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About this place
A short and easy hike perfect for the family or showing out-of-towners some of Colorado. There are plenty of bouldering opportunities and great rock formations for the kiddos to explore.
Looking for a place near Denver to perfect your bouldering skills? Or are you wanting to get the whole family out, but not looking for an extreme/technical hike? Which ever question best describes you, Alderfer/Three Sisters Park is the perfect place to go.
This Jefferson County Open Space Park has tons of rock formations for the climber to test his or her skills and areas where you can let the kiddos loose to explore nature. The large granite blocks here are popular with climbers but there are plenty of trails to hike, bike, and explore.
Coming in at just over a mile, the trail isn't very long but you can easily extend your hike as the trail passes several spurs along the way. The area here is also relatively flat, so whether you're hauling little ones or a crash pad, you won't have to worry scaling huge inclines.
From the parking lot, bear to the right to start on the Hidden Fawn Trail. You'll pass through mature pine stands and various rock outcroppings. The first ones you'll see is a great place to let the kids play but if you came to climb, you'll want to continue on. At about 0.6 miles from the trailhead you will reach "The Eggs", a concentrated area of intermediate boulders. The Eggs sit off the right side of the trail about 25 yards away and are in plain sight.
If you came to hike, then continue on to meet an intersection with the Dedisse Trail. Bear to the left to continue the loop (or you can take a right to continue on to Dedisee Park).
About a quarter of a mile from the intersection with Dedisee Trail, you will link up with the Sisters Trail. From here you will pass in and out of the forest, occasionally finding yourself with nothing but the open sky above you. As you continue your hike you will come across one more intersection, take the trail to the left to return to the parking lot.
Crash pads are encouraged if you are bouldering, fixed protection is not permitted in Alderfer/Three Sisters Park. Be sure to hit up the Jefferson County Open Space Twitter feed if you're looking for trail condition updates (@JeffcoOpenSpace).