Denver Area and RMNP Hikes

[TwoHeartedLoon]

I'll be heading out to Denver from March 3rd to the 8th, as my wife has a conference there. I'm tagging along to be her bell hop, not a bad gig really.

I'll have some time to check out some hikes while I'm there, including a day at RMNP, and I'm looking for some ideas of what trails to hit. Denver area suggestions are more than welcome, as I can take the bus and then an uber/lyft to about anywhere in the Golden/Boulder areas. Given it's March, will I need snow shoes or microspikes for hikes in this area?

I'm also taking a day to hit RMNP, where I'm planning to hike for the day. I figure I have time for two hikes, one long and one short, however it's been a few years since I snowshoed so I'm not sure how much time they add.

Long hike: Flattop Mountain or Twin Sisters?
Short hike: Loch or Lake Haiyaha?

Any other trail suggestions are very welcome, as I'm basing this off of topo maps and alltrails.com reviews! Most importantly, is my appetite bigger than my stomach with trying to plan this many miles, potentially and likely with snowshoes on?

 

[oldgoat]

Trails | Jefferson County, CO

Hopefully the link works, also Google Waterton Canyon. There's some great trails all along the Foothills and Hogback. Redrocks amphitheater has good trails and I'm pretty sure you can take RTD all the way there. I'm sure you will need snowshoes for rmnp, around town here it's hard to say what you would need, it can change day to day

 

[DenverCountryBoy]

Be ready for mud. Some snow on the ground now, but temps will be increasing over the next two weeks.

 

[bowhnter7]

Out of the ones you mentioned I would suggest Flattop Mountain and Lake Haiyaha?
You may transition from boots to spikes to snowshoes. The trails in the park can be fairly packed down and actual snowshoeing not required unless you get "off trail". Both start out at Bear lake, get there early if it's on a weekend.

 

[maninthemaze]

I've been up Flattop mountain and it's a really good trail. It's fairly steep at the lower end and becomes more gradual as you clear tree line. Be prepared for snow. I've walked through snow in June. I wouldn't stop at Flattop though, you might as well summit Hallett Peak.

Keep in mind RMNP is 2 1/2 hours from denver through some twisty roads.

My suggestion would be to add extra days to your wife's thing. Stay at The Stanely hotel in Estes Park. Take their ghost tour of the hotel. After all, it's the hotel that scared Steven King and inspired The Shining.

 

[TwoHeartedLoon]

Thank you for the replies so far!

The Jefferson County website works well, and I'll definitely refer to it for local hikes.

I remember it being muddy when I was in Frisco a few years ago in May. Then we climbed Quandary in feet of snow 2 or 3 days later. Crazy how we could snowshoe and it be 50 all at the same time.

I likely will be hitting the park on Monday, Tuesday, or Wednesday. I'm going to call the ranger office a couple days prior to get an idea of what the conditions are like, as well as checking the weather, before picking my day.

Crossing over to Hallett did cross my mind, depending how much time I had. Likely will be a game time decision though.

I would LOVE to take an extra day to stay in Estes Park, however that's just not in the books. My plan is to leave the hotel at 5am, so I can hit the park by 8am. Hopefully that leaves me enough time to hike what I'd like to hike.

Any other suggestions for hikes, gear, etc. are welcomed!

 

[fngTony]

Bring a camera and binoculars, you never know what you’ll see. Muddy trails are likely, have a second pair of clean shoes to change into. You mentioned golden and boulder, along hwy93 that connects them there is several open space parks. If there is any snow in the forecast try to hit red rocks or roxburough state park, awesome contrast with snow on the red rocks.

 

[TwoHeartedLoon]

Thought I'd give an update so far. Yesterday I took the light rail to Golden to find a hike. The guys at the outdoor/hiking shop downtown Golden pointed me to White Ranch State Park as it was close by so Ubers would be cheap and would offer a good loop. They weren't wrong as the hike gave some good views, varying terrains, and even a group of mule deer does. Oddly enough, I made the news when they were looking for people to interview who were out in the wind. The easement leading to the trail was windy, but once I was up against the hills, the wind really wasn't that bad. I also stayed on the East side of the ridge, and never crested, so I'm sure that helps. A good 5.8 miles later, I was ready for a good stretch and a beer. Or three.

Tomorrow I'm going up to RMNP to do Flattop Mountain. Likely going to be the only trail I do. The ranger I spoke with said the trail is likely snow covered and will be hard to follow, so I downloaded the route to my GPS, just in case stuff gets weird. Looking forward to having lunch on the continental divide!

 

[Back Country Hunter 2]

Thought I'd give an update so far. Yesterday I took the light rail to Golden to find a hike. The guys at the outdoor/hiking shop downtown Golden pointed me to White Ranch State Park as it was close by so Ubers would be cheap and would offer a good loop. They weren't wrong as the hike gave some good views, varying terrains, and even a group of mule deer does. Oddly enough, I made the news when they were looking for people to interview who were out in the wind. The easement leading to the trail was windy, but once I was up against the hills, the wind really wasn't that bad. I also stayed on the East side of the ridge, and never crested, so I'm sure that helps. A good 5.8 miles later, I was ready for a good stretch and a beer. Or three.

Tomorrow I'm going up to RMNP to do Flattop Mountain. Likely going to be the only trail I do. The ranger I spoke with said the trail is likely snow covered and will be hard to follow, so I downloaded the route to my GPS, just in case stuff gets weird. Looking forward to having lunch on the continental divide!

Have fun! Post some pictures from the top if you can.

 

[TwoHeartedLoon]

Have fun! Post some pictures from the top if you can.

Borrowed my brother's Canon T6 for the trip out here and have gotten pretty comfortable with it. Long as everything works out I'll post of photos!

 

[maninthemaze]

If I remember correctly, there's a hitching post on top of Flattop mountain where three trails meet. You should be able to look in almost a 360 from there for views of Longs Peak and several other mountains. Definitely worth the climb. You'll also have Hallett staring you in the face... tempting you. Lol

Best of luck and post some pictures.

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