was determined to camp at least once this season; even with the holidays crowds we hit the road to camp north of Silverthorne Colorado.  After looking into the Green Mountain Res area, I found a more secluded campground southwest of the reservoir which had lots of trails nearby and hoped we could find a site there.  We drove out Friday afternoon, arriving at the campground near 6pm and there was just one spot left!  We felt very fortunate to get a site, although it ended up being mosquito infested and made for a weekend of swatting bugs and spending more time in the camper than usual; but it was worth it!  

Lower Cataract Lake Loop/Creek, North of Silverthorne Colorado

Lower Cataract Lake, Colorado

Hiked July 2nd, 2011; 23 weeks pregnant. 

While I haven't posted many hikes this summer, it doesn't mean that I haven't been hiking!  In fact, I have several posts to catch up on and they are good ones! 

Over the weekend of the Fourth of July, Josh, the dogs and I decided to go camping.  I wanted to camp at least once while pregnant this summer.  We decided to head North of Silverthorne Colorado to the Green Mountain Reservoir area; we didn't exactly know where we wanted to camp, but I wanted to check out the Lower Cataract Lake area, which is just southwest of the Res.  We drove up the bumpy dirt road 3 miles to the Cataract Campground and hiked just up the road at the Cataract Creek/Lake Trailhead.   Josh and I hiked the loop which is moderate/easy and approximately 2+ miles around the loop; located in the Eagles Nest Wilderness, White River National Forest. 

Warren Gulch Trailhead, for hikers and bikers; Idaho Springs, CO

Hiked this trail June 30, 2011, at 22 weeks pregnant. 
Summer hiking this season has kept me closer to home and I have been exploring Clear Creek County trails which give me a little bit of a higher altitude hike, but without the crowds of Open Space trails.  There are numerous trails in Clear Creek County that can be found on their website here. 

I hiked Warren Gulch last week, and while the website gave good directions on how to get to the hike, they left out that there is no parking at the trailhead, the road is a dirt  single two track that continues up the Gulch with no place to turn around if another car comes, or if you want to turn back.  However, once I found the trail and parked, I did end up having a great hike.  It was just a little dicey to get there.  

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. 

Upper White Ranch Park, great for hiking, camping, trail riding and more!

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The hot weather and my new found energy during pregnancy helped me to get out of the house yesterday and take a hike at White Ranch Open Space Park.  This is a trail system which I have frequented before, and it doesn't disappoint, especially in the spring/summertime with fields of blooming flowers, green mountains and great views! 
I managed to get out the door by 9am and made it to the trailhead just after 9:30am, I was surprised to see so many cars at the trailhead on a Tuesday morning, but somehow I didn't see anyone during my hike on the trail.  White Ranch is part of the Jefferson County Open Space Trail System and provides trail maps at the main parking lot; I grabbed a map and started out on the trail with both dogs.  We hiked the .25 miles to the restrooms and then started off on the Rawhide trail going north, I took this trail 2.2 miles until it intersected with the Waterhole Trail for .6 miles then back to Rawhide for the approx 1.6 miles back to the parking lot.  The round trip loop was 4.4 miles according to the park maps. 

Fillius Park in Bergen Park-Evergreen; Denver Mountain Parks Trail

It has been way to long since I hiked and posted; being pregnant and trying to get our house ready for baby plus my lack of energy has really made it harder for me to get outside as much as I'd like.  However, I did manage to hike in Bergen Park about 2 weeks ago and I am finally getting around to posting about it now. 
I had passed Fillius Park many, many times while driving into Evergreen for other hiking trails and always thought it was just a park, not a park with trails.   But for some reason, I decided to stop there and see if I could find a place to hike.   When I arrived on an overcast Wednesday morning, there were 2 other cars in the parking lot and I didn't see any people in the park area, with picnic tables and handmade rock shelter.  So, I assumed there was a trail nearby, I  just had to find it.  Directly across the street from the parking lot I noticed a trail with a small Denver Mountain Parks sign; there is no trail map, so I had no idea how far the trail was, but just started hiking and to my surprise had a great day walking along the ridge-back mountain and along the trails. 

White Ranch Open Space - A cloudy day hike after the rain

Signs of spring blooming on along

It's been way too long since I have hiked or blogged; I haven't had much energy this winter/spring.  I am happy to announce that my husband and I are welcoming our first child next fall and I am 3 months pregnant.  Now that my first trimester is coming to an end I am starting to have more energy and I want to enjoy these last few months hiking solo; but even this short 3.4 mile, out-and-back, hike with Josh and the dogs at White Ranch took a lot of out of me.  We took the Belcher Hill trail to Whippletree Trail and continued on the Whippletree trail for .6 miles to the next trail intersection; there we turned around and walked back for a 3.4 mile hike.  It was a cloudy spring day on Wednesday afternoon and signs of spring were coming up everywhere. 

Matthews Winters Park and Open Space - A sunny spring hike!

Happy Rock dog on the Red Rocks trail

It was beautiful weather on Tuesday afternoon as I set out to hike at Matthews Winters Park.  This is usually a very popular trailhead with both bikers and hikers, so I prefer to hike here during the week when its less crowded. 
Distance:  There are many miles of trails starting from this trailhead; but the main trail is a 4.2 mile loop that can be completed in about 4 hours, or less.   The trail loop starts with the .3 mile 'Village Walk' trail, which continues to the Red Rocks trail for .8 miles.  Next there is an intersection where the loop starts and ends; take either path for a 2 mile loop, and then follow the path you came back to the parking lot.
Difficulty: Easy for about 1 mile, then moderate as the trail gains elevation. 
Specs:  There are picnic tables, grills, and restrooms  (pit toilets) at the trailhead, and along the river.  There is ample parking during the week, but the weekends often find crowding.  Overflow parking across the street.  Dogs need to be leashed per Open Space rules. 

Clear Creek Park in Wheat Ridge, Colorado; A spring walk along the river

Clear Creek and one of the bridges crossing it

I haven't been up into the mountains as much this winter compared to last year; in 2010 at least once per week I was hitting the road for solo winter and spring hikes in Boulder or one of the many areas near Mt. Evans.  This winter, I have been opting for staying closer to the metro area, and walking or hiking at parks and trails which are much more accessible for many people.  Both hiking up a peak and walking down a popular trail have their advantages; but I must admit I enjoy hiking peaks much more. 
With that said, the smell of spring is definitely in the air along the Front Range and walking next to a babbling river with ducks, fish and dogs playing in the water reminds me of growing up in Michigan.  Spring there has the smell of thawing water and fresh grass; and walking next to Clear Creek yesterday I could smell the river and feel the sense of spring in the air.  However, with the dry conditions in Colorado, I am hoping that we get at least one more blast of snow or a lot of rain. 

NREL Trailhead on South Table Mountain, Golden Colorado

Belle looking for deer

I was prompted to hike at the NREL trailhead after a reader posted a comment asking about the mileage of the trail system there.  Since this trail is near to my house, I decided to head on over for a hike and find out; plus I was eager to see if the dusting of snow we received helped the foliage start to bloom.  I didn't see any flowers, or even cactus flowers, but there was a tiny tint of green on the mountainside, unfortunately if we don't get some rain or snow soon, this spring and summer are going to be very dry. 

If you haven't hiked this trailhead, its definitely one to check out; its close to the metro area, great for trail running, easy to moderate mountain biking, or just a great hike with views of the city, front range, and often you will see lots of deer that frequent the area.  Plus, there is always something interesting going on at NREL; which is heavily patrolled especially on top of Table Mountain.  (this does not interfere with your hike, there is a fence and boundary)