Cascade-Chipita Park, Colorado

About an hour from Colorado's busy Garden of the Gods is a multi-colored hoodoo valley called, The Paint Mines. Similar in appearance to Utah's popular Goblin Valley, The Paint Mines offer colorful hoodoo formations making your photography here even more awe inspiring.Getting to the park is easy,...

Waterton Canyon is the beginning of the Colorado Trail which stretches 500 miles from Denver to Durango. Camping is allowed on the Colorado Trail but is not allowed in the first 6 miles section of Waterton Canyon, which is managed by Denver Water. The gravel road is great for running, biking, hi...

This loop trail is 2.7 miles long but has several options for overlooks that add 0.8 miles to the trip. This is an easy hike with minimal elevation gain and is a great option for the whole family. Every time I've done this hike I've seen numerous deer which only adds to the hike! 

Day 1: Park at the Payne Creek/Brookside Trailhead (8,040 ft.) right outside Bailey. You'll go on the trail for about a mile before the trail parts to Craig Meadows or Craig Park. If you start this in the nighttime, it's best to camp before you part ways on the trail as it's a little more spaciou...

From the parking lot, you can take the Meadowlark trail to the west or the Plymouth Creek Trail to the southeast. It does not matter which trail you take because it ends up becoming loop. For a more gradual slope up the hill, take the Meadowlark trail. After a little more than a mile, it intersec...

Hildebrand Ranch Park is often overshadowed by the other nearby Jeffco Parks, but for the few that it does attract the trails do not disappoint.   The Two Brands Trail starts at about 5600ft just off of Deer Creek Canyon Rd.  It is a relatively flat trail that tops out at about 5821ft making it a...

Begin on Staunton Ranch Trail for 3.3 miles. Switch to Bugling Elk Trail for the next 1.1 miles, then to Lion's Back Trail for the last mile to the overlook. From here, you can create the loop by backtracking to the Chimney Rock Trail, which then connects with the Elk Falls Trail. To head back to...

The sunset is great all around the park, but if you're looking for a bit of an adventure and one of my favorite unknown spots follow along below: Entering the North entrance of the park turn right onto the gravel road right before entering the park gates. Continue down the gravel road through the...

We all love to live our weekends to the fullest, but say you're itching for an adventure and it's midweek with the weekend still a good 3 or 4 days away? South Valley Park is the place to go if you're looking for an after-work adventure or just don't feel like driving too far from the city. A sho...

The Antero Reservoir was the first dam built on the South Platte River. The reservoir is best known for its large rainbow trout and rainbow x cutthroat hybrid trout. It's also home to brown trout, snake river cutthroat trout, cutthroat trout, brook trout, and splake.The earth filled Antero Dam wa...

The Basics: Pueblo Reservoir is one of the largest bodies of water on the Front Range, which isn't saying much, but in my opinion this is the best recreation area around Pueblo! Thanks to Southern Colorado Trail Builders, there are dozens of miles of well-maintained trails throughout 3 main arms ...

Located just outside of Evergreen, this beginner hike is a great escape from the city for a few hours. There are three different options to hike to the falls: Maxwell Falls Lower Trail (4 miles), Upper Maxwell Falls Trail (1.1 miles), and Maxwell Falls Bluffs Cliffside Trail Loop (5 miles). On th...