Hiking Trails – the Best Hiking Near Boulder, Colorado

For those of you who enjoy the outdoors, Colorado has much to offer. There are many wonderful hiking trails throughout the state. Trails range in difficulty from easy to very difficult, and many of these are great for experienced hikers, but not suitable for families hiking with children. For those who are either somewhat new to hiking, or will be hiking with children, this article lists some of the best hiking trails near Boulder, Colorado.

Late spring or summer is a great time to go hiking in Colorado. While many parts of the country are beginning to heat up, you can still enjoy the cool morning crispness, especially in the higher elevations. This is also a great time to experience some beautiful mountain scenery, and enjoy a colorful array of wild flowers. Boulder, Colorado is an extremely beautiful area, and has many hiking trails nearby. For families, hiking with children, here are some of the best hiking trails near Boulder.

Bald Mountain Scenic Area – Pine to Peak Loop Trail

Pine to Peak Trail is a 1 mile loop trail that is a great first hike for younger children. Hiking to the 7,160 foot summit of Bald Mountain, you will find a magnificent view and a variety of wildflowers. The trail starts off with a slight incline. After the trail splits, stay to the right and follow the Pines to Peak Trail. Bald Mountain Scenic Area is located 5 miles west of Boulder on the south side of Sunshine Canyon Drive (County Road 52).

Betasso Preserve Canyon Loop Trail

This hiking trail is a 2.8 mile loop that starts out with an easy climb, and then becomes a little more vigorous. The trail offers many different scenic views, and includes dense forest, fields, and meadows. This area was homesteaded around 1912, and later became a cattle ranch operated by the Betasso family. It is now part of the Boulder County Mountain Parks and Open Space system. To reach the trailhead take Boulder Canyon(CO 119) west for 6 miles, then go right on Sugarloaf Road for one mile to the trailhead.

Bobolink Trail

This trail is located in a parks and open space area of Boulder. It travels along South Boulder Creek, and is a flat, easy trail that is sport chair accessible. This area affords seasonal viewing (mid-May through Summer) of the bobolink for which the trailhead was named, along with other ground nesting birds. This hiking trail is located just west of the intersection of Baseline and Cherryvale Roads, and there is a parking lot on the southwest corner of the intersection.

Enchanted Mesa McClintock Trail Loop

This loop trail is approximately 1.8 miles in length and offers breathtaking views of the Flatiron Mountains. This easily accessible loop trail treats hikers to a beautiful pine forest, bustling song birds and squirrels. Along this hiking trail there is a gain in elevation of about 1,100 feet. The trail is located on the southside of the Chautauqua Auditorium, near Chautauqua Park (Grant and Baseline Streets in Boulder).

Lichen Loop Trail

This is an easy hiking trail that starts out at an elevation of around 5,900 feet and climbs only about 250 feet. The round-trip length is approximately 1.3 miles and provides beautiful views to the south of Boulder’s Front Range. To reach the trailhead take US 36 from Boulder and head north for 4.7 miles to Left Hand Canyon Drive. Turn left onto Left Hand Canyon Drive and travel 0.7 miles to Geer Canyon Road. You will see the Heil Valley Ranch sign and take a right onto Geer Canyon Road. Travel through private property 1.3 miles to the trailhead. Geer Canyon Road is a private road so do not park your car along the side of the road.

Rattlesnake Gulch Trail

This hiking trail is moderate in difficulty and takes approximately 2 hours to hike. The trail is about 3.6 miles round-trip, and begins at the entrance to Eldorado Canyon State Park, a world renowned rock climbing area. The trail makes its way up the southern flank of Eldorado Mountain, crossing a small stream on its way up to the ruins of the historic Crags Hotel. Built in 1908, the hotel was accessed via an inclined railway from the canyon floor, and burned down in 1913. To get to Eldorado Canyon State Park follow Broadway (93) South to Eldorado Canyon Road (CO 170) where you will turn right and follow this road all the way into the park. There is a small park fee upon entrance and a visitors center.

Hopefully, this short article has given you some good ideas for your next hiking trip. Our family really enjoys hiking together. There is nothing like being out in the fresh air, enjoying beautiful scenery, and having fun together as a family. Have fun, stay safe, and enjoy some of these wonderful Colorado hiking trails.

