Any recommendations for things to do in these areas? I have ~4 days and thinking of hitting up Garden of Gods, Pike Peak Highway, Manitou incline. Maybe Eldorado. Will be visiting some friends/ family in Boulder and Denver. Trying to figure out some less snowy hikes, fun activities, entertainment. Wondering if Great Sand Dunes is worth it at this time?

We’ll be in CO in mid to late July. Our kids are 8, 10, and 12 and good hikers. We’ve hiked 14ers with them in years past but this time we’d like to do a multi-day backpacking trip which would be their first. Any suggestions on a good loop trail with water access and doable in 3-5 days?

Before I got absolutely fucked by the show

Im travelling in October with my wife, and she aparentelly doesnt like hiking a lot lol. We are staying in Ouray and Telluride.

But me personally would love to meet these crazy lakes. Is there any awesome one that we can hike as little as possible? Do you guys have any suggestion?

Where seems good for some pretty snowy views?

10/10 would recommend

A good friend and I are planning 5-days of hiking in Colorado this August. It's our first time out there and I'd say we're novice-intermediate hikers, and both of us are in very good shape. We had originally thought about doing 5-days of camping and hiking, but decided that hiking with some airbnbs in between is probably the right approach for us 😂

We're looking for recommendations for the best 8-15 mi. hikes per day, ideally no further than 2 or 3 hours outside of Denver by car. Totally fine with either out-n-backs or loops, but would love some reccommendations on truly jaw-dropping hikes. Extra points if you have any recommendations for the best stargazing spots in the area.

A big thank you for any and all recommendations.

Would love to get out and hike on Saturday but can’t find anywhere within a 2 1/2 drive that isn’t getting slammed with snow or rain…

Any suggestions? Thought about just say f it and doing a hike at Staunton but looks like their getting hammered with snow

Might be a dumb question but first spring in denver

I’ve been feeling really lonely lately. This summer I want to go exploring the mountains from my home in the suburbs. The thing is I only have a bike to travel.

I was thinking, if I got one of those single person tents from Amazon then prepared a little bit, what if I bike up to the mountains and when night comes I find someplace discreet to set the tent and sleep. Is that out of the question? It sounds super fun and exciting!

Thinking of hitting up RMNP w/friends on the weekend of May 4/5. I know it’s going to be cold, but what will snow conditions be like?

Will microspikes and snowshoes be necessary for a hike like Sky Pond those days? Thanks!

Sorry for my ignorance but I'm pretty new to the whole backpacking thing and this summer zi wanted to try it out!

In the past when I've done longer hikes in RMNP like sky pond, longs peak, black lake etc I would go in and out in a day arriving before 5 am so I never needed a timed reservations or ran into any issues.

Now I'm wanting to hike into the wilderness and stay there overnight? Can I say hike to sky pond, hike further off the trail and put a camping hammock up and stay overnight without getting towed?

I'm not sure how all of this works and if I'm allowed to do this but I would appreciate people who have done similar things incorporate their input!

Hey everyone,

I visit colorado a fair amount for work, but don't get a lot of time for the hiking side there. My wife and I are visiting for 4 days just the two of us the first week of august. We plan on staying roughly around the Denver area for a concert. Any recommendations for some day trails in the area around that time of year? My wife is a complete hiking novice, so I'm not looking to kill her with the elevation, but if there were a few scenic options to take her to see in the area to give her a good experience I'd really like to give her a taste of that.

Most of the recommendations I've seen in the area typically involved RMNP or the indian peaks. Is there a realistic day trail or two for us to hit in those areas you would suggest? I appreciate any advice!

Hello! I'm a senior CSU student doing a study on ticks! While I'm doing my own tick hunting/collecting for the project, I am also looking into what other people have found recently ! If you've had a tick encounter in the past two months here in CO, let me know! If you can, please provide details on the area you found it in and the weather! I'm particularly interested if there was any body of water nearby and if it was a well maintained trail or not. If you have pictures, even better ! Thank you!

I was entertaining snowshoeing or crosscountry skiing at Brainard as a first date idea. We both have never gone. What are the conditions right now? Would you recommend one over the other?

I have a friend coming into town who has never visited Colorado. Any hikes we could squeeze in Friday morning before the weather gets too bad? Looks like Saturday and Sunday won't be worth it.

Had thought about going to Brainard Lake and hiking up the road but wondering if the storm will roll in quick there, otherwise we may just have to stick to some lower elevation hikes. Any recommendations welcome!

