Читать книгу Base Camp Denver: 101 Hikes in Colorado's Front Range - Pete KJ - Страница 7
ОглавлениеFort Collins
Land of prairies, the Poudre, and snowy peaks
Beautiful and diverse hiking experiences abound in the region near Fort Collins, a lively city just an hour north of Denver. If you’re unsure where to go, just start driving up the Cache la Poudre River on CO 14. This gorgeous valley is a conduit to adventure in all seasons. Near its entrance, the slate-colored mound of Greyrock Mountain asks to be climbed even in midwinter. Late spring is a good time to head farther in for a deep-woods walk on Big South, alongside Colorado’s designated Wild and Scenic River.
In summer the higher hikes in Poudre Valley can’t be beat, from Blue Lake and Twin Crater Lakes in the graceful north-stretching Medicine Bow Range, to Emmaline Lake tucked beneath Comanche Peak on the valley’s south side, to the Never Summer Mountains on the northern edge of Rocky Mountain National Park. Contrary to the name, summer does indeed arrive here—and spectacularly. The American Lakes, tucked beneath the incredible Nokhu Crags, might qualify as one of the Earth’s most beautiful places. You can view Nokhu from the Diamond Peaks hike or from Iron Mountain (above Trap Park), or take the iconic walk to the lakes themselves. Go in July, and you’ll be engulfed in wildflowers.
Outside the Poudre Valley, you can find year-round tromping in the foothills close to town in places like Horsetooth Mountain, where you can climb a famous rock alongside CSU students, and other adventures farther afield at Mount Margaret, Red Feather Lakes, and Soapstone Prairie, near the Wyoming border. For something completely different, drive east into the plains for an otherworldly experience at Pawnee Buttes, in the hike that kicks off this book.
1 Pawnee Buttes
This easy hike to two buttes in the eastern prairie gives you spring flowers, birdsong, windblown solitude, and views stretching off to infinity. It’s a journey through time and a blast for everyone, kids included.
At a Glance
| Difficulty | Distance/Time | 4.5 miles/2 hours | |
| Trail Conditions | Trailhead ElevationTotal Hiking Gain | 5,200 feet200 feet | |
| Children | Features | Eroded landforms, prairie, birds, spring wildflowers | |
| Scenery | Best Season | All year | |
| Photo | Other Users | Horses, dogs | |
| Solitude | Notes | Toilets at trailhead, very little shade | |
| Property | Pawnee National Grassland | Jurisdiction | U.S. Forest Service |
The drive to this trail near the Wyoming border is crazy circuitous, and things just get weirder at the trailhead, where two buttes appear out on the prairie: startling, boxlike, rising like two gigantic birthday presents. You know you’re in for a different kind of treat, no matter how old you are!
Distances are difficult to judge here. The buttes look reachable within minutes, yet the sign says they are two miles away. Begin walking on Pawnee Buttes Trail toward some cliffs to their west called The Overlook. A cacophony of birdsong rises over the sounds of breeze and feet scraping trail, especially in mornings during migration seasons. You might see the long ears of a jackrabbit fleeing. A traditional windmill spins to the left; on the horizon churn dozens of modern wind turbines. Several crude oil “grasshoppers” bob on the plains.
At 0.7 miles, you’ll pass through a gated fence and descend into a craterlike valley studded with spiked yucca. In spring there are wildflowers: yellow evening primrose, blue penstemon, purple vetch and phlox. A juniper grove graces the dry snaking streambed, contrasting with whitish cliffs above. It’s difficult to stop taking pictures.
Soon you rise into prairie, but West Butte looks no closer than it did at the start. Is it an optical illusion? Land falls away northward as you ford another dry stream and traverse grassland. This prairie is anchored by buffalo grass and blue grama, whose roots form tough sod that holds well against the wind. It took settlers several generations and a Dust Bowl to realize this stuff should never be plowed. On closer examination, the diversity of vegetation is impressive. Over 400 native species grow here.
The trail dips to arrive beneath the domineering form of West Butte. What is this? A bit of Mars? A hunk of comet? A corroded alien spaceship? Whatever it is, it looks otherworldly, especially in slanting sunlight. And inaccessible! Ringed at the top by 30- to 50-foot cliffs, there appears to be no way to stand on top.
The buttes are very much of this world. Remnants of ancient High Plains that didn’t erode into the South Platte, they are protected by caps of sandstone and conglomerate that formed 3 to 20 million years ago. Below the hard caps is softer sediment of the Brule Formation, described geologically as “white to pale-pink blocky tuffaceous claystone and lenticular arkosic conglomerate.” It formed 25 to 40 million years ago, before there were words that big.
Prairie view from east side of East Pawnee Butte
A trail slants down and up toward East Butte, beckoning you to visit it as well. On the way you’ll pass a sign that reads, “Private Land Ahead, Respect Owner’s Rights,” but it doesn’t tell you not to proceed. The Forest Service owns all of West Butte, but only part of East. In fact, most of Pawnee National Grassland is privately owned.
East Pawnee Butte
You will arrive at East Butte within minutes. You can enjoy it from the base or circumnavigate it on a trail of sorts. Falling rock and clay-fall are hazards, so don’t linger beneath precipices. On the east side, gorgeous rippled “clay barrens” melt into prairie. On the north, notches cut into the Brule mark where some people have attempted to scale the butte. Tempting … but even if you made it up, how would you get down? Better to enjoy this close encounter from below and respect the summit as a no-go zone.
On the way back you can skirt to the north side of West Butte and confirm there is no summit access there, either. Or you can trust me.
From Denver. Take I-25 north to Exit 269A, then CO 14 east for another 36 miles. Turn left onto CR 77, drive 15 miles, then turn right onto CR 120. Proceed 5.8 miles, veer left onto CR 87 for 0.8 miles, then turn right on CR 122 and drive 0.7 miles into Grover. Turn right onto CR 390 (Railroad Avenue), continue 5.8 miles, and turn left onto CR 112. Proceed 6.4 miles, turn right on CR 107/CR 112, drive 300 feet, then go left to stay on CR 112. In 2 miles turn left at the sign to Pawnee Buttes. The trailhead and its large parking area are 2 miles farther on the left. 2 hours, 40 mins.
2 Soapstone Prairie’s Towhee Loop
This hike really delivers: rolling hills, spring wildflowers, views of peaks and prairie, and a chance to see pronghorns and bison. Add a mind-boggling archeological site and perhaps a picnic, and it’s a fine day near the Wyoming border.
At a Glance
| Difficulty | Distance/Time | 3.5 miles/1.5 hours | |
| Trail Conditions | Trailhead ElevationTotal Hiking Gain | 6,600 feet400 feet | |
| Children | Features | Prairie and mountain views, grass and shrubland hills, archaeological site | |
| Scenery | Best Season | Spring and fall | |
| Photo | Other Users | Bikes and horses on small portion | |
| Solitude | Notes | No dogs, toilets at trailhead | |
| Property | Soapstone Prairie Natural Area | Jurisdiction | City of Fort Collins Natural Areas |
In 2009 the City of Fort Collins gave lowland hiking a boost by opening this large tract of prairie and foothills along the Wyoming border. It’s off-limits for three months in winter, however, to give wildlife a break from humans.
Begin the Towhee Loop on the east side of the parking lot to hike the loop counterclockwise, which puts sustained mountain views in front of you instead of behind you. The view, which is seen first from the parking lot, is dominated by three graceful Mummy peaks: Hagues, Stormy, and Comanche.
