Day hike suggestion

[WhoDang]

Hello 14ers!

I recently moved from Florida to Denver with my girlfriend. I would like to take my girlfriend on an awesome day hike somewhere within a two hour driving distance from Denver. She has very little high elevation hiking experience. So I'm looking for something that can get her use to elevation in preparation to doing some 14ers this summer but without turning her off of the idea. I had some hike maybe to a waterfall or lake with a possible peak climb in mind but I am certainly up for any other recommendations.

P.S. I'm not sure if it matters this time of year but we don't have any snowshoes.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated!

Nathan

[Floyd]

Probably not a good idea until mid-June but if you want waterfalls check out Cascade Creek. It's the approach for Lone Eagle Peak: http://www.summitpost.org/mountain/rock ... -peak.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;. Also, check out Hiking Grand County by Deborah Carr and Lou Ladrigan. It's a must-have IMO and what got me into hiking after we moved into town.

[Fred North]

There are a ton of great non 14er hikes in RMNP. Checkout a recent thread on Non 14er hikes.

[WhoDang]

Thanks Floyd! I have plenty of time on my hands so I'll be sure to check that one out in mid-June. I was actually just thinking I should go pick up some books. Well a waterfall was just an idea, I'm up to really anything. Any suggestions on something I could do - say this week? (May 24-28)

Thanks,

Nathan

[Floyd]

If you have the time, I strongly recommend the Cascade Creek hike. I'm not sure if it's my favorite day-hike in the state, but it's definitely in the running. If you want to stay away from the snow/ice and close to home, Boulder has some excellent lower elevation peaks that are very easily excessible. South Boulder, Bear, Green Mountain are all good workouts for a quick jaunt and I would imagine dry already. If you have snowshoes or don't mind slushing around, then obviously the opportunities are endless.

[Doctor No]

What about Apache Falls in the Sangre de Cristo?

I don't have any beta on the hike, but I've heard good things.

[WhoDang]

Thanks everyone for the suggestions. I'll be sure to check them out. I found this from another post http://www.gorp.com/parks-guide/travel- ... 69145.html. What do you think?

[CO Native]

Beaver Creek WSA can be some tough hiking. Dropping in from the Skagway end puts you in some tough terrain pretty quick. It's a fun hike with great scenery and the old power station is cool, but certainly not an easy trail to follow. There are several places where you'll have to cross the creek and when the water's high this can be a treacherous task. Teller County and Fremont County SAR frequently rescue people from that canyon who've gotten themselves in over their heads.

The basic loop from the Fremont County (south) end is a much more maintained hiking trail. Great for day hikes. However I don't think that trailhead is within 2 hours of driving from Denver.

[letourneau41]

Chataqua just outside of boulder is a great day hike. You can hike the flatirons and it's realatively easy and great to get a little experience hiking peaks.

[ColoradoEd]

Mountain Lion Loop at Golden Gate State Park. Not too much elevation gain and great views from the top of Windy Peak.

[CarpeDM]

With all the input you'll get here, I think you'll have enough options to keep you quite busy! :D

But I'll put a plug in for one: The trails from the Fourth of July trailhead (near Nederland) provide good dayhiking opportunities. You can see the Fourth of July mine, pass over some cascades (wear waterproof boots just in case), the wildflowers are awesome around late June to mid-July, and you have the option of getting to S. Arapahoe Peak (and possibly traversing to N. Arapahoe if you're feeling frisky, but it sounds like you might not want that adventure just yet). The road to the trailhead may not be clear for a couple of weeks.

In the meantime, the Boulder mountains (Green Mtn, S. Boulder Peak, and Bear Peak) are good, too, and close. At this time of year, I like hiking up the Bear Canyon trail (start at NCAR).

Have fun and be safe!

EDIT: here's a link to a description of one of the possibilities: http://www.aroundcolorado.com/trip_repo ... index.html" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[mtngoat]

Pretty much anything in the Indian Peaks is an awesome hike. Blue Lake, Pawnee Pass, Lone Eagle, Sourdough Trail, 4th of July, Hessie, Arapaho Pass, etc.

Summit County has some wonderful stuff as well but you would be looking at mid-late June for most of those. Salmon Lakes, McCullough Gulch, Crystal Lakes, Mohawk Lakes, Ptarmigan, a few others on the north end of the county as well.

Beautiful wildflowers and some really good waterfalls and cascading creeks on many of them. Buy some sky terrain and Latitude 40 maps and go nuts.

-Dave