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 hike is not for the faint of heart. It's a pretty steep hike up and coming back down can be…read morevery difficult if you have bad knees or don't have excellent tread on your hiking boots. Scree for days! But it's a beautiful one and a great workout.

Best guides and kind employees who know their stuff and aren't pretentious about it. Greg was…read morewonderful with our daughter a couple of years back and we stop here every trip.

Malcomb V. was our guide-- he was extremely informative, professional, and easygoing…read more The trip was for myself, my girlfriend, and her retiring father. Malcomb did an amazing job of navigating around 3 anglers with varying skill levels. By the end of the half-day trip, we all had vastly improved our casting, drifts, and hook sets. We also had the good fortune to all land multiple fish, despite the technical nature of the deckers section of the south platte. The following day, today, I went back on my own to test the new knowledge. Sure enough, I hooked into several fish. Malcomb helped nail down the fundamentals for repeatable success over the course of a day on the water. Angler's Covey is a great outfit. From the friendly encounter with Collin over the phone, to booking with Jon, to fishing with Malcomb, these guys rock. 11/10 service, I would leave a higher rating if I could. They definitely earned repeat future business from our family.

8 mile dirt road into the mountains...what did I get my sister and myself into? Let me tell…read moreyou...something I had never experienced before, at least not all in one place. Amazing views, kind and accommodating people and lodgings, so much riding and so much good food all for what was a ridiculously low cost. The horses were obviously well kept and enjoyed their time with us, I hope, almost as much as we enjoyed ours with them. The food was clean, healthful and almost too much for my 5ft self. Nothing goes to real waste there as they do there best to be sustainable. It is a working ranch so there is a lot going on. Before anyone goes off on the animal cruelty thing, check yourself. They care for and about all of the animals on their property, the domestic and wild ones the same. If I lose some of you on this part, so be it: there is a feeling of faith there...nothing shoved down your throat but a simple reminder to be good to this land and to each other. Check on the pricing as they have summer months and a few other options. We went just as Labor Day was ending and got everything for what I think was less than their summer prices.

Disclaimer: I married into a family that loves this place and has been coming since 50 years ago,…read moreso there has been a heavy bias and favorable context for this place in my kind even before I went. I had seen the damage the fires had done and the lack of trees on the mountains were not a turn off for me, EXCEPT when I forgot to apply sunscreen. I finally went for myself with said family and extended family and it was a blast. Food, activities, entertainment, scenery, it was all fantastic. Staff is wonderful and treat you like friends. They have lots of stuff for kids aged 3 to teens and all those kids had a blast. Made a ton of great memories. Would recommend for anyone who likes active outdoorsy vacations/retreats.

Awesome adventure! I have been out with Brett a few times, one of which with my father. Always seem…read moreto be in the action and on great fish with Brett and he knows right where to go and moves in different conditions; seems to be ahead of the daily weather patterns. Everything was taken care of and this made for a smooth day of landing fish and turning around to do it again and again. Really made the day enjoyable for my father, which was most important. Couldn't speak more highly of my time on the water with the South Park Angler crew. Highly recommend; would definitely go again!

From the owner: South Park Anglers is a fly fishing guide service specializing in targeting the stillwaters of…read moresouth Park County from a boat. Our experienced fly fishing guides share their passion, knowledge and understanding of how to successfully catch trophy trout. Our guides are First Aid/CPR Certified. South Park Anglers is bonded and insured. Colorado License #0003315

I recently went fishing at DeWeese Reservoir, and man is it beautiful. It's in a secluded spot with…read morebeautiful mountains all around. It's quite a drive, but definitely worth it. I don't think the reservoir is stocked with fish, or at least it doesn't seem like it. Regardless, we managed to catch 3 trout and see a tiger muskie (possibly) skimming along looking for its next meal. We were able to pull right up next to the water, and there were flat spots for our chairs. Someone had made a fire pit in the area, too. The only thing that might deter from the peacefulness of the setting is that there is a firing range close to the mountains, so all their shots echoed off. It wasn't too bad, except for the kids constantly asking what that noise was. In all, I wouldn't mind coming back.

Professionalism! Willing to provide excellent information on fly fishing the Arkansas River in…read moreColorado. Researched a section of the River to confirm it was accessible to the public while I waited. Pick up the Arkansas River Map while you are there for important river details.

I did a half day wade trip with Cody. Wow, I was blown away by his knowledge and patience. I…read morelearned a ton regarding techniques and reading water. It was a wonderful day. Highly recommend this fly shop and the guides.

This is the best fly shop I have ever been in...and I've been to a lot of them over the years…read more Really. Mike, who runs the shop, is awesome, and so are the guides Dave and Ian. They are focused on customer service more than any other fly shop I've visited. My experience was fantastic! While planning a visit to Colorado, I inquired about a guided trip to the "dream stream" via email. Mike responded and we started up an email conversation about what I was hoping to do. I explained that I was visiting a friend who lives in Colorado and that my friend had never fished at all let alone fly fished. He was a total newbie. Mike said that he had several guides who would be perfect for us. It turns out that he was spot on. We booked two half-day trips, back-to-back. I didn't bring any equipment and my friend of course had no equipment, so the shop supplied us with everything we needed from waders to rods and reels. The day before our first day on the river, we stopped by the shop and met Mike and Ian (who would be our guide the following day). Almost immediately, I knew that I had picked the right shop. We got fitted, bought licenses (and a lot of clothing that was on sale), and coordinated the following day's trip. Everybody was super easy going and pleasant. This was a good sign! The following day, we met our guide and followed him to the river (in separate vehicles). Since we had done all of the prep and "paperwork" the previous day, we made good time to the stream. I was stunned when we got there; nobody else was there! With everything I had heard about the "dream stream" being so crowded, I was as happy as I was surprised. Ian (our guide) was super patient. He even helped my friend get his waders on. (My friend had never worn waders.) When we hit the water, he patiently gave both of us some instruction on what to expect and how to fish the river. I hit the stream while Ian taught my friend how to cast and mend, etc. Within 30 minutes of us actually starting fishing, my friend hooked and landed his first fish ever, a small brown trout. Wow! A short time later, I landed one too. We went on to have a fantastic day on the river even though we had to cut the day short due to extremely high winds. The following day, we had another guide, Dave. We met him at the river. He brought all of the equipment with him. The weather was gorgeous and the fishing was hot. We got a decent number of fish on the hook and landed a good percentage of them. We caught browns and rainbows. It was AWESOME! Dave was an outstanding guide! I'll definitely book a trip with South Platte Fly Shop the next time I go to Colorado. I highly, highly recommend checking out the shop and booking a trip with them. The shop and guides with whom we fished are top notch! A personal note: I have fished with guides at least 35 or 40 times in various places and out of various shops and outfitters in several states. I have enough experience with guides that I know a good guide when I fish with him or her. One more note: currently, there is a negative review about an employee. I inquired about it and was told that the employee mentioned in the review is no longer employed by the shop, so don't let that review put you off from this shop.

Friendly service, good advice, nice and clean shop. Very helpful in directions of where to fish…read more Great location.