Towhee Loop, Soapstone Prairie
Birdsong and breezes accompany you through the grassland. After a quarter mile, say au revoir to the mountains and branch left into a gully covered in mountain mahogany. Spring brings a wealth of wildflowers: purples, yellows, and blues. Interspersed are prickly pear and yucca. Orange-winged grasshoppers scatter and fly and maybe hit you in the eye. Perhaps you’ll see a pronghorn antelope; they’ve been here since the last ice age.
Curve right, then left, and ascend one gully into the next. At just over a mile, Mahogany Loop joins from the right. Then the high peak views return and stay with you as you walk the hilltop toward them.
Below you, prairie stretches off to infinity. There are few places along the Front Range with such pristine views of the plains. One of the few human incursions you’ll see is the Rawhide Energy Station, clearly visible to the southeast, next to a reservoir. This power plant fired up its coal unit in the 1980s. Natural gas generators were added in the 2000s, and a solar section went online in 2016.
Mummy Range from Soapstone Prairie north trailhead
At 2 miles Canyon Trail branches right. The junction is an excellent place to sit and bask in the view. Besides the Mummies, you’ll see the Medicine Bow Range farther north. You can turn onto Canyon if you’d like and walk along the state border all the way into Red Mountain Open Space. No shortage of miles here!
Prairie view from Towhee Loop, Soapstone Prairie
Staying on Towhee, it’s a mile descent through another pleasant valley, one with pinkish cliffs of the soapstone that gives this open space its name. As you near the parking lot the trail becomes pavement and branches right to Lindenmeier Overlook. Take it and brace yourself—not for a stunning view but for a stimulated imagination.
In 1924, A. Lynn Coffin and his dad were searching for arrowheads on this portion of what was then the Lindenmeier Ranch. They found some fluted points in the side of a dry streambed that didn’t match the others in their collection. It wasn’t until two years later, when similar points were found near Folsom, New Mexico, that their significance began to emerge. The area below the overlook was excavated by the Smithsonian in the 1930s; it is the largest and most complex Folsom Culture site yet found. At the time it shook up prevailing archaeological thinking, which held that humans crossed into North America in about 2000 BC. This site revealed bones of giant bison that were long extinct by then, along with a manmade spearpoint imbedded in one of those bison’s vertebrae—proof that humans coexisted with these creatures. Radiocarbon dating has since pegged Lindenmeier artifacts to about 9000 BC.
On the drive back to the entrance, look for modern bison grazing on the right. They were brought from Yellowstone in 2015. Six calves were born here in 2016 through a breeding program that used purged semen and in vitro methods, which ensured the offspring would be free of brucellosis and other diseases afflicting the Yellowstone herd.
From Denver. Take I-25 north about 78 miles to Exit 288, and turn left onto CR 82 (Buckeye Road). Proceed 5.8 miles and turn right onto North CR 15 (Terry Lake Road), a dirt road. Continue 1.1 miles and turn right to stay on North CR 15, now called Rawhide Flats Road. Continue 8 miles to the Soapstone Prairie entrance station and proceed to the large parking lot at North Trailhead. 1 hour, 50 mins.
3 Coyote Ridge
This all-ages, all-season walk outside Fort Collins takes you from prairie to ridgetop for excellent views of waves of earth rising from the plains. From the top, a forgotten valley to the west stirs the imagination.
At a Glance
| Difficulty | Distance/Time | 4 miles/2 hours | |
| Trail Conditions | Trailhead ElevationTotal Hiking Gain | 5,100 feet600 feet | |
| Children | Features | Prairie, hogback ridges, rock escarpment, plains and valley views | |
| Scenery | Best Season | Fall, winter, spring | |
| Photo | Other Users | Bikes, horses | |
| Solitude | Notes | No dogs, toilets at cabin along trail | |
| Property | Coyote Ridge Natural Area | Jurisdiction | City of Fort Collins Natural Areas |
On this hike, you get to “ride” three waves of earth as they build in height to arrive at a ridgetop with striking views of the transition zone from Great Plains to Rockies. About four miles round-trip, this walk delivers a lot for the footsteps and is a great excursion for kids who like to play king of the mountain. Just bring sunscreen and keep an eye out for snakes if you do some rock scrambling at the top.
From your vehicle, walk straight over the prairie toward the hills on Coyote Ridge Trail. After 0.5 miles, you’ll curve up into the hills to gain the low first ridge. Drop into the next fold of earth and continue to a cabin used for classes and events. All are welcome to enjoy its shady deck and enjoy the quarter-mile Hidden Clues activity trail in back.
Start of Coyote Ridge Trail
Ahead is a slot in the hogback ridge, a natural gateway guarded by two slanted rocky hills. The terrain is flowing and evocative here, like waves frozen in motion; these could be gigantic, rolling breakers good for surfing. To get an idea of how it looked millions of years ago, picture the eastern faces of these ridges rising way up into the sky to form a gigantic earthen dome, created when subterranean forces pushed ancient rock upward. Later, erosion washed away the softer stone to expose the hard-rock spines of these hogbacks.
Pass through the opening in the hills and veer left to hike beneath a line of crags. There are brambles here, but the dominant shrub is mountain mahogany, popular winter chewing for the local mule deer. In spring, look for the little yellow flowers of Bell’s twinpod, a plant native only to Boulder and Larimer counties.
The wide rocky trail makes two sweeping switchbacks to gain the top of the third wave: Coyote Ridge. Miles of ridgetop cliffs stretch in two directions to create a gorgeous effect; they also provide secluded nesting sites for raptors and bats. To the east, the trailhead and the highway appear farther away than they really are. To the south, you’ll see the city of Loveland with its monumental white silo, formerly used to store molasses. More than half a million gallons of the sticky stuff spilled there in 1990, covering two city blocks.
Scrambling to the high point of Coyote Ridge
West lies a storybook valley beneath higher hills. A creek cuts through the basin amid a scattering of lonely farmhouses, a scene that looks like an American West landscape painting. Native Americans hunted deer in this valley and collected wild plums and chokecherries before settlers arrived in the late 1800s and put it under heavy cultivation. Ranchers farmed dryland grain, pastured horses, planted cherry and apple orchards, and ran turkeys here. Though the valley looks nearly abandoned now, a rail spur once ran from Fort Collins to busy sandstone quarries on the opposite ridge. The railbed is still visible if you go down into the valley.
Coyote Ridge
At the ridge crest, you might sense a promontory a little higher and to the north. And you’d be right. A side path leads to a small escarpment and some unsanctioned, but popular, scrambling routes.
The ridgetop is a fine turnaround point but hardly the trail’s end. You can continue south for a quarter mile and then descend into the valley, where the trail enters Rimrock Open Space. From there, paths branch both north and south to connect with Horsetooth Mountain and Devil’s Backbone Open Spaces, respectively. No shortage of miles here! But for younger ones, and others, conquering Coyote Ridge is a fine and satisfying milestone for the day.
From Denver. Take I-25 north to Exit 257, then turn left onto US 34 west (Eisenhower Boulevard). After 7 miles turn right onto Wilson Avenue/Taft Hill Road (CR 19) and drive north 5.3 miles. Coyote Ridge Trailhead and its parking lot are on the left. 1 hour, 10 mins.
4 Horsetooth Rock
This popular hike outside Fort Collins scales a local landmark that has an interesting creation myth and delivers 360-degree views of plains and peaks.
