Adventure Travel Photography Blog
Post knee surgery, my activities have been limited. While I can sort of handle being cooped up in the house, Annie, my high energy Doberman cannot! Despite hiring a dog walker and having awesome friends who have taken her on hikes, she needs to run.
As a result, I have been scouring Google Maps for less populated Open Spaces and Parks near Denver. Today, I found Prairie Gateway Open Space in Commerce City. What a find!
PLAY AT THE PARK!
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.
GO HIKING!
Tanya and I went on the best hike today. We met up at the Westminster PNR by 7:20am and drove 1.5 hours to the 4th of July Trailhead located in the Indian Peaks Wilderness. The parking lot was full, so we turned around and parked on the side of the dirt road with many other cars. I think the latest hikers may arrive with a chance of snagging a parking spot is 8:30am on the weekend. Continue reading “Roadtrip to the Rockies: Lake Dorothy”
Finally, Tanya and I got together for a hike! It had been a while, and it was a small miracle that we managed to both be free Saturday of Memorial Day Weekend! We wanted to get in some mileage and knew it was still muddy in the ski towns, so we headed to the foothills near Colorado Springs and knocked off Columbine Trail. Continue reading “Roadtrip to the Rockies: Columbine Trail to Helen Hunt Falls”
Well, it’s hiking season, though a little muddy in the mountains, so I headed north from Denver to Barr Lake State Park. An 8.8 mile flat, gravel trail circles the lake. The south side of the lake is designated as a preserve and dogs are not allowed. Continue reading “Hikes Near Denver: Barr Lake State Park”
Today Ken and I took the dogs to Hildebrand Ranch for a wonderful five-mile stroll. The park is part of Jeffco County Open Space located in Littleton, Colorado. The simple five-mile loop starts from the parking lots and leads hikers through a wide open meadow of wild flowers. The trail undulates along the plains and hogback and eventually reaches a residential area by a small pond where the well marked trail zigzags back and forth until it reaches the ranch again. Continue reading “Hikes Near Denver: Hildebrand Ranch”