Urban Hikes Denver: A Guide to the City's Greatest Urban Hiking Adventures

by Katie Hearsum

Overview

Think you need to have the best gear, tons of time and your own car to experience Colorado’s great outdoors? Think again!

Urban Hikes Denver introduces users to more than 80 miles of trails easily within reach from downtown Denver for quick and not-so-dirty jaunts during a lunch break or a layover. And although these routes are much more humble than the extreme backcountry peaks that Colorado is commonly known for, what they lack in elevation gain, sweeping vistas and physical demand they make up for by offering the simple pleasures of fresh air and nature to the masses on a daily basis.

Each hike includes trail GPS coordinates and waypoints, detailed hike descriptions, maps, and easy-to-find trailhead directions, along with excellent color photos and travel tips. Hit the trail (or the pavement) and explore Denver!

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781493059577
Publisher:	Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc.
Publication date:	03/15/2022
Pages:	232
Sales rank:	1,036,856
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.70(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

Katie Hearsum is a Colorado-based freelance journalist who has been covering topics relating to tourism and the outdoors for publications such as U.S. News & World Report, 5280 and Elevation Outdoors magazine for a decade. Like many Denverites, Katie is a Midwest transplant who moved West to attend college and never looked back. An avid hiker, she has trekked all over the world—into mystic cloud forests on the Salkantay Trek to Macchu Picchu, from hut-to-hut across glacial streams in Patagonia, and through swarms of mosquitos while portages in the Boundary Waters Canoe Area. Still her favorite trail is the one that passes through her own backyard. You can connect with Katie and read more of her work by visiting www.katiehearsum.com. She lives in Grand Lake, Colorado.

Table of Contents

Meet Your Guide vii

Before You Hit the Trail viii

How to Use this Guide xii

Trail Finder xiv

Map Legend xvii

Central Denver 1

1 Downtown Landmarks Loop 2

2 Cherry Creek Trail-Confluence Park to Sunken Gardens Park 8

3 South Platte River Trail-Cuernavaca Park to Johnson Habitat Park 12

4 Sloan's Lake Loop 17

5 Mile High Loop at City Park 21

6 Westerly Creek Trail 28

7 Bluff Lake Loop 34

8 Cherry Creek Trail-Cherry Creek Mall to Cherry Creek State Park 39

9 Washington Park Outer Loop 45

10 East Harvard Gulch Trail 50

11 Ruby Hill Park Loop 55

North Metro 59

12 Sand Creek Greenway-Dahlia Trailhead to Havana Street 61

13 Van Bibber Creek Trail 67

14 Ralston Creek Trail-Ralston Central Park to Gold Strike Park 71

15 West Loop Trail at Two Ponds National Wildlife Refuge 76

16 Lake Mary and Lake Ladora at Rocky Mountain Arsenal National Wildlife Refuge 80

17 Wildlife Refuge Trail at Barr Lake State Park 86

East Metro 91

18 High Line Canal Trail-Aurora City Center to Star K Ranch 93

19 Star K Ranch Double Loop 98

20 Toll Gate Creek Trail-Horseshoe Park to Quincy Reservoir 104

21 Soddie Loop at the Plains Conservation Center 110

South Metro 117

22 High Line Canal Trail-East Orchard Road to Three Pond Park 118

23 Mary Carter Greenway in South Platte Park 125

24 Chatfield Farms Loop 131

25 Piney Creek Trail-Piney Creek-Trailhead to Larkspur Park 138

West Metro 143

26 Clear Creek Trail-Wheat Ridge Greenbelt 146

27 Crown Hill Park Loop 153

28 40 West ArtLine 158

29 Belmar Park Loop 164

30 Bear Creek Greenbelt 171

The Foothills 179

31 Red Rocks Trail/Morrison Slide Loop 181

32 Evergreen Lake Loop 188

33 North Bison Overlook at Genesse Park 192

34 Lookout Mountain Park Loop 198

35 Clear Creek Trail-Downtown Golden (Peaks to Plains Trail) 202

36 Peaks to Plains Trail-Clear Creek Canyon 208

Hike Index 213