At a Glance
| Difficulty | Distance/Time | 5 miles/2 hours | |
| Trail Conditions | Trailhead ElevationTotal Hiking Gain | 5,800 feet1,500 feet | |
| Children | Features | Unique stone peak, rock scramble to summit, panoramic views | |
| Scenery | Best Season | All year | |
| Photo | Other Users | Bikes and horses on portion, dogs on leash | |
| Solitude | Notes | Entrance fee, toilets at trailhead | |
| Property | Horsetooth Mountain Open Space | Jurisdiction | Larimer County Department of Natural Resources |
Climbing Horsetooth Rock is a rite of passage for many Fort Collins residents and university students. The hill’s unique summit is a great place to experience a sunrise, and it’s conspicuous enough to be part of the logo for the City of Fort Collins. It looks like two giant horse incisors flanked by molars. The route described here goes to the top of the northern molars—a fun scramble that doesn’t require technical expertise.
Horsetooth Rock Trail
Begin in grassland on Horsetooth Rock Trail, which you will follow all the way to the summit. Keep left as Horsetooth Falls Trail branches right and enjoy beautiful views of red rock hogbacks to the east. When you reach a service road, turn right and continue 0.2 miles until Horsetooth Rock Trail branches left up some stairs. You’ll climb through a grassy gully next to some bulbous rock formations to reach a shoulder, where the plains come into view. Ahead the way is evident: along a rocky ridge populated by scraggly aspens.
Continue up some stairs and wind through rocks to a place where the trail briefly joins a bike path. At this junction you’ll see a memorial for John Blake, a CSU doctoral student who died in a fall on Horsetooth Rock in 1987. His family installed the plaque, which serves as a reminder that, although climbing the rock is not particularly dangerous, you must be careful.
Keep right as the trails separate. The unmistakable form of Horsetooth Rock immediately appears. A short loop path branches left for additional views to some western snowy peaks including Meeker and Longs.
Horsetooth Rock
With such a unique appearance, it’s not surprising that creation legends surround Horsetooth Rock. While horses have been in North America for only about 500 years, human beings have been around much longer, and the older legends have nothing to do with horses. One tale declares the rock to be the lacerated heart of a giant. This giant was the guardian of the animals living in the “Valley of Contentment” below, which is now filled by Horsetooth Reservoir, but those animals were coveted by hungry human plains dwellers. One night while the giant slept, and his throbbing heart rose above his body, a warrior struck with his tomahawk and made two slashes across the giant’s heart, turning the giant to stone.
As you continue climbing, you’ll need to mount some carved steps and scramble over some rocks. Just follow the most obvious route and use your hands where you need to. Beyond the rocks, a dirt path crosses beneath the horse’s incisors. The trail steepens to reach a notch between the northern summit rocks, where you may find children playing, pretending they are dental floss. Enjoy the high mountain views from here, or scramble left to reach the top of a molar. This last pitch can be dizzying, and requires some hand- and footwork, but your exposure is limited. The reward is unimpeded 360-degree views.
As always, watch for afternoon thunderstorms. In the creation legend, thunder represents the spirit of the murdered giant, and lightning his anger. For you, they herald danger. If a storm approaches, get off the rock immediately.
If you are not knackered as you return to the trailhead, you can take a nice 2.4-mile round-trip on Horsetooth Falls Trail. The trail leads down then up to the place where a stream spills through rocks into a picturesque pool. Depending on the season and weather conditions, it can be a trickle or a torrent, but it’s a nice hike either way.
Approach to Horsetooth Rock summit
From Denver. Take I-25 north to Exit 257, then turn left onto US 34 west (Eisenhower Boulevard). Drive 10.5 miles, turn right onto North CR 27 (Buckhorn Road), then proceed 5.2 miles to Masonville. Turn right onto West CR 38E and continue 3.4 miles. The entrance to Horsetooth Mountain Open Space and its large parking lot are on the left. 1 hour, 20 mins.
5 Arthur’s Rock & Westridge
A brisk climb gains a rocky prize, and a stroll in wooded hills brings high mountain views on this delightful all-season hike outside Fort Collins.
At a Glance
| Difficulty | Distance/Time | 7 miles/3 hours | |
| Trail Conditions | Trailhead ElevationTotal Hiking Gain | 5,600 feet1,300 feet | |
| Children | Features | Rock summit, woods, plains, mountain views | |
| Scenery | Best Season | All year | |
| Photo | Other Users | Bikes and horses on portion; dogs on leash | |
| Solitude | Notes | Entrance fee, toilets at trailhead | |
| Property | Lory State Park | Jurisdiction | Colorado Parks & Wildlife |
The trail to Arthur’s Rock begins in a stony gulch amid brambles, your destination visible above. It is named not for Arthur the King, who pulled a sword from a rock, but rather Arthur Howard, son of one of the early settlers in the area. Most of the Howards’ land is now this state park, which is named not Howard Park but Lory Park, in honor of an early president of Colorado Agricultural College (now CSU).
Ascend the left side of the gulch, keeping left at a fork to stay on Arthur’s Rock Trail. From here the trail slants gently through a meadow toward the rock. Some say this hunk of pegmatite resembles a person’s silhouette. If so, the person has a very large chin and is gazing upward.
As you enter a shady grove, the trail becomes very quiet. Cross a gully and the vegetation shifts from dense stands of fir to more solitary ponderosa pines, then shifts again to grassland as the trail climbs toward Arthur’s lower crags. A bouldering trail branches left; keep right and continue the traverse toward the cliffs. A spur at one of the switchbacks leads to a scenic overlook but offers nothing you won’t see from the top. Soon the main trail traverses directly below the rock face. You can feel its power and overhanging gravity.
More switchbacks bring a junction with a branch trail to the summit, which is just a short distance up a steep gully. Poised on the summit ridge are some large boulders that look ripe for trundling—by a giant with a crowbar, that is. Walk between them to gain the tip-top, at 1.8 miles.
Below stretches Horsetooth Reservoir, the city of Fort Collins, and its northwest suburbs Bellvue and Laporte. If some of these names sound French, that’s because they are. Trappers, many of French descent, began frequenting this area in the early 1800s. They gave the main river its modern name: Cache la Poudre; that’s the river you crossed on the way in. After the gold rush hit in 1858, some French-Canadian families settled Colona, now Laporte, with the idea of creating a “port” on a stagecoach route connecting the Oregon Trail to Denver and the goldfields. A few years later the U.S. Army built a military post called Camp Collins nearby to protect the stage route from Indian attack. The camp got washed out in a flood, and its 1864 replacement was called Fort Collins—although no real fort was ever built there.
Arthur’s Rock
The views have everything you could ask for except high snowy peaks. They’re here but hidden by the terrain. To see them, take an easy 3-mile walk into the rolling hills behind the Rock. Continue a short distance on the main trail, then branch right onto Timber Trail. After 0.8 miles through pleasant woods, turn left on Westridge Trail. Follow this old jeep road as it winds the wooded ridge that concealed the splendid peaks. As the trail tops out, near 7,000 feet, you’ll get sustained views of Meeker and Longs to the southwest.
Gully to summit of Arthur’s Rock
After a lovely half mile on the ridgetop, the trail drops to join Howard Trail, which rejoins Arthur’s Rock Trail in the gulch. Or you can branch right and get to your vehicle via the Mill Creek Link, where you’ll be treated to views of red hogbacks and rolling grassland. In the field at the bottom is what looks like an assembly of hobbits’ cabins. What is it really? A horse jumping course!
