Jefferson, Colorado

The normal route from the east side is via the Hessie trailhead outside Nederland Colorado. From the west it is most often accessed via the short trail from Rollins pass, which is open in the summer. As noted above, it is also a lake and area ripe for creating your own adventure. The description ...

Driving through the towns of Nederlands and Eldora alone is a beautiful experience. Once you come up to Hessie Trailhead, you'll already be in a daze because you'll be staring at Eldora Mountain and will see some ski runs in the distance.Getting to the trailhead early is best. Parking starts alon...

Starting at 9100 feet, the Hessie trailhead is easily accessible by both 2 and 4 wheel drive cars (depending on how far you want to travel down the road). The trail is fairly easy and often packed down snow up to the cut off point to the Devil's Thumb Bypass, which allows a bypass of Lost Lake an...

Lost Lake of the Indian Peaks Wilderness area is a scenic short hike (about 3 hours) with a lot to see. The trailhead is tucked at the end of a road that passes through Eldora, a charming village of cabins and old abandoned buildings. You will pass by the lost "town" of Hessie on foot, which is w...

From here, you can choose a few different hiking paths. This out-and-back trek starts at the trailhead up and to the left. Along the way you'll pass a bench dedicated to Craig Luebben — a writer, photographer and climbing guide. At this point, you probably haven't even broken a sweat yet. It's ti...

Once you're parked, you can choose to ride this trail either counterclockwise or clockwise. My personal recommendation is CCW, which entails you head up the steep paved road on the east-southeast corner of the parking lot first. The climb is about 10 minutes of grunt work and then on to flat grou...

The hike starts out from the North Table Mountain Park parking lot just east of Highway 93 on the North Table Loop Trail, with a half-mile fire road straight up the mountain. This fire road is by far the most strenuous part of the hike, and is essentially the sole elevation gain for the hike; onc...

My husband and I heard about this hike while we were at a marriage retreat in nearby Dillon. This is the perfect casual day hike for a couple, small groups, or families with children. While we were there in May, just before the aspens were fully leafed out, it was easy to see that this location w...

While Florrisant is known mostly for its history and collection of fossils, it is also one of the darkest places in the Colorado Springs area.  While the park closes daily at dusk, it has Night Sky Programs monthly which allows visitors to view the stars with the help of the Colorado Springs Astr...

Betty Bear and Skinner Huts reside deep in the Colorado backcountry surrounded by thick forests and snowy peaks. Both of these huts offer an opportunity for off-grid leisure and crowd-free skiing. The huts come stocked with padded mattresses, wood stoves & fuel, propane burners, all cookware ...

Start your hike at the North Cottonwood Creek Trailhead. The trail begins at the end of the parking lot. You'll cross a bridge and meander along the creek, eventually reaching another bridge crossing at about 1.5 miles.After this bridge, you'll reach a trail junction. Be sure to go right (towards...

At Snow Mountain Ranch, you can strap on the snowshoes and heading to an old homestead on the ranch. It is about 3 mile round trip adventure.You snowshoe through the woods and by some of the cabins at Camp Chief Ouray. On the trail, check out the aspen trees. You can see the markings where the e...

The Peak to Peak Highway is a 55-mile stretch of road that winds its way from Nederland to Estes Park (or Estes Park to Nederland). This road connects to many points of exploration, Indian Peaks Wilderness Area and Rocky Mountain National Park to name a couple, but the drive itself is an adventur...

The Northwest Ridge is the most easily accessible and popular route, and for good reasons. The trailhead is on the side of Hwy 82, otherwise known as Independence Pass, about 14.5 miles from the Hwy 24 junction, or about 10 miles from Twin Lakes to the east. The trailhead is hard to miss, and you...

Begin by parking at the 4th of July trailhead. This can be reached by conituing past the Eldora ski area and up a rough but passable (for all vehicles) gravel road to the trailhead. The trail is easy to find, and will continue to rise for the next 1.15 miles.At just over a mile there is a fork fo...

Start your hike at the 4th of July Trailhead, just outside of Eldora, CO. From the trailhead at the north end of the parking lot, steadily climb through the trees until a junction at 1 mile. Take the right fork towards Arapaho pass.You'll start to climb above treeline, with spectacular views of t...