I couldn’t love this hike more! It’s got all my favorites for a leisurely foothills hike: incredible views, not too steep & a close drive from Denver. It’s part of a huge trail system that eventually loops and connects with the Chautauqua trails, but at just 3.4 miles this one won’t take you all that long. Kid-friendly, dog-friendly (on leash) and while it does have a couple of short steep parts, all-in-all I’d say it’s great for beginners or out of town visitors.
You park at NCAR (there are tons of spots and they’re free!) Then you head toward the park where the first part of the trail takes you down quite a bit in elevation gain but from there it’s relatively flat until the end.
The trail system is well marked, but there are a lot of trails and turn offs so not a bad idea to have your AllTrails app open with the maps to make sure you don’t get turned around.
I’ll head back on a sunny day to get more vibrant pictures, but even with the clouds you can see how beautiful the views are!