Summit boulders, Arthur’s Rock
From Denver. Take I-25 north to Exit 269B, then CO 14 west to Fort Collins. Turn right onto Riverside Avenue, which becomes Jefferson Street, and right again onto North College Avenue (US 287). Continue straight on US 287B when US 287 veers north. Pass through Laporte, veer left on Rist Canyon Road, cross the river, then turn left on North CR 23. Proceed 1.4 miles, turn right on Lodgepole Drive (North CR 25G), and continue to the Lory State Park entrance. The trailhead and parking area are 2 miles down the park road. 1 hour, 40 mins.
6 Greyrock Mountain
This peak looks like a big ice cream sundae, but you’ll have to work to earn the treat. A favored hiking destination for more than a hundred years, it is a popular backcountry challenge with some bouldering near the top.
At a Glance
| Difficulty | Distance/Time | 8 miles/3.5 hours | |
| Trail Conditions | Trailhead ElevationTotal Hiking Gain | 5,600 feet2,000 feet | |
| Children | Features | Mountain ascent, views, meadow | |
| Scenery | Best Season | Fall, winter, spring | |
| Photo | Other Users | Dogs on leash | |
| Solitude | Notes | Toilets at trailhead | |
| Property | Roosevelt National Forest | Jurisdiction | U.S. Forest Service |
Recreational hikers have been climbing this scenic mountain for many years. The first Greyrock trail was constructed in the 1910s under the direction of a visionary forest ranger. The one in use today, Greyrock Trail (FS 946), was mostly built in the 1930s, by members of the Civilian Conservation Corps. This popular New Deal program employed young, unmarried men in projects to improve the nation’s forest and recreation resources. Enrollees worked six-month stints for up to two years in return for food, clothing, shelter, and $30 a month (about $550 these days). The catch was that most of these young men’s earnings had to be sent home to their parents.
Greyrock Mountain
Soon after you cross the footbridge over the Cache la Poudre River, the highway sounds fade away. After hiking 0.7 miles through a gully, you’ll turn right at a junction where two valleys meet. Ascend the right-hand valley, much of which was burned in the 2012 High Park fire. The burned area is obvious but not oppressive; some trees survived and there are many other signs of life. In spring you’ll find white-violet harebells, blue lanceleaf chiming bells, and purple pasqueflowers. Watch out for poison ivy along the stream banks; this post-fire invader has three shiny green leaflets which turn red in fall.
Eventually the trail curves right into a side gully, then crisscrosses as it climbs. Soon views of the Poudre Valley open up to the south. As you wrap around a shoulder, Greyrock Mountain juts into the air ahead of you: a seemingly inaccessible molten mound. It’s hard to believe a hikers’ trail goes to the top of it.
Greyrock is a visible extrusion of the Log Cabin Batholith, an emplacement of magma that rose through fractures in overlying gneiss and schist about 1.4 billion years ago. Though undeniably gray, it is classified as Silver Plume granite, which is a slightly pink igneous rock found all over this region of the Rockies.
At 2.3 miles you’ll arrive below Greyrock’s face, at a junction in a meadow with a park bench. Turn right and traverse steeply, close to the imposing wall. The route markers here can be confusing; wooden posts and metal plates are more reliable than stacked-rock cairns. After climbing right, the route curves left to reach a surprising stretch of sand flats and trees. Continue through them and over some rocks, past a picturesque pothole pool, to the obvious summit.
Poudre Wilderness Volunteers install a sign on Greyrock Mountain
From the top, the extent of the 2012 wildfire looks extraordinary. In fact, what you see is only part of the damage, which was caused by two adjacent blazes that burned a month apart. The main fire ignited when lightning struck a tree across the valley. Response was rapid, coordinated, and diligent, but more than 87,000 acres burned over several weeks, making it the second-largest wildfire, by area, in Colorado’s recorded history.
Descending from the summit of Greyrock Mountain
When you return to the junction below the face, you have a choice: descend by the same route, or extend the hike 1.5 miles by making a loop through the beautiful meadow to the west along the 2.7-mile Greyrock Meadow Trail (FS 947). The latter choice is a nice walk, but a tidy amount of exercise since all the elevation lost to reach the meadow is regained—and then some—to get over a ridge before descending a grassy hillside on rocky switchbacks.
Back at the Poudre River, look for a bench on the bank before the bridge. It’s an excellent spot to sit and enjoy the flowing water for a spell before getting in the car.
From Denver. Take I-25 north to Exit 269B, then CO 14 west and US 287 north through Fort Collins. Turn left to continue on CO 14 (Poudre Canyon Road) and proceed 8.5 miles to the Greyrock parking lot, on the left. The trail begins on the other side of the road; be careful crossing it. Additional parking is available along the highway. 1 hour, 40 mins.
7 Mount Margaret
This might be the gentlest trail you’ll ever take to climb a mountain. As you wind through tranquil meadows and aspen groves to a low summit east of Red Feather Lakes, you might remember the familiar song of a celebrated “Indian princess.”
At a Glance
| Difficulty | Distance/Time | 8 miles/3 hours | |
| Trail Conditions | Trailhead ElevationTotal Hiking Gain | 8,100 feetnegligible | |
| Children | Features | Forest, meadows, aspens, rock formations | |
| Scenery | Best Season | Spring and fall | |
| Photo | Other Users | Bikes, horses, dogs | |
| Solitude | Notes | No toilets at trailhead | |
| Property | Roosevelt National Forest | Jurisdiction | U.S. Forest Service |
The rocky hilltop at the end of Mount Margaret Trail (FS 167) is actually 150 feet lower than the trailhead, so technically you will “descend to the summit”—a funny idea—but the pleasant, easy trail offers a fun scramble to the top and some nice views in the Red Feather Lakes region.
The trail begins in rolling ponderosa forest where the trees are spaced enough apart to reveal some of the curious rock formations that exist along much of this walk. Aspens soon join the mix and remain profuse, making this trail a brilliant choice in fall. Birdsong is also plentiful along these old logging roads, and you may hear woodpeckers drumming.
At 0.8 miles, you’ll reach a willow bottom and cross a stream. Three photogenic rock mounds rise behind you. A half mile later, you’ll pass through a gated fence; the fence is used to control the cattle that graze here in summer on public land permits. A trail branches left to Dowdy Lake, a short trip worth a jaunt on the return journey. The lake is one of a chain of reservoirs built more than a century ago that were called the Mitchell Lakes—until Princess Redfeather came along, that is.
Horse and rider on Mount Margaret Trail
Fall foliage along Mount Margaret Trail
Tsianina (“Cha-nee-nah”) Redfeather was a renowned Native American mezzo-soprano and musician. Born on a reservation in Oklahoma, she received sponsorship and moved to Denver at a young age to study music. There she met composer Charles Wakefield Cadman. Cadman’s famous piece “From the Land of the Sky-blue Water” became her signature song—and later the jingle for Hamm’s beer. “Princess Redfeather” became a Denver-based celebrity, and when some developers were looking for a new name for the Mitchell Lakes, where they wanted to build a resort in the 1920s, they appropriated her Indian motif and her putative ancestor, a Cherokee leader named Redfeather. According to legend, Chief Redfeather died in a battle against the Pawnees in the region of these lakes.
At 2.5 miles, you’ll arrive at a five-way intersection; proceed straight ahead on the main trail. A half mile later, you’ll enter a huge meadow with a pond surrounded by a crossbuck fence built to keep out livestock. Keep left as Divide Trail branches right. It seems the woods and flats will go on forever, but soon a valley opens to the right with startling rock peaks across the way. Your destination becomes visible along the ridge to the left, and you realize that after all this downhill progress you really will be climbing a mountain.
