Great short hike that spits you out on the far side of Hidden Mesa Open Space. There are lots of…read morecool sites and we saw tons of birds, butterflies, rabbits, and one snake. Running by the creek is cooler and shaded at times.

The most beautiful scenery I have seen on a trail. If you want a tough workout (parts similar to…read morethe Incline) mixed with waterfalls and luscious green landscape, this is your trail. It's approx. 4 miles to and from the reservoir. Take some water, camera, and really great hiking shoes. Remember: you need your ID to get in the gate!

I feel this route needs a solid review from someone who is mathematically, grammatically and…read morealpinistically (I just made that up), "inclined". First of all, this is probably the most beautiful yet somewhat challenging short hike in town. If you want a snapshot of the grandeur awaiting you beyond the I25 corridor (and cell phone range) this is it! Absolutely beautiful. The short: for the average person of moderate or lacking fitness level, it should absolutely be doable. I would say the normal person could knock it out in less than 4 hours (with picture/selfie taking along the way and up top). Decent fitness levels should be up and down in less than 2 hours... Don't bring the cat-dog looking micro mutt as you will either be carrying it or burying it somewhere about the first hour of hiking. There is water throughout the trail so regular dogs should have a blast here. There is an issue with dog poo littering the parking lot and trails (despite free poo bags being offered at trail head... This hike is no joke. Wear proper shoes with decent traction. You can get hurt here! I would bring at least a liter (Nalgene bottle) of water during hot days. Although covered with trees throughout, the sun will beat down on you throughout the hike. I only say this because I passed a family of 5 about half way with no water. As far as short local hikes go, Stanley Canyon gets a Five from me. Awesome!

This piece of county-maintained open space is a beautiful mix of forest and high meadow or pasture…read moretrails. The upper route winds through tall pines with great overlooks. The lower meadow trail opens into peaceful grasslands. Had an unforgettable moment on the high meadow. Spotted a mountain lion 700 or so hundred feet away croached near a melting snow berm. Then, I rounded a bend in the distance and it disappeared behind a thicket. I walked backward for 30 minutes with a snapped-off branch of scrub oak. Wild. Beautiful. Humbling. Colorado at its best.

Spruce Mountain is a popular trail running, hiking and dog walking spot just outside the city…read morelimits of Palmer Lake in Larkspur. The appeal is based on ease of access and trail layout. Miles can be accumulated depending on your fancy. Ever since the reservoir trail banned dogs this has become a super popular destination. That is the downfall, IMO. The parking lot fills up quick and the amount of dog walkers populates the trail. Having said that, it is a perfect spot to spread your wings and get active. The lower loop is less crowded and wide open. The upper boasts of better views, but more people. Get up and get movin!

It's a tough thing to be from CO and recommend great trails. Coloradans naturally want to gatekeep…read morebeautiful secrets, but had to write a review for this incredible hiking trail (which I'm sure isn't really a secret). Took my 12 year old daughter backpacking on this trail and we had a fantastic time. There are plenty of areas to set up a tent along the creek for the first 2 miles. After that the elevation climbs and you have to wait until 4 miles or so and you aren't as close to water. There were hardly any mosquitos, but a lot of flies. The flies were relentless, and only one type seemed to bite. Some bug spray helped a little. The scenery was beautiful. Greener than a lot of spots in CO due to the creek and massive boulders everywhere. There's a lot of bird activity including humming birds. There wasn't a ton of foot traffic either. The trail is narrow but maintained. I do not suggest going on the unmaintained trail on the other side of the creek. We hiked the maintained trail in and the unmaintained trail out and there were several spots that were difficult with a 40 lb backpack on due to loose dirt and gravel. Just stay on the main trail especially if you have kids packing in. The water level was pretty low in some areas and the only fish we saw in our spot were tiny ones, so it's probably not great for anglers. The road leading there is a long dirt road and goes down to a single lane in some spots so take it slow. One driver was being very irresponsible and driving as fast as possible and taking turns quickly so as to spin out and nearly hit us! You can't see around curves and there are steep drop offs, so please drive cautiously. There's no cell service out there (AT&T), so remember the turns you made driving and landmarks like campgrounds and ranches. Beautiful spot. Would recommend.

I did this as part of a larger loop last weekend. The trail conditions for this segment were really…read moregood. It's a long trail, but not too difficult for a reasonably in shape person. Usually, you can walk two abreast and the river crossings are not hard. Lots of nice campsites every mile or so, visible right next to the trail. Once you get away from the trailhead, firewood is plentiful. Some camp sites are right next to water, so you can filter it and you're good. Others, you may have to carry water there. We did have some wet weather, which wasn't bad if you have good raincoats. Naturally, if you go to higher elevations, the rain comes down as snow, or hail, even in June. If you're just doing Goose Creek, within the first 7-8 miles, it's super easy to follow. However, good maps are available for free from the USGS web site. We also had a good map for Lost Creek from Amazon. Not too hard to get to the trail head, although you do have to drive about 15 miles of windy dirt road. It takes about 45 minutes for that part, especially if you have to back up to let someone go the other way on one of the single lane parts.

