FYI - Mt. Morrison is CLOSED

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MyFeetHurt
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FYI - Mt. Morrison is CLOSED

Post by MyFeetHurt »

For anyone attempting to summit this mountain anytime soon, redrocks park has closed all the trails leading to the summit for restoration (about 6 different ones by my count). I did not see a sign at the very south entrance just before the canyon, but the way the other signs read, even that trail is techinically closed.
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Kojones
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Re: FYI - Mt. Morrison is CLOSED

Post by Kojones »

:shock: #-o
I was just getting the desire to start climbing that again for training. It's what I have relied on due to the convenience of getting there and availability of parking. Anybody have any other suggestions in the area for foothill climbs that somewhat compare? I haven't even looked elsewhere because this is so perfect. But I do agree, those trails are in bad shape and have needed some love for a while.

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Brian Thomas
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Re: FYI - Mt. Morrison is CLOSED

Post by Brian Thomas »

Try the Mt Falcon JeffCo Open Space park just south of downtown Morrison. On the main trail (Castle Trail) there are a lot of mountain bikers but if you go to the right on the Turkey Trot Trail it is mostly hikers and runners.

After having a car window smashed at the TH for Mt Morrison by Red Rocks entrance 4, I prefer to hike Mt Falcon because the parking area is almost always busy with people coming and going.
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wildlobo71
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Re: FYI - Mt. Morrison is CLOSED

Post by wildlobo71 »

Another good one for some mileage and about 2,400' of gain is Bergen Peak from Elk Meadow in Evergreen. And of course, for a good push vertically - South Boulder and Bear Peak from the Mesa Trail.
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Re: FYI - Mt. Morrison is CLOSED

Post by astrobassman »

I would imagine you could still get to the summit from non-established routes, like the southwest ridge. One day I parked at a pull off on the side of Morrison road up the canyon a ways and walked up to the summit. There was no trail, but it was still a good hike. Maybe the north ridge from Matthews/Winters is an option too?

As far as other front range peaks, check out the peaks by Boulder or Mt. Galbraith in Golden. My favorite by far is Goat Mountain in Littleton. Unfortunately the main route is from Waterton Canyon, which is also closed right now. Mt. Warren is a good one near Goat and there should be a route up that one that is open.

Another good hike is from Idledale. Park in Idledale somewhere and head south. Not sure if its really a summit, but there are great scrambling opportunities on that hill, and getting to the top is about the same elevation gain as Morrison.
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Re: FYI - Mt. Morrison is CLOSED

Post by dude9478 »

astrobassman wrote:I would imagine you could still get to the summit from non-established routes, like the southwest ridge. One day I parked at a pull off on the side of Morrison road up the canyon a ways and walked up to the summit. There was no trail, but it was still a good hike. Maybe the north ridge from Matthews/Winters is an option too?

As far as other front range peaks, check out the peaks by Boulder or Mt. Galbraith in Golden. My favorite by far is Goat Mountain in Littleton. Unfortunately the main route is from Waterton Canyon, which is also closed right now. Mt. Warren is a good one near Goat and there should be a route up that one that is open.

Another good hike is from Idledale. Park in Idledale somewhere and head south. Not sure if its really a summit, but there are great scrambling opportunities on that hill, and getting to the top is about the same elevation gain as Morrison.
Hmmm, do you know of another route up Goat Mountain that doesn't go through Waterton Canyon? I love that hike.
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awake
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Re: FYI - Mt. Morrison is CLOSED

Post by awake »

B-Thom wrote:Try the Mt Falcon JeffCo Open Space park just south of downtown Morrison. On the main trail (Castle Trail) there are a lot of mountain bikers but if you go to the right on the Turkey Trot Trail it is mostly hikers and runners.

After having a car window smashed at the TH for Mt Morrison by Red Rocks entrance 4, I prefer to hike Mt Falcon because the parking area is almost always busy with people coming and going.
The trailhead sign at Mt Falcon says something about plans to close the park for restoration. The sign has been up there for a while, so I don't know when they are planning for it. (Hopefully not for a while...)
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Re: FYI - Mt. Morrison is CLOSED

Post by randalmartin »

+1 on Bear Peak. IMO that is the best training climb anywhere along the front range. 2800ft in under 3 miles.
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metalmountain
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Re: FYI - Mt. Morrison is CLOSED

Post by metalmountain »

randalmartin wrote:+1 on Bear Peak. IMO that is the best training climb anywhere along the front range. 2800ft in under 3 miles.

Props to this hike as well, I like to hit this one early in the season usually to get a good assessment on where my legs are. Plus you can get a good trail run in on the lower sections. I know there are some crazy folks that run it top to bottom... :shock: I am not quite on that level yet though haha. Its a great workout for sure though.
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CRAIGO
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Re: FYI - Mt. Morrison is CLOSED

Post by CRAIGO »

Will they also clean up all the beer bottles on Mt Morrison?
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Re: FYI - Mt. Morrison is CLOSED

Post by MountainHiker »

wildlobo71 wrote:Another good one for some mileage and about 2,400' of gain is Bergen Peak from Elk Meadow in Evergreen. And of course, for a good push vertically - South Boulder and Bear Peak from the Mesa Trail.
With S Boulder and Bear you can also add Green to make it an even bigger day.
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Matt
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Re: FYI - Mt. Morrison is CLOSED

Post by Matt »

The hogbacks along C-470 are good for building character and getting some air without driving far from Denver. There's nothing like a bushwhack through vicious scrub oak on a steep-ass slope to get you going. I've been hiking some of them with a 40lb "training pack," getting the legs some work in lieu of thin air. Most of them have some exposed, fairly easy but quite brushy, class 2+ ridge walking/rock hopping to reach their summits.
My favorite has been Mt. Glennon, right across from downtown Morrison, but there are a bunch of these along C-470 down and beyond. A few have private property issues, but most are Jeffco Open Space. Click the map on the linked page to see more in the Morrison quad.
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