Abert’s squirrel along Mount Margaret Trail
Continue to the “End of Trail” sign—but perish the thought. This is the funnest part! From a campfire ring, scramble up the rocks—any way is a good way as long as you remain close to the spine.
The summit is a conglomeration of boulders perched over North Lone Pine Creek Valley, offering views southwest to the Mummy Range. Nestled in the verdant valley to the east is a ranch that looks like a true home on the range. Now called the Maxwell Ranch, it may be the source of this mountain’s name. In 1926, a wealthy Denver widow named Margaret Goldsborough bought land there as a wedding present for her daughter. The marriage lasted only a few years, but the name of the mountain endured.
The easy walk back might be tiring for children, but only because of the distance. Save a snack for a rest break along the trail, or take the path down to Dowdy Lake and splash a bit.
From Denver. Take I-25 north to Exit 269B, then CO 14 west and US 287 north through Fort Collins. Continue on US 287 north for about 20 miles to Livermore. Turn left on West CR 74E (Red Feather Lakes Road) and proceed 20 miles to the parking lot for Mount Margaret Trailhead, on the right. 2 hours.
8 Emmaline Lake
An easy valley stroll morphs into a stiff climb that ends in a dazzling cirque in Comanche Peak Wilderness, where two lakes are tucked up high in remote wildlands.
At a Glance
| Difficulty | Distance/Time | 12.5 miles/5 hours | |
| Trail Conditions | Trailhead ElevationTotal Hiking Gain | 9,000 feet2,000 feet | |
| Children | Features | Forest, meadow with mountain views, cirque and lakes | |
| Scenery | Best Season | Summer | |
| Photo | Other Users | Horses, dogs on leash | |
| Solitude | Notes | Toilets at nearby Tom Bennett Campground | |
| Property | Roosevelt National Forest, Comanche Peak Wilderness | Jurisdiction | U.S. Forest Service |
Don’t be put off by the length of this hike. Only the last two outbound miles involve serious uphill going; otherwise, it is a fairly easy stroll. The views are splendid from the start of the hike, where you’ll see two cirques dropping from the distant ridge between Fall Mountain and Comanche Peak. You’re heading to the cirque on the right.
Follow the jeep road from the parking area, Forest Road 147, half a mile to a gate, where it becomes Emmaline Lake Trail (FS 945). Continue through a vast grove of small aspens peppered with mountain golden banner and other flowers. Below, in Pingree Park, you’ll see the buildings of CSU’s Mountain Campus, where forestry courses have been offered since the 1910s.
Cirque through the trees, Emmaline Lake Trail
Soon young lodgepole pines appear among the aspens—confirmation that this hillside is several decades into fire recovery. The blaze, which raged in the dry summer of 1994, was likely caused by a lightning strike on the northeast ridge. Fueled by dense pines (which had sprouted after another fire all the way back in 1890), the 1994 blaze burned a 1,275-acre swath through half the campus buildings. This hillside is now an outdoor classroom for the study of forest regrowth.
The murmur of Fall Creek intensifies as you continue down the road. Cross the creek and proceed through mature lodgepoles, keeping right when Mummy Pass Trail branches left. Two hairpin turns signal your arrival at Cirque Meadows, a lovely creek bottom with views to the headwalls. At 3.5 miles it’s an attractive destination. But you’re more than halfway to the lakes, and have gained half the elevation, so why not carry on?
A right turn takes you through woods at the edge of the meadows and into Comanche Peak Wilderness. Seasonal streams tumble across the trail as it steepens, and bright yellow asters light up the green spaces between trees. When the trail eases, you can sense the headwalls through the woods, but you’re not there yet. It’s up again and over a hump to cross into a restricted area; beyond is for day visitors only, no camping.
You still have an adventurous mile of uphill hiking to go. Cairns mark the way, but it’s easy to miss one and get off track. If this happens, retrace your steps and rejoin the route, which proceeds through an interesting network of waterways, grottoes, marshes, and boulders. Keep at it until you break into the cirque. Here Cirque Lake glitters below you, and there are good seats on the rocks for gaping at the cliffs above.
Emmaline Lake is a few minutes farther, tucked beneath Comanche Peak. Early rancher Frank Koenig kindly named this lake for his mother, and named many other nearby features when he became one of the original rangers of Rocky Mountain National Park. By then the folks at the U.S. Geological Survey had already named the valley “Pingree.” Today, many wish they had chosen another name.
George Pingree came here in 1867 to cut trees for railroad ties, which he floated down the Poudre and sold to Union Pacific. When the railroad moved on, so did Pingree. Three years earlier, Pingree participated in the massacre of Native American women, children, and older men at Sand Creek, in southeast Colorado. He collected 13 scalps that day and was proud of it; in fact, he was reportedly indignant about being jailed for 10 days.
Asters along Emmaline Lake Trail
Indignation cuts both ways. In 2015, shortly after the 150th anniversary of Sand Creek, CSU changed the name of its longtime mountain facility from Pingree Park Campus to Mountain Campus.
Emmaline Lake
From Denver. Take I-25 north to Exit 269B, then CO 14 west and US 287 north through Fort Collins. After 10 miles, turn left onto CO 14 west, Poudre Canyon Road. Drive west 26 miles, then turn left to continue 15.5 miles to Pingree Park on CR 63E, a decent-quality dirt road. Turn right, drive past Tom Bennett Campground, and arrive at the small parking lot for Emmaline Lake Trailhead; additional parking is available farther along the road. 2 hours, 50 mins.
9 Big South
This walk takes you through deep moody forest and alongside powerfully rushing water in an upstream section of Colorado’s only Wild and Scenic River. Rock gorges, waterfalls, and remote wooded hillsides make for a beautiful outing.
At a Glance
| Difficulty | Distance/Time | 7.5 miles/3.5 hours | |
| Trail Conditions | Trailhead ElevationTotal Hiking Gain | 8,500 feet700 feet | |
| Children | Features | River, waterfalls and gorges, forest | |
| Scenery | Best Season | Spring and fall | |
| Photo | Other Users | Horses, dogs on leash | |
| Solitude | Notes | No toilets at trailhead | |
| Property | Roosevelt National Forest, Comanche Peak Wilderness | Jurisdiction | U.S. Forest Service |
Get ready for some deep-woods walking along a wild section of the Cache la Poudre River. Here the river flows from south to north, draining the western slopes of the Mummy Range before making a big bend toward the plains. Hence the trail’s name: Big South (FS 944).
Begin in aromatic pine forest where the river can be heard but not seen. On the opposite side of the valley, steep hillsides drop to the source of the noise. Within half a mile you’ll enter Comanche Peak Wilderness and arrive in a dramatic gorge.
It’s wild indeed, in both a physical and official sense. From this point on to its headwaters, the Poudre is classified as “Wild” under the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act of 1968; downstream portions are classified as “Scenic.” It’s the only river in Colorado to receive these designations (Oregon, in contrast, has 55), which prohibit the river from being dammed or otherwise have its free flow altered. The protection extends a quarter mile on each side of the river, and while it does not confer the same level of protection as a “Wilderness Area” designation, the fact that the river is embedded in Comanche Peak Wilderness gives it a belt-and-suspenders level of security.
Big South Trail
As the valley broadens, the trail follows the river from above, then traverses a hillside, reenters the forest, and ambles back to stream level. This sequence repeats again and again: a river bottom, a hillside traverse, lush woods, stream. It is a peaceful, mesmerizing pattern, and the miles roll by. The trail is well maintained by volunteers, but the forest is dense and you are bound to encounter some uncleared treefall.
