Ideas for great hikes near(ish) Denver?
June 14, 2015 11:51 AM Subscribe
What are some must-do, knock-your-socks-off day hikes and/or short (1 night) backpacking trips for a dog and two humans visiting the Denver area for the first time?
So we (myself, my pup, my Manfriend) are heading off on an epic/foolish (literally) cross-country road trip this summer from North Carolina to visit our fams on the West Coast of Canada, and on the way we plan to saunter about and see some of 'Merica's many beauties as a way of breaking up the mind-numbing horror of driving across the country. Most of our "sightseeing" will be of the mountains, woods, and backpacks kind, rather than the Urban Wonders kind. We have some rough ideas of what we might want to do, but our schedule is pretty wiiiide open, and we're easily overwhelmed by choice, and so as we put together our itinerary we would LOVE your help in narrowing down and zeroing in on some fabulous day hikes or short backpacking trips in parts of the country we've never been to. You can expect more questions like this from me as we fill-in the fun-points on our Driving Calendar of Death, but at the moment, we're trying to flesh out the space on our calendar once we leave Arches Nat'l Park and head towards the Denver-ish area.
We're all experienced hikers, and are fine with challenging terrain, but the pooch does start to hit his limit at days that are longer than 15miles (or maybe a little less, depending on the difficulty of the hike).
With that in mind, what are your best ideas for hikes and camping in this general region that:
- are dog friendly
- have great camping
- are 1 night backpacking (or two separate full day hikes from a base camp area)
- won't alter our generally northwesterly direction of travel too drastically (that being said, we are pretty flexible on where we go and how we get there)
- are stunningly beautiful
So we (myself, my pup, my Manfriend) are heading off on an epic/foolish (literally) cross-country road trip this summer from North Carolina to visit our fams on the West Coast of Canada, and on the way we plan to saunter about and see some of 'Merica's many beauties as a way of breaking up the mind-numbing horror of driving across the country. Most of our "sightseeing" will be of the mountains, woods, and backpacks kind, rather than the Urban Wonders kind. We have some rough ideas of what we might want to do, but our schedule is pretty wiiiide open, and we're easily overwhelmed by choice, and so as we put together our itinerary we would LOVE your help in narrowing down and zeroing in on some fabulous day hikes or short backpacking trips in parts of the country we've never been to. You can expect more questions like this from me as we fill-in the fun-points on our Driving Calendar of Death, but at the moment, we're trying to flesh out the space on our calendar once we leave Arches Nat'l Park and head towards the Denver-ish area.
We're all experienced hikers, and are fine with challenging terrain, but the pooch does start to hit his limit at days that are longer than 15miles (or maybe a little less, depending on the difficulty of the hike).
With that in mind, what are your best ideas for hikes and camping in this general region that:
- are dog friendly
- have great camping
- are 1 night backpacking (or two separate full day hikes from a base camp area)
- won't alter our generally northwesterly direction of travel too drastically (that being said, we are pretty flexible on where we go and how we get there)
- are stunningly beautiful
Dream lake might be national park, so the dog is discouraged.
I would suggest the 4th of July trail above eldora, take that over the continental divide, camp on the other side, then back. It's a beautiful trail and full of mountains and wildflowers.
posted by nickggully at 12:54 PM on June 14, 2015
I would suggest the 4th of July trail above eldora, take that over the continental divide, camp on the other side, then back. It's a beautiful trail and full of mountains and wildflowers.
posted by nickggully at 12:54 PM on June 14, 2015
Dogs are not allowed in Arches, beyond the pavement anyway. There are several kennels in town, however.
In Moab, though, are a bajillion neat hikes. Gemini Bridges, newspaper rock, kokopellis, Negro Bill, etc etc. Also, the drive up hwy 128 to Grand Junction is not to be missed.
Grand Junction has a ton of do friendly hikes - The Mount Garfield trail is short, steep, and very scenic. Also, there is the start of the Kokopelli, and the Domingez-Escalante trails. For example. Also hikes up on the Grand Mesa.
There is a ton in this region, but take care with the pooch - fines are expensive, and he wont last 10 minutes in the car this time of year.
posted by Pogo_Fuzzybutt at 1:07 PM on June 14, 2015
In Moab, though, are a bajillion neat hikes. Gemini Bridges, newspaper rock, kokopellis, Negro Bill, etc etc. Also, the drive up hwy 128 to Grand Junction is not to be missed.
Grand Junction has a ton of do friendly hikes - The Mount Garfield trail is short, steep, and very scenic. Also, there is the start of the Kokopelli, and the Domingez-Escalante trails. For example. Also hikes up on the Grand Mesa.
There is a ton in this region, but take care with the pooch - fines are expensive, and he wont last 10 minutes in the car this time of year.
posted by Pogo_Fuzzybutt at 1:07 PM on June 14, 2015
The Manitou Incline (No camping necessary, just a morning or afternoon hike)
posted by falsedmitri at 8:15 PM on June 14, 2015
posted by falsedmitri at 8:15 PM on June 14, 2015
Rocky Mountain National Park doesn't allow dogs on the trail (this is true of all national parks as far as I know).
However, you pass by the Maroon Bells-Snowmass wilderness area and they do allow dogs. It's been many years since I lived in Colorado, but my dog and I backpacked up there and it was gorgeous.
posted by elmay at 5:59 AM on June 15, 2015 [1 favorite]
However, you pass by the Maroon Bells-Snowmass wilderness area and they do allow dogs. It's been many years since I lived in Colorado, but my dog and I backpacked up there and it was gorgeous.
posted by elmay at 5:59 AM on June 15, 2015 [1 favorite]
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posted by julthumbscrew at 12:09 PM on June 14, 2015 [2 favorites]