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Connor Wallace

Denver Based Adventurer | Mountain Standard Field Agent | Currently Loving: Mountain Standard socks, Cotopaxi Luzon and Teca

We parked at the gate to shave off time in the afternoon in case a storm blew in. You hike up a road and it's a steady slope the whole way up. There is little sun cover from trees, but you are high enough for heat to not be too big of an issue. At the top, the wind was really blowing. The views are phenomenal and the lookout at the top looks a pretty nice place to stay for $80/night if you could have another 3 people pitch in to split it. Be aware that close to the turn off Squaw Pass Road there are a couple places that are frequently used for shooting practice.

For how close it is to Denver, it doesn't get a whole lot better than this. While hot and very sunny at midday, I'd imagine it's terrific at sunrise or sunset. We only saw 12-15 people the whole hike which included Morrison Slide, so it still felt like we had the trail somewhat to ourselves. I'm planning on coming back when it snows to get sunrise/sunset landscape photos of Red Rocks.

We hiked this and arrived back home in Highlands Ranch just about exactly four hours after we left. It was my second time and just as good as I remembered. The views are nice all the way up and there are plenty of rest stops to have a snack or catch your breath. The lookout itself is wonderful to get some views and use to add even more interest in the foreground of your photos. I'd suggest going early or late to avoid crowds, especially on the weekend. We went on a weekday morning and even then we saw around 20 other hikers over the course of our 2 hours on the trail.

We really enjoyed this one, even at midday when it was quite warm and the light doesn't make for the best pictures. There is enough cover to avoid the sun somewhat and the quick hike up still got us breathing a bit. We will revisit at sunrise/sunset when the leaves turn. There seemed to be plenty of parking even if it was busier (we went on a Monday). We only saw 2 other pairs of hikers which is exactly what we wanted.

I hit this up last Wednesday at sunrise in the middle of the heavier snow. No parts of the trail were too slippery save for the one uphill section. It wasn't unmanageable at all, though. The snow added a lot of interest to the hike and made for a more fun experience. I'm sure it's an awesome place for sunrise photography during spring and fall. I plan on revisiting when we get some greenery.