At 1.5 miles you’ll pass through an aspen grove, then, half a mile farther on, you’ll reach another gorge. Cross a rockslide on an excellently crafted trail and enjoy good views of waterfalls below. Continue through mixed forest, then cross a bridge; from here the trail veers uphill from the river and its sound becomes faint. You’ll descend to rejoin the river, then leave again to climb the next mound.
After passing a seasonal pond, the trail descends via switchbacks to another gorge. This is a good turnaround point, at 3.75 miles—or you can continue; the next stretch is lovely with many good streamside picnic spots. In fact, you could continue onward in the Comanche Peak Wilderness for days, but this wild and scenic spot, about midway between two road access points to the river, is about as deep into the Poudre’s backwoods as you can get.
Cache la Poudre River, viewed through forest on the Big South Trail
This river is likely the one that explorer Stephen Long called “Pateros Creek” when he encountered it out on the plains in 1820. This name may have originated when a Frenchman was found wandering near the river it in a pitiful condition (pitoyable being French for “piteous”). The river’s current French name, Cache la Poudre, also comes from legend. In either the 1820s or 1830s, a company of French trappers was caught in a snowstorm while camping along the river. Forced to lighten their wagon loads, they reportedly dug a pit and cached some of their goods, including a store of gunpowder (poudre). After filling the pit, they burned some brush on top to make it look like an old campsite. Had I been in that group, I would have stayed very far away from the fire burning on top of the buried gunpowder!
From Denver. Take I-25 north to Exit 269B, then CO 14 west and US 287 north through Fort Collins. Turn left onto the continuation of CO 14 (Poudre Canyon Road) and proceed another 49 miles up Poudre Canyon to Big South Trailhead and its small parking area, on the left. 2 hours, 30 mins.
10 Trap Park
After an initial uphill stretch, this trail is a walk in the park. Views of graceful high ridges abound, and in nearer view is a riverine willow habitat favored by moose.
At a Glance
| Difficulty | Distance/Time | 7 miles/3 hours | |
| Trail Conditions | Trailhead ElevationTotal Hiking Gain | 10,000 feet700 feet | |
| Children | Features | Gentle trail, meadow and willow basin, mountain views, moose | |
| Scenery | Best Season | Early summer | |
| Photo | Other Users | Bikes on portion, horses, dogs on leash | |
| Solitude | Notes | Toilets at Long Draw parking lot, 3 miles before trailhead on Poudre Canyon Road | |
| Property | Roosevelt National Forest, Neota Wilderness | Jurisdiction | U.S. Forest Service |
Trap Park Trail (FS 995) begins as an old range road, rising in forest to a washed-out hairpin turn above Trap Lake. You might think this name is a legacy of beaver-trapping days, but in truth it refers to the snares set by early settlers to control pesky bears.
You’ll traverse on the old road into a narrow valley, where Trap Creek tumbles below. This uphill section doesn’t last long, and in about a mile the trail mellows in a basin. Iron Mountain makes its first appearance as a smooth, twin-humped hill in the distance. Nearer on the left are the handsome crags of Flat Top Mountain. Ahead is an expanse of meadow and willow which makes a nice neighborhood for moose. They are likely there even if you don’t see them; these largest members of the deer family obscure themselves quite well in the riverine bushes they feed on.
Moose usually keep their distance and pretend to ignore you. If one approaches, it is probably not a friendly matter. Back away slowly and don’t throw anything. Moose can be problematic for hikers because they have few natural enemies, show little fear of humans, and hate dogs, which they regard as wolves and have been known to kick. Moose cows are protective of their newborns in spring, and both males and females can be aggressive during fall mating season, when you might hear the low-pitched grunts of bulls and the higher, longer wails of cows. At other times of the year moose can seem entirely benign, curiously approaching cars and houses, even walking onto front porches and staring into windows.
The road becomes a two-track trail in the grass and crosses the creek. Now you get a sense of the park’s vastness: it stretches for two miles, to the base of Iron Mountain. As the trail continues above-right of the creek, the mountains approach as if in a slow-motion zoom. After a bit the path rises a little higher into the fringe of shady pines. Higher still on both sides is the boundary of Neota Wilderness. At 10,000 acres, Neota is small for a wilderness area, filling in a space between other reserves. In addition to having no roads, which is a requirement of all federal wilderness areas, Neota also has almost no trails.
Trap Park Trail
As you near the end of the park, the path veers to its center, crosses the stream twice, and fades away in forest. At 3 miles this is a fine picnic spot and a good place to turn around. Or you can explore the woods by continuing on a faint path along the right side of the creek, where you might find moose beds matted down in the grass. A metal sign on a tree lets you know you’ve entered the wilderness area. The social trail continues left of a small meadow, where there are nice views of the shoulder of Iron Mountain. At a stream crossing, it diverges into several freelance routes.
To kick the day’s adventure up a notch, consider hiking up Iron Mountain! It’s a straightforward ascent and adds 3 miles (round-trip) and 1,500 feet of elevation to the hike. To do it, follow social trails or make your own way up-left of the stream to where the rocky tundra takes over. From there it’s easy to pick a way to the obvious summit, where you’ll get great views across Rocky Mountain National Park and a special vista of Mount Richthofen and the formidable Nokhu Crags of the Never Summer Range.
Iron Mountain from Trap Park
From Denver. Take I-25 north to Exit 269B, then CO 14 west and US 287 north through Fort Collins. Turn left to continue on CO 14 west and proceed another 53 miles up Poudre Valley. Turn left on Long Draw Road (Forest Road 156), drive 2.9 miles, and turn right. The Trap Lake Trailhead and parking lot are 0.1 miles ahead. 2 hours, 50 mins.
11 Twin Crater Lakes
This lovely long woodsy walk goes deep into Rawah Wilderness near the Wyoming border, where a sequence of stream valleys leads to a pair of remote alpine lakes set beneath a stony cirque.
At a Glance
| Difficulty | Distance/Time | 13 miles/6 hours | |
| Trail Conditions | Trailhead ElevationTotal Hiking Gain | 8,600 feet2,600 feet | |
| Children | Features | Aspens, forested river valley, meadow, high lakes and cirque | |
| Scenery | Best Season | Summer | |
| Photo | Other Users | Horses, dogs on leash | |
| Solitude | Notes | Laramie River Road closed December to early June, toilets at trailhead | |
| Property | Rawah Wilderness | Jurisdiction | U.S. Forest Service |
Lace up your boots well for some rigorous—and rewarding—wilderness walking. It takes some effort to reach the heart of the majestic Medicine Bow Range, but intrepid day-trippers will find it worthwhile. After scoping out the region, you might feel compelled to return with overnight gear and spend days wandering this lonely northern swath of Front Range.
West Branch Trail to Twin Crater Lakes
Begin West Branch Trail (FS 960) by walking a short distance south alongside Laramie River Road, then curve right to cross a bridge over a confluence of canals. These canals divert summer meltwater east through a tunnel. Continue on a service road beside one of the canals, and then branch left to cross it and head into conifer forest. Aspens mix in and become the predominant species as the trail enters Rawah Wilderness and continues up the valley. Morning mists rise as the trail gains steadily on white stones, making occasional switchbacks to stay above the river. The grade isn’t steep, and there’s an extended downhill stretch that’s easy to forget about until the walk back.