My brother is flying out to Colorado in mid-May and we're planning a 4-day backpacking trip. Our top pick is going to be Lost Creek Wilderness but I'm looking for some back up plans if the weather is going to be too nasty in that area. Caveats are we're trying avoid snow as much as possible to make the hiking easier since he'll be coming from a lower elevation as it is. We'll also both be in hammocks so need trees around to hang from. Some of the segments of the Colorado Trail around Buena Vista look interesting as alternatives and the elevation doesn't seem too bad. I'm on the front range, anything south into northern New Mexico or out on the south or west side of Colorado I should look at? Anyone know if it's possible to hammock at Colorado National Monument, that area looks neat too but I've never been over there before.

I hike mainly in Colorado, Utah, Oregon, and Washington. I was just hiking in Washington, after focusing on Colorado for a while, and was stunned that 99% of all dogs were leashed. In Colorado, that number would be much, much lower. In my experience at least. I should also say that I usually hike in Utah NPs, so I shouldn’t expect to see any unleashed dogs, but also that in Oregon/Washington I’m often hiking in state forests, and people still leash their dogs at a higher rate than in national forests in Colorado.

E.g.: Rattlesnake Ledge outside Seattle. State forest. Tons and tons of people and not a single unleashed dog.

Is there something to this, as a state hiking culture issue, or is this just random personal experience?

Near Buffalo Creek I was biking on a road. Passed a person with two dogs off leash. No big deal I thought. There has to be places for off leash walks. I own dogs and need to train them off leash myself.

After passing them slowly and with courtesy I moved on. 2 minutes later after climbing a hill and out of breath I heard something behind me. The dogs were closing in on me fast with ears back and teeth a blazing. Having been in a serious dog attack before I knew these meant business.

I managed to keep peddling and they managed to KEEP UP! I was growing tired and knew there would be a fight very soon.

Way out of breath (me) I kept going in hopes I could escape. They eventually tired and stopped.

All I had was my bike and my knife. I want to make it perfectly clear. If you have a dog that is aggressive It can expect a mortal wound or a quick dispatch next time.

People need to stop thinking their dog is so special they would never harm a person. They all can be unpredictable. Ask any dog professional.

I have put down my own dog for aggression.

I love dogs. I own dogs. The law is on the side of the attacked. I won’t run next time. Get your poop in a group folks. I DONT LOVE YOUR DOG. If it does more than “feign” an attack it may be the last time it does so.

I know the self entitled will threaten me. Fine be ready then. The reason there is so much dog controversy is because so many owners and their dogs are beyond reproach. If you are getting triggered by any of this then you are who I’m referring to.

I know there are lots of reasons this can happen however any kind of reasoning Only points to a lack of responsibility and control of the owner. Sorry for the long post, but I feel like it needs to be said. I am done giving all dogs a pass and so should you be.

Looking for hike suggestions for after work now that the days are getting longer! Up to an hour drive from north Denver, hikes up to 4 miles. TIA!

I plan on spending two days in the Denver/Boulder area acclimatizing before heading to RMNP. Unfortunately this will be during Memorial Day weekend... Any ideas on what to do and what to avoid during these two days?

Is planning to hike the royal arch trail (starting at dawn) on my second day ill advised?

Hello all! I am an avid hiker and backpacker, I successfully thru-hiked the Colorado Trail last summer, so I know the state and terrain decently well. I'm taking a mountain guide position in central Colorado this summer, and I need to build my personal skillset on snow skills. I was wondering if anyone knows a good snowfield to practice self-arresting late May around Breck, Leadville, Salida, etc.? I have seen suggestions for St. Mary's Glacier, but the parking is expensive now :(

Any suggestions? Thanks for the help!

Me and my boy are tryna go on a backpacking trip this Friday. We were gonna go to lost creek wilderness but as the day gets closer. Weather is looking a bit worse day by day. Does anyone have any suggestions for an easy trail with good enough conditions closeish to the Denver area? Thank you all for the help.

I'm leading a group of Boy Scouts with little backpacking experience on a trek in early - mid July (I have 3,000 miles experience, mostly from the PCT). We come from the flatlands so we'll need to acclimate-- planning on sleeping at 6000', hang out for a day around 8000' to 9000', sleep at that elevation, then begin our trek.

My problem is balancing an appropriate altitude without boring terrain while minimizing bug pressure. I would love to jump into the San Juans or Collegiate West of the Colorado Trail but I fear we would have some people struggle hiking at 11000' - 12000' right away. I considered Collegiate East or the Lost Creek Wilderness but felt it might be too boring never getting above treeline.

Does anyone know of a route that allows for acclimatization the first 15-20 miles then gets above treeline for some spectacular views the rest of the way? Thanks!