Snowshoeing Near Colorado Springs

[AndrewLyonsGeibel]

Does anybody have any recommendations for snowshoeing near Colorado Springs? It doesn't need to be a summit hike or anything. Just looking to get outside and test out the new snowshoes.

[Jim Davies]

Horsethief Park and Mueller State Park can both be good for that. Both have trailheads that are plowed year-round. You can call the Mueller visitor's center for more info. http://cpw.state.co.us/placestogo/parks/Mueller

[SharonH]

As long as the road to the Crags trailhead is still open, the Crags, Raspberry Mountain or the Crags route up the backside of Pikes Peak are great snowshoe trails. With today's snow, should be nice and deep snow.

[Kinashay]

[quote="SharonH"]As long as the road to the Crags trailhead is still open, the Crags, Raspberry Mountain or the Crags route up the backside of Pikes Peak are great snowshoe trails. With today's snow, should be nice and deep snow.[/quote]

Unfortunately, that road isn't open at this time. FS is doing more work with the trees along that road.

[Dean82]

As long as the road to the Crags trailhead is still open, the Crags, Raspberry Mountain or the Crags route up the backside of Pikes Peak are great snowshoe trails. With today's snow, should be nice and deep snow.

Unfortunately, that road isn't open at this time. FS is doing more work with the trees along that road.

The Road is open, I was just up there yesterday. A two wheel drive with a good driver can make it to the TH right now. The Road has been open since June. Not much snow up there. The last storm was really small and didn't amount to much.

[JTOlson26]

Last weekend I headed up along the ridge to Raspberry Mountain and the snow was anywhere from nil to 18 inches deep depending on sun exposure. For the most part though, there is some decent snow and would be a nice, mellow snowshoe trek.

[pmeadco]

Unfortunately, that road isn't open at this time. FS is doing more work with the trees along that road.

It was supposed to be closed but the contractor that the USFS hired to remove the trees ended up working longer on their last project than planned so they aren't up there yet. They should be there in the next few weeks. The forest service has promised to announce it once a firm date is set.

I also like the area around Raspberry, Crags, Putney Gulch, Horsethief Park, Pancake Rocks. I especially like Horsethief and Putney since the trees are more open and you get more views. The main trails up there pack out pretty quickly after a storm so unless you want to go bushwacking there isn't much point in strapping extra weight to your feet on the main trails. There are tons of old logging roads and trails that crisscross the area, however, so if like to explore there are lots of options for poking around the woods. After the snow starts getting deep I would be wary about parking at the upper Craigs parking area. People often slide off the track and get really stuck between the Mennonite Camp and the Crags Trailhead, which means that if you are uphill from them you might be waiting for a long time. In fact, I was up there today and a truck got across the road right above the Crags Trailhead. Lucky for them a Jeep with a winch came down the road and was able to get them straightened out, otherwise they would have been there a long time.

Another area that I think is worth considering is the Rampart Range above the town of Palmer Lake. Park at the reservoir trailhead and hike up to the reservoirs. From there you have lots of options. I like to hike up the Ice Cave Creek trail and follow the gully that goes to the north behind Sundance Mountain. Nice area and you can go on for miles if you want. The Palmer Divide tends to extract a bit more snow out of the storms so the snow is usually pretty good up there.