Below is the West Branch of the Laramie, on its way to join the North Platte in Wyoming. The river—along with a city, county, fort, and mountain—is named for the French-Canadian trapper and trader Jacques La Ramie. Born in Quebec, La Ramie set out in 1815 for the headwaters of the North Platte, where he helped run an annual rendezvous of independent trappers. In autumn of 1820 he went trapping along what became his namesake river, and didn’t show up for the spring rendezvous. It’s intriguing to imagine that he spent his last days right here, along this stream, but it’s more likely that he met his doom on the Wyoming prairie, where a search party found a partly built cottonwood cabin and a broken beaver trap.
Approach to Twin Crater Lakes
At 2.75 miles keep straight as Camp Lake Trail branches right. Less than a mile farther, you’ll cross the stream and arrive at another fork; turn right here onto Rawah Trail (FS 961) to continue along the stream’s south bank. You’re now about halfway to the lakes. An easy mile takes you through lush forest and subalpine flowers, where you’ll cross tributary streams so tiny they’re hard to detect. Then, after crossing two substantial streams in quick succession, it is time to climb. Steady switchbacks lead to a hilltop in the woods, where some Medicine Bow peaks finally come into view. At a third fork, turn left onto North Fork Trail (FS 962).
You’ll ascend a forested ridge, break out of the trees, and level off to wide-angle views of resplendent high cliffs. The beauty only intensifies as the trail crosses a brook in a broad meadow ringed by the mountain theater. After meandering through more meadows and spotty trees, the trail steepens for a final pitch to arrive at the lakes.
It’s fun to kick off your boots and go for a victory wade in shining Twin One. You can also visit its partner, though it’s hardly a twin. A sliver of the much larger second lake shimmers beneath the cirque-cliffs ahead.
You’re now in the heart of Rawah Wilderness, one of five Colorado tracts set aside by Congress in the original Wilderness Act of 1964. Looking around, it’s easy to approve of the name. “Rawah” comes from the Ute word ura’wa, meaning “crest of a mountain ridge” or “wild place.”
Twin Crater Lakes
From Denver. Take I-25 north to Exit 269B, then CO 14 west and US 287 north through Fort Collins. Turn left to continue west on CO 14 and proceed 57 miles up Poudre Valley. Turn right onto CR 103 (Laramie River Road), a dirt road, and continue for 6.8 miles to the parking lot for West Branch Trailhead, on the left. 3 hours.
12 Blue Lake of Poudre Valley
This gentle trail into the Rawah Wilderness features forest and meadow-clearings full of summer wildflowers. End rewards include a beautiful high lake and views to graceful snow-clad slopes in the Medicine Bow Range.
At a Glance
| Difficulty | Distance/Time | 10 miles/4.5 hours | |
| Trail Conditions | Trailhead ElevationTotal Hiking Gain | 9,500 feet1,500 feet | |
| Children | Features | Easy grade, forest, wildflowers, streams, alpine meadows, lake | |
| Scenery | Best Season | Summer | |
| Photo | Other Users | Bikes on lower portion, horses in some seasons, dogs on leash | |
| Solitude | Notes | Toilets at nearby Long Draw Winter Trailhead | |
| Property | Roosevelt National Forest, Rawah Wilderness | Jurisdiction | U.S. Forest Service |
Blue Lake Trail (FS 959) begins in moist forest with a creek rushing by on the left. Descend to cross it and continue downhill through arrow-straight lodgepoles. As the trail wraps the hillside, it widens into the bed of a bygone logging road.
Logging was particularly intense here in the late 1860s, when the first transcontinental railroad reached Cheyenne and continued west. These pines made excellent railroad ties and could be floated down the Poudre River to LaPorte for onward transport by ox train to Wyoming. For several years, a “tie hack”—i.e., any man with a saw and a broadax—could make $3 to $5 per day doing this work.
Blue Lake Trail
The road stays easy as it curves through the woods. Soon Chambers Lake appears below you on the right, named for a trapper who was scalped here by Indians in the late 1850s, or so the story goes. Later his son promoted local timber to the Union Pacific Railroad, and both the lake and the logging camps took the Chambers name. The lake size has since been increased by damming.
The footpath branches left from the old road and crosses a bridge over Fall Creek to enter Rawah Wilderness. Continue through a riverine forest, where flowers decorate the greenery between the tree trunks: lavender asters and columbines, orange Indian paintbrush, blue-purple mountain larkspurs, many yellows, all garnished with graceful white yarrow. Sometimes the forest gives way to meadow, and numerous seasonal streams burble across to keep everything green and damp.
Across the valley, you’ll see many standing dead lodgepoles, which indicate that pine beetles have infested the forest. When these ghostly trees fall, the remaining healthy ones will inhabit a much thinner, rejuvenating forest.
Snow-patched higher hillsides appear intermittently as you ascend through the woodland. The trail remains gentle as it alternates between dry, rocky stretches and wet forest and meadow. It’s a pleasant walk the whole way, with no pressing need to know how far you’ve gone or have still to go. In time, the green valley opens up and—perhaps sooner than you expected—Blue Lake appears downhill to the east. The trail has been so peaceful, you almost want to keep walking right up the green flanks of Clark Peak to the west. At 12,951 feet its unseen summit is the highest point in the lovely Medicine Bow Range.
Parry's primroses near Blue Lake
Meadows slope to the serene stone-ringed lake, and forest carpets the opposite hillside. To reach the lake, drop alongside a tumbling stream through a field of nodding yellow glacier lilies. After relaxing a bit on the shore, you can amble over rounded stones to the north end. Here at another inlet stream you’ll find a host of water-loving wildflowers, including the less common, bright violet (and rank-smelling!) Parry’s primrose.
Blue Lake
These beautiful mountains form the northern limit of Colorado’s Front Range, which extends into southern Wyoming. Their name comes with a story, as most things do in these parts. As told to early white settlers, Native American groups gathered every summer to make bows in a nearby valley full of mountain mahogany. While there, they performed ceremonies to invoke supernatural powers and cure diseases. This was relayed to the settlers as “making medicine” while “making bow.” Near-consensus is that the two terms merged into the name settlers gave to these mountains and their northern river: Medicine Bow.
If you want to hang out longer in this pristine wilderness, head for Hang Lake, higher up the side of Clark Peak.
From Denver. Take I-25 north to Exit 269B, then CO 14 west and US 287 north through Fort Collins. Turn left to continue on CO 14 (Poudre Canyon Road) and drive west 53 miles to the parking lot for Blue Lake Trailhead, on the right; additional parking is available at the nearby Long Draw Winter Trailhead. 2 hours, 40 mins.
13 Diamond Peaks
These tundra knobs high above Cameron Pass are easy to reach, and they make delightful catbird seats from which to look out over the Never Summer and Medicine Bow Ranges.
At a Glance
| Difficulty | Distance/Time | 6 miles/2.5 hours | |
| Trail Conditions | Trailhead ElevationTotal Hiking Gain | 10,000 feet1,900 feet | |
| Children | Features | Forest, alpine meadows, tundra, high mountain views | |
| Scenery | Best Season | Summer | |
| Photo | Other Users | Bikes, horses, dogs | |
| Solitude | Notes | Toilets at trailhead, thunderstorm exposure above tree line | |
| Property | Roosevelt National Forest, State Forest State Park | Jurisdiction | U.S. Forest Service, Colorado Parks & Wildlife |
Montgomery Pass Trail (FS 986) begins across the highway from the parking lot, ascending into woods and leveling off parallel to the road. As it approaches a stream, the trail curves uphill along the bank, then leaves the stream and steepens. Soon the grade eases on a forested shoulder where it’s nothing but smooth, easy walking among lodgepoles and firs, some of which have blue diamond markers on their trunks. Before you know it, 1.4 miles have passed and a trail junction appears. The right branch leads half a mile to Montgomery Pass. This jaunt drops to a pretty clearing in the forest before ascending through vast meadows to the broad, formerly cattle-grazed pass.