We loved our hike to st marys falls. St Marys is a moderate hike around 6.5 miles and 1394 feet of…read moreelevation gain. The main road to the falls parking lot is closed and you have to take gold camp road over. This is around 3 miles of dirt. Its narrow with some pot holes and also 2 tunnels you will need to go through. A lot of the road is very narrow and really only wide enough for just one car. So be prepared for a little bit of a hairy ride. it will be the 2nd parking lot on your right. There is a fairly large parking lot, however it fills up quickly especially on a weekend. If you want to do this you will want to arrive sooner rather than later. Dogs are allowed but are supposed to be on a leash. The parking lot for saint marys is the same as for some other trails over there, seven bridges and silver cascades being 2 of them. You will have to walk around 1 1/4 miles up a dirt road until you get to the trailhead. The trail follows a creek most of the trail. It is rocky and at times a little slick with the loose rock. It is beautiful, surrounded by forest. It was very magical and lovely. it felt so nice to be out in the woods. Mountain bikes and motorcycles are also allowed to use this trail. We did not see any motorcycles but there were a few mountain bikers. And they dont necessarily signal so well beware. There is a trash can at the trail head. Be sure to PACK out what you pack in! My friend and i were picking up garbage that people had left along the trail :( There is no reason to leave your garbage. Please take it with you.

Inadvertently found this trail while looking for a different place to hike with the pup, who is…read moreyoung and just learning how to be a good off leash hiking dog. I'm not 100% certain, but I think that you are allowed to take your dogs off leash on this trail. I certainly never saw any signs stating otherwise and out of maybe 10 dogs we saw, half were on leash and a half off. It was a beautiful hike however we were not prepared and did not have water or maybe a hiking stick for me, at least. The beginning part of the trail is a wide open fire lane, but once you get back there it's a trail with a gradual uphill climb the entire way that turns even steeper towards the end. I was definitely asking "how much longer" for the last half-hour and really regretting that I didn't have water with me as my sensitive back started to ache. On our way down as we passed other hikers, they were asking the same question about "how much longer". The gradual uphill climb the entire way can be a little much if you're not prepared for it and the journey back down to the car is much quicker since it's basically downhill the whole way. Took half the time to get down than it did to get up. The waterfall and stream were beautiful and soothing. Walking with shady tree cover much of the way and a stream next to us was a plus for the pup to get his first experience of playing in a stream. The pup definitely enjoyed himself most of all. We took this hike in early June and on our way back we got hit with a rainstorm that dropped the temperature about 20° and we were freezing and poured on by the time we got back to the car, so be prepared when coming here in the summertime!

My honey was out of town and so I decided to take a hike she's done before but I never had taken:…read morethe Devil's Head Fire Tower down off the Rampart Range Rd between Denver and Colorado Springs. Great decision! Not too long. A beautiful drive to a place I've seen from I-25 hundreds of times but have never taken the time to do in decades of living on the Front Range. A great easy hike up a well-marked (and well used) trail that leads up to the fire lookout at the crest of one of the rocky outcroppings of the Rampart Range giving you a 360 degree vista of hundreds of square miles of that part of the country. The only really steep part of the walk is the final staircase(s) up the rocks to the lookout itself. Check out the pics (everyone takes he same ones:) and give yourself a treat by heading up there one day understanding that weekends won't be the best time to be alone). God, I love Colorado. We are soooo lucky to get to live here! Sign me,, David "Thankful" M

Incredible 360 views where you can see Denver, Pikes Peak, many other 14ers…read more It is a unique view of Colorado from above since Devils Head is kind of isolated from other mountains. The trail I think is the perfect length, it does feel a little longer than 2.8 miles out and back. I'd say this is a moderate hike. You can bring dogs on this trail. I don't think it is super friendly for young children. I personally would get pretty exhausted if I had to backpack up my toddler. But for the older kids it would be a good one. Definitely add this one to your list! I think it is my favorite hike I have done so far on the front range!

I really enjoyed this peaceful hike and would definitely recommend doing this in the spring,…read moresummer, or fall. It was around 2-3 miles round trip and very flat for most of it so it would quite easy for the beginner/intermediate hiker. On the way there we passed by several beautiful flower fields and even saw some wild deer! The monument rock itself was a nice sight to see and I guess you could say stuck out like a sore thumb!

Landmark in Monument, Colorado…read more.. My sister had never heard of this hiking trail and had never been in the area. Since it was nearby to our dinner place, I suggested that we take a look. When you get closer to Monument Rock, the road isn't paved anymore. There are signs, but my sister was able to see Monument Rock before the line of trees blocked the view. We went a bit past the trail entrance and turned the car around in the parking lot. It was 8pm and getting dark, so we left after we got a few photos. I'd get pictures of the pond if I returned!

We are locals and ventured here on the motorcycle during a weekday when it was not tourist season…read moreand IT WAS PERFECT! Loved it, it was beautiful and PEACEFUL, and we will definitely come back here again!

The hike was only about a mile to get there and back. And the views were great the entire time…read more There's a small waterfall and area to swim as well as cliffs to jump into the water. The cliffs are very high and there are rocks at the bottom so bring shoes and be safe. The water was also freezing but super refreshing.

LOVE this park. It has picnic tables, a trail to walk, a playground, and a nice pond! There are…read morebathrooms also but when I was there they were locked. Very beautiful and secluded!

First time to do the main trail here. Props for having a nice facility with bathrooms. Of course,…read morethey're closed until 4/1, so the one porta potty would have to do. The trails themselves were nice, other than the frequent horse poop that had to be dodged. Also, a little odd that the surface changed frequently, from gravel to dirt, to a reddish sand. And of course, a few areas of mud and ice but not too bad. Points for a few trash cans, along with picnic tables and benches. Not the best hike in the world, but it was fine and relatively easy. And not a ton of views, other than a couple of glimpses of Pikes Peak and a bit of the front range.