Where to hike this Fall

October 24, 6:46 PMDenver Hiking ExaminerDeb Stanley

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Royal Arch, Boulder, by Deb Stanley

Snow is starting to fall in Colorado's high county, making it time for many hikers to start finding hikes at lower elevations along the Front Range.

Two of the best areas to hike are the Boulder Open Space & Mountain Parks and the Jefferson County Open Space parks in Golden, Morrison and Evergreen.  Boulder and JeffCo have informative Web sites with good maps and easy to use information on their trails. Hikers often choose Jefferson County hiking trails because they are so well marked, with easy to find and read signs.

Jefferson County trip reports: Mount Falcon, Mount Galbraith, Matthews/Winters, Three Sisters (Evergreen),  Beaver Brook (from Lookout Mountain/Windy Saddle), Beaver Brook from Genesee Park, Dakota Ridge at Matthews/Winters Park, Green Mountain (Lakewood), Lair O The Bear, South Table Mountain (Golden), Chimney Gulch, Welch Ditch, Apex (Enchanted Forest), Apex (Grubstake Loop), White Ranch (Rawhide Loop), White Ranch (Longhorn, Maverick, Belcher Hill, Mustang, Sawmill loop), White Ranch (east side evening hike), White Ranch (east side, including Longhorn & Shorthorn trails).

Remnants of Boren Homestead, by Deb Stanley

Hikers in Boulder will find dozens of trails in the Chautauqua area, but there trailheads throughout the Boulder County area.

Try some of these Boulder hiking trails:  Bear Peak, Doudy Draw, Boulder Flatirons, Hall Ranch, Royal Arch, South Mesa Trail, Chautauqua, NCAR, Eldorado Canyon State Park, Marshall Mesa, North foothills trailhead, Flatirons Vista, Green Mountain (short way), Mount Sanitas

Looking for something different? How about hiking to an arch? There's Harmonica Arch in the Pike National Forest and Royal Arch in Boulder.

Dinosaur tracks along Dakota Ridge, by Deb Stanley

Interested in history? Then don't miss the chance to see several homesteads left from the last 1880's and early 1900's. Homestead Meadows is in Larimer County, just about 10 miles south of Estes park. Trip reports: Homestead Meadows (including Laycook, Boren & Hill homesteads), Homestead Meadows (including Brown & Irvin homesteads)

Want something even more unique?Check out the dinosaur tracks at Dakota Ridge in Golden. There's a castle at Lair O The Bear that you can see from the trail, especially in winter when the trees loose their leaves. And there are castle ruins at Mount Falcon.

Still want more places to find trails?

County Web sites: Boulder open space trails, Jefferson County open space trails, Larimer County parks & open lands, Denver parks, Douglas County parks & trails,  Summit County open space & trails, El Paso County parks & trails

Federal government Web sites: Rocky Mountain National Park, Indian Peaks Wilderness, Brainard Lake Recreation Area, Arapahoe & Roosevelt National Forests, Pike & San Isabel National Forests.  

State Web sites: Colorado State Parks Web site

 Need a hiking partner? Here are ways to find one.