Montgomery Pass Trail to Diamond Peaks
For a bit more of an adventure, turn left instead onto a trail marked as “Bowls”—meaning backcountry ski bowls. This path is steep at first, but mellows as you arrive at a saddle at timberline with a lovely park basin beyond. A strange crater sits in red dirt in the saddle, for no reason I could discern. Aliens? Above to the right are the bowls: the graceful slopes of Diamond Peaks.
Coyote in Diamond Peaks Bowls
Across the park, the distant castle formation of Nokhu Crags in the Never Summer Range grabs the eyes, along with range-topping, slate-gray Mount Richthofen, behind it. The Japanese-sounding name of Nokhu actually comes from the Arapaho phrase neaha-no-xhu, meaning “eagle’s nest.” Richthofen was named for an adventurous German baron-scientist, who coined the term “Silk Road” and discovered goldfields in California.
The park is a great destination, but a higher saddle on the verdant ridge of Diamond Peaks is even better. There’s no established trail, but it’s easy to see where to go, and the stony tundra provides a fine walking surface. On reaching the saddle, conquering the next Diamond peak becomes irresistible. A faint trail takes you to its crest in minutes, and the views are great: Never Summers to the south and east, Clark Peak and other Medicine Bows to the north, and forested slopes of State Forest State Park (in which you are now standing) to the northwest. The state park was formerly the Colorado State Forest, and its west-slope hillsides were heavily logged in the 1900s. The largest lumber camp in Colorado was located downhill west of Montgomery Pass; for a time it used German prisoners of war as laborers.
Nokhu Crags and Mount Richthofen, from Diamond Peaks Bowls
From here the next, and highest, Diamond peak practically begs to be climbed. This delectable smooth green pyramid is only 0.75 miles farther and 270 feet higher. First, drop 150 feet to the saddle, then zigzag uphill through grass on the faintest of trails. The reward is a blasting view of Richthofen and its neighbors, including Seven Utes Mountain, which looks tailor-made for a ski resort. Also on view is a rare southward look all across Rocky Mountain National Park.
Seven Utes was in fact considered for ski resort development—in the 1960s, when Denver was vying to host the 1976 Winter Olympics. Investors ponied up millions of dollars. The games ended up in Austria, and progress on the Seven Utes development slowed under decades of impact studies. In 1993, a California investor tried to build a Vail-scale resort here, but public opposition was vociferous, and the investor gave up.
And so this remote and gorgeous high place remains tranquil and resort-free. As you turn around and make your way back down into the yawning green Bowls, perhaps you can picture returning in winter and doing it on skis—this time with an avalanche beacon in your pocket!
From Denver. Take I-25 north to Exit 269B, then CO 14 west and US 287 north through Fort Collins. Turn left to continue on CO 14 (Poudre Canyon Road) and proceed west another 56.5 miles to the parking lot for Zimmerman Lake Trailhead, on the left. 2 hours, 45 mins.
14 American Lakes
Some call them the American Lakes, others the Michigan Lakes; all would agree they are beautiful. Children, novice hikers, and seasoned mountaineers alike will delight in this gorgeous walk high in the Never Summer Range.
At a Glance
| Difficulty | Distance/Time | 7.5 miles/3.5 hours | |
| Trail Conditions | Trailhead ElevationTotal Hiking Gain | 9,800 feet1,400 feet | |
| Children | Features | Subalpine and alpine meadows, wildflowers, high lakes, majestic peaks | |
| Scenery | Best Season | Summer | |
| Photo | Other Users | Bikes, horses, dogs on leash | |
| Solitude | Notes | Entrance fee, no toilets at trailhead, thunderstorm exposure above tree line | |
| Property | State Forest State Park, Routt National Forest | Jurisdiction | Colorado Parks & Wildlife, U.S. Forest Service |
American Lakes Trail begins modestly on an old logging road in State Forest State Park, formerly the Colorado State Forest, which originated from a 1930s federal land swap and had a mandate to “extend the practice of forestry.” In those days, that meant ramping up the logging. Timbering peaked in the 1950s as protests grew over the visibly denuded mountainsides. The last of the lumber camps closed in the early 1970s, shortly after this park was established.
High slopes peek through trees as the road curves in the valley. At 0.5 miles, the spiky Nokhu Crags appear briefly on the right, a titillating preview of scenery to come. At 1.2 miles you’ll cross Upper Michigan Ditch, a canal sending western-slope snowmelt east to Fort Collins. Continue toward the multicolored walls of Thunder and Lulu Mountains, through a meadow so stuffed with wildflowers in July it will blow you away. Lulu was named after an 1880s silver mining town on its other side, which was itself named for a mining bigwig’s daughter.
Lulu Mountain view from American Lakes Trail
At just over 2 miles, you’ll cross the stream and make easy switchbacks uphill on a narrower path. The views include rust-colored cliffs and lobes of Iron Mountain to the northeast. As the trail wraps into the upper valley, gray peaks steal the show to the southwest: Mount Richthofen, highest in the Never Summer Range; its box-castle lower partner Static Peak; and, delaying their second appearance for dramatic effect, the spires of Nokhu Crags. Across to the south is the graceful green swoop of Thunder Pass.
American Lakes
The Never Summers are younger than most of the Rockies, formed by volcanic action and intrusive processes less than 30 million years ago. The name, like many others in this vicinity, is a result of a 1914 hiking trip organized by the Colorado Mountain Club. The group wanted to replace the prosaic names settlers had assigned to local landmarks with names Native Americans used. Club members found two Arapaho elders who agreed to trek through the mountains with an ethnographer to record names and stories. The U.S. Geological Survey sanctioned dozens of those names but some ambiguity had crept in. When the hiking party reached the Never Summer Range, the Arapaho gentlemen offered a name that could mean either “It is never summer” or “Never no summer.” The former was adopted, but as you can see, summer does arrive here—and is exquisite.
At 3.75 miles the first of two American Lakes arrives, gem-set beneath the Crags. This is a nice stopping point where smaller hikers can rest, take in the scenery, and perhaps brave dipping their feet. For those wanting more, the alpine playground beckons. You can go left to lovely Thunder Pass (0.5 miles) or branch right to Snow Lake, which is set higher in a fabulous cirque (0.9 miles). I recommend doing both, and perhaps doing the lake first.
For Snow Lake, follow the up-and-down path along the north shore of the two American Lakes. A steep cairn-marked route through scrub and boulders will take you above timberline to the cirque below Static Peak, whose snowfields are reflected in the gray, lake-filled bowl. That route is a lot of fun. For Thunder Pass, either return to the lake outlet or shortcut through moorland to join the trail. It’s a pleasant undulating stroll to the pass, which sits on the boundary of Rocky Mountain National Park. It’s a great place to have lunch or keep walking. A post-marked route heads west up the ridge, offering more rambling in this beautiful high place.
View of Nokhu Crags from Thunder Pass
From Denver. Take I-25 north to Exit 269B, then CO 14 west and US 287 north through Fort Collins. Turn left to continue on CO 14 (Poudre Canyon Road) and drive west another 62 miles over Cameron Pass. Turn left to enter State Forest State Park at the Crags fee station, then continue 1.8 miles to the parking lot for American Lakes Trailhead. 2 hours, 50 mins.