Are you looking for more information on Hiking Trails?

Get information on over 30,000 Hiking Trails here: Hiking Trails

Hiking Trails: How You Can Choose the Best One

Are you interested in going hiking ?  Whether you would like spend one day hiking or five days, you will need to find a hiking park to visit and a hiking trial to hike.  Although you can choose to go on any hiking trial that you want, you may want to take the time to find the best one. Those who take the time to examine a number of different trials, and handpick their favorite ones, are more likely to have an enjoyable time. 

Although it is nice to hear that you should take the time to find the perfect hiking trail, you may be wondering exactly how you can go about doing so. In all honesty, there are an unlimited number of different ways that you can go about finding the “perfect,” hiking trail.  A few of the many approaches that you can take are outlined below.

One of the easiest ways that you can go about finding a great trail is by asking those that you know for recommendations.  Asking those that you know for recommendations is nice and easy, because it limits the amount of research that you have to do yourself.  If you know of anyone, like a friend, family member, neighbor, or coworker, who enjoys hiking, you may want to see if they can recommend any good hiking trails to you.  You will want to try and find hiking trails that are well maintained, cheap to hike, as well as safe.

Another way that you can go about finding a great hiking trail is by contacting any of your local hiking parks.  If you are looking to stay local, you should be able to find the contact informationby using your local phone book. By contacting some of your local parks, you may be able to get information on the trials in question.  In addition to getting information over the phone, you may also be able to request that you have a few brochures, like maps, mailed to your home.  If you live close enough to the hiking trail or park, you may want to think about stopping by to get the same information in person.

If you are interested in not hiking locally, but hiking a distance that is away from your home, you may be wondering how you can go about researching hiking trials or parks.  Of course, you can use the internet and other resources, but you may want to think about waiting until you get to your destination. As previously mentioned, asking those that you know for recommendations is a great way to find a good hiking trail.  When you arrive at your destination, you may want to think about asking some local residents for hiking trail recommendations. 

As previously stated, you can also use the internet to help you research local and non-local hiking trails, as well as hiking parks in general.  If you know where you would like to go hiking, like in what city or in what state, you may want to incorporate your destination into your search. This may help give you more tailored results.  Speaking of those results, you will likely be connected to websites that are referred to as hiking websites.  These websites often provide you with information on hiking, as well as information on popular hiking trails.

No matter where you find yourself hiking, doing a little research beforehand, goes a long way in making your trip and enjoyable one. Remember for all your travel needs visit us at myroadtotravel.com

Choosing Hiking Trails – Tips To Choose The Most Suitable One

Taking a trip and have an interest in hiking? Whether you choose to hike for one or five days, you will be looking out for the best hiking park for the area you travel to, and the trails for hiking. There are many hiking trails that you can go on, but taking the time to choose the best is probably what you want to get the most enjoyment out of. By taking time out to examine many hiking trials in the area you are travelling to, you can then pick and choose that are more favourable to you, so that you can be assured that you will enjoy your hike.

So how do you go about finding the ideal hiking trail, you may be asking yourself. By taking the time to look at all the trails, you will know more of what to expect when you are out hiking, and more likely to find the “perfect hiking trail”. Here are few guidelines below to give you some idea of what to look out for.

Firstly, it is always good to ask for any recommendations; this is the easiest way to start out. You can then research those recommendations so this will cut down on the time spent on looking, and knowing what is popular is as easy a place to start as any. It is also good to ask people you know if they enjoy hiking – friends, family, work colleagues and neighbours, to see if they can recommend some hiking trails that they have taken. The best hiking trails are those that are popular and well maintained, those that are safe and are cheap to hike.

Contact your local hiking parks or the hiking trails to get some ideas for finding a great place to hike. By looking in your phone book, you should be able to find local contacts to find out more information. Your local parks are an excellent place especially if you are new to hiking to get a feel of what it is like. Over the phone you can ask questions to gather more information, make requests for brochures and maps that are available which can be sent out to your home address. You can even stop by the hiking park or trail if it is close enough to get information for yourself and a friend, perhaps.

