Mount Galbraith Park is part of Jeffco Open space and is a convenient place to hike near Denver, Colorado. The park includes 5 miles of trails and provides views of Golden and the Rocky Mountains.
The most common route taken at the park is Mount Galbraith Loop via Cedar Gulch Trail. We changed it up a bit and hiked Mount Galbraith Loop via Nightbird Gulch Trail.
The trailhead to Nightbird Gulch Trail is located in a residential area. As such, we arrived early since parking was along the street. We thought our start might be a little cold, but the immediate incline in beneath sunny skies with no shade, made for a perfect temperature.
We climbed the path lined by mostly dormant bushes, cacti, mesquite trees and an occasional flower as we admired the views of Golden below. Eventually we reached the junction for Mount Galbraith loop and opted to go left.
In the shade with a few snow patches, it was a little chilly, but soon enough was passed through forest as we looped to the right. Soon we descended as we bared to the right over a rocky terrain.
We came upon another trail junction without a sign which tricked us a little, but we found our way around the loop and back down the trail to the car. Along the way, we passed many hikers, runner and dogs in this hiker only park. It was a beautiful day for a little exercise.
Nightbird Gulch Trail to Mount Galbraith was the perfect 4.7 mile morning hike to stretch our legs. ETB
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