I hiked this trail 1/10/21. The snow was still fresh from the night before when I arrived and fog blocked out some of the views. By the time I hiked back down, the first 2 miles were packed down. I would recommend having traction with you, although the snow was clumping in my hillsounds a lot and I ended up not wearing them on the way down. The end of the trail has no views, so if you're looking for that, it's better to take a left at the split and go to Stone Mountain's peak instead. You can hear traffic from the road below for the first 2.25 miles of the hike. This is a really beautiful hike in the snow though.
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Most of the snow was packed down or melted. There were a few icy spots and the first half mile is mostly ice or snow. A few trees are down over the trail, but they aren't too bad to navigate around. On Saturday it was low 40s with no breeze on the more direct mountain side of the loop while the meadow side and the peak had strong, cold winds.
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Crazy ass wind even through the trees. One goes up up up and down down then on the way the same
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Moderate difficult, the first mile is easy, the second mile starts to ascend and will tire unprepared novice hikers.
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An easy 4.7 mile walk. This area is heavily trafficked, so get here early on the weekends, before the parking lot fills up.
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We arrived on Saturday, 9/19/2020 at around 8:30am. The parking at the trailhead was already full so we used the shuttle. We only had to wait about 15-20 but a lot more people arrived after us extending the wait time. This was a True moderate hike. The entire way up to the lake is at an incline but as long as you take your time, you are in for a treat! Beautiful views and constantly changing scenery. The lake itself is gorgeous. Many people were hanging out and picnicking. Lots of dogs. Not too overcrowded despite the fall colors. I’d say this area will peak in about a week as the colors right now are light yellow/gold. Would 100% do this hike again. Between waterfalls, forest, mountains, and the lake there is something for everyone!
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This would be a good trail to do in the snow. It is rather boring during the summer.
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This can be a cake walk with some snow or a true head banger with mud and either way, it’s long, long. Plan 4 hours with a midpoint lunch and even a side hike if you want. Some of the best trails around.
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Very doable in a stock JL Rubicon on 35s. Great views for about half the trail from above tree line.
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This is a hiking trail. I try to filter out all the hiking trails but it won’t. If anyone knows of a app that just shows 4x4 trails I would appreciate it if you could let me know
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Trail is closed at the 5 mile mark due to a rock slide back in 2013, no notice of such until you get to that point, not cool
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Forested in most spots. Elevation gain is fairly moderate. Good scenery along the way
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Good first introduction to moderately high altitude hiking for us. Lots of tree cover and not many crowds, though the lot was full well before we arrived at 8:30. We parked on the road. Terrain is moderate with only gradual ascents and mostly descent on the way out.
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Short but great hike. Wonderful views of Nederland, Eldora ski area.
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Great trail not far from Denver! Took my 2011 4Runner up and had zero issues, super easy trail. Found an incredible camping spot with ease. Can’t wait to go further up the trail next time.
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This hike really only works from Campsite 20. You begin weaving through some aspen groves, pass by a YMCA bunkhouse, and then it’s a steep ascent to the top of Tennessee Mountain. Beautiful view from the top.
3/5 because the majority of the trail is used heavily by mountain bikers. Important to stay alert and move aside when you see / hear one coming.
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Lots of Columbine in bloom. Did West Crosier first. Climb through cliffs on Crosier requires some route finding but can keep at class 2+. Very nice trail.
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Great one! TenEyck, Teal, Brando, Luc, Levi and me. I forgot to turn off the app, it was About an hour 15 total. Sweet single track
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Nice hike within an hour of Fort Collins. For the majority you’re in a lodge pole forest so the views can be sometimes limited, but the openings are scenic. The trail is well marked and is a nice challenge. I was worried it was going to be blazing hot, but the trees provided great shade. Great alternative over the Pingree Park/CSU mountain campus side which is a longer drive from FTC.
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This hike really only works from Campsite 20. You begin weaving through some aspen groves, pass by a YMCA bunkhouse, and then it’s a steep ascent to the top of Tennessee Mountain. Beautiful view from the top.
3/5 because the majority of the trail is used heavily by mountain bikers. Important to stay alert and move aside when you see / hear one coming.
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This hike really only works from Campsite 20. You begin weaving through some aspen groves, pass by a YMCA bunkhouse, and then it’s a steep ascent to the top of Tennessee Mountain. Beautiful view from the top.
3/5 because the majority of the trail is used heavily by mountain bikers. Important to stay alert and move aside when you see / hear one coming.
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Fun easy trail, high clearance recommended. First 1/3 of trail is a little more difficult than the rest
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Great hike, once at brainerd lake, this is a great spot to picnic and fish and even bring rollerblades. Might see moose here.
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Headed out with kids in tow. It was an easy day but difficult for the little ones as it’s up hill most of the way. Found many beautiful plant allies and blooming cacti.
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Excellent route by which to avoid the more trafficked areas near Brainard Lake.
This hike took place in early May on a beautiful day along the Front Range. We started out wearing only boots/trail runners, but we soon donned our snowshoes after leaving the Lefthand Reservoir Road.
We took off the snowshoes upon ascending past the local tree line (around 11,300’).
We then summitted Niwot Mtn and traversed to the next high point along the Niwot Ridge. It was quite windy along the ridge, so we soon descended the ridge for calmer conditions.
The snowshoeing was amazing, with wide-open terrain. We then began to hike along more-severe side-slopes terrain, where the footing was tenuous, even with snowshoes. Our goal was to intercept the summer trail up to Niwot Ridge. Unfortunately, the terrain became even steeper, so we decided to descend about 1000’ via a steep gully, with a slope angle of approximately 35-45 degrees.
We slowly switch-backed our way down towards the summer trail with much milder slope angle. It was only about 1/3 of a mile from there down to the Niwot Picnic Area.
Finally we reached the Lake Brainard Road, took off our snow shoes and a layer, and made easy time back to the TH via the road.
It was an excellent day out on the trail with full sun and mild temps!
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This is a super cool road that leads you through quite a few popular cities like Estes Park, Nederland, Central City and Black Hawk. The road shows you plenty of great views and has plenty of spots to pull off and look. Perfect road for anyone who just wants to take a cool drive through the mountains.
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Great off-roading trail for beginners with nice views. Expect no excitement.
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Beautifull Fall colors in early October combined with a perfect, blue sky day. Very scenic forest hike with aspen and Ponderosa trees along the trail.
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beautiful - no shade, no dogs but good for running or walking.
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South Nederland and lots of campgrounds. Decent views of the back ranges. Be aware of fast moving mountain bikers.
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Full exposure for most of the trail. Very hot. The dirt gets hot once the temp goes above 74 or so, so watch your pups feet. The trail is beautiful and there are some nice stream crossings but this trail is better enjoyed during cooler weather than summer sun.
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Great views of Iron Mountain and beautiful meadow. Muddy in spots but not bad. Good place to see moose.
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Stellar single track mtn bike. Private land portion had lots of riders.
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Jun9-19,
About 2/3 was snow covered with a mix of walking small steps on top to post holing up to waist due to sun and softness of snow.
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Flat and mellow hike to the base of Bald Mountain followed by a steep incline to the summit.
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