You may be interested in travelling further away from home for a holiday, and need to research hiking parks and trails. The internet is useful for finding the information you need and for other resources like places to stay whilst you are away. Once you have arrived at your destination, the local tourist office will have plenty of information available and usually have the most up-to-date information. Sometimes hiking trails or parks have to close for one reason or another, so you can get recommendations for other places to hike. You can always the best trails that way. Local residents at your destination will have a good knowledge of the area, so you may want to think about asking them some questions about the local trails and the ones that are highly recommended.

The internet provides good search engines for looking up any local or hiking trails in other places, and a general look at hiking parks. Just typing a key phrase like “hiking trails” or “hiking parks” will provide you with lots of hits that you can browse through. You can cut the search down to a certain place or destination so that the results are tailored to your needs. These will most likely come up with hiking websites which are full of valuable information that you may not have thought of before. You should be able to find just what you need, and you can email for more information if you are unable to find it.

A standard internet search will also come up with the official online websites of hiking parks or the hiking trails that you are looking for information on. You can then examine them thoroughly and bookmark them as your favourites so that you can refer back to them later. The internet is very useful to find the best hiking parks and hiking trails around, the ones that suit you and your needs.

Choosing Hiking Trails – Important Things To Consider

Do you plan to go on a hiking adventure? A hiking adventure can last a few hours or more, or even for the whole weekend. But no matter how long your hiking trip may be, you will need to choose where to hike. And when you do choose a hiking trail, be assured that you have many options. Anywhere in the United States there are hiking trails where you can go to, and some of them might just be a short distance away from your home.

In view of so many hiking trails which you may choose from, it goes without saying that your concern might be on how you can choose the ideal hiking trail for your planned hiking adventure. To be sure, there are lots of factors that you may find worth considering when choosing a hiking trail. Let us briefly discuss these factors for you.

One of the factors which you need to consider when you choose a hiking trail is the level of difficulty there is in a particular hiking trail. As you probably know, the design, format or terrain of hiking trails differ. There are even nature parks that boast of several hiking trails within them. This simply means that you have lots of hiking trails to choose from. So instead of looking at the scenery and aesthetic value of a hiking trail, you can choose the one with a difficulty level that matches your own confidence level. For example, you can try a hiking trail that is intended, or designed, for beginners if you happen to be a first-time hiker.

Along with the difficulty level, consideration for your safety is important and should be a key factor when you choose a hiking trail. You just cannot leave your safety to chance. Check the maintenance conditions of hiking trails you wish to choose from. If it is not possible to see for yourself the condition of a hiking trail, you may try asking around from friends or acquaintances who may have had experiences with it. Another way of getting the information you need is browsing the internet. Look for online discussion boards or websites from which you can gather pertinent information. Then proceed to select the one that you think is safe enough for you to hike.

Related to safety considerations is security. Again check if security measures including security personnel are well in place when you choose a hiking trail. Let not your anticipated excitement obscure the possibility that you might not be familiar with the hiking park or trail you are going to choose. Security personnel around hiking parks can readily help you in case something untoward happens, like accidents or encounters with strangers whose disposition towards you may be suspect.

If you plan to go hiking that may last the whole weekend, or even more than that, you may also be thinking of a camping adventure. Camping happens a lot of times for hikers. In this case you would do well to choose a hiking trail with overnight accommodations. Often this kind of accommodations goes with onsite campgrounds. There would be other things to consider, like gearing up properly and bringing along with you enough food provisions. But if you are inclined to hike only for the day, plans for overnight accommodations may not be that important to consider when you choose a hiking trail.

Another important factor is price. Hiking parks or trails in the US charge admission fees for hikers so that they can get access to them. The rates vary from one hiking trail to the other. They would usually depend on facilities and services they offer. Although these charges are reasonable enough and highly affordable by American standards, you have much to gain and nothing to lose if you take into account the varying charge rates especially if you want to save money.

What we discussed are just some of many other factors which you may do well to consider when you choose your hiking trail. They are meant to guide you as you plan for and go on a hiking adventure. They can help make your adventure enjoyable and memorable.