[jcocci]

Hello, Recently moved from Washington after living there for almost 27 years to Colorado. Looking for some good resources for Colorado hiking. I am living north of Boulder and not far from Estes Park so close to RMNP. Looking for ideas for areas to check out and some good resources for some research. I have checked out 14ers.com and mountainhandbook.com and a few others but nothing so far has been a great resource yet. Hoping to find some good of trail stuff. Yes I can look at a map figure places and routes out. Hoping to get at least get some good starter ideas. Not looking for anyone's secret spots just some ideas of places to check and also avoid maybe. Thanks.

[Matt Lemke]

I'm suprised that 14ers.com wasn't useful for you. That site literally spells out the step by step instructions to hiking all the CO 14ers lol The scene on 14ers.com and its associated FB group is asinine though. People are such dicks. I live in Colorado on and off and have climbed all over the state. There's tons of awesome hikes in RMNP. Check out Sky Pond, that is one of my favorites, plus, Petit Grepon towers directly above and is one of my favorite climbs I've done. Don't miss the San Juans or the Elks if you have time to drive all the way down there. Check out the Pierre Lakes Basin in the Elks for one of the few actually remote places in Colorado. Siberia Lake is also a quiet spot. In the San Juans, you'll find the only real vast rugged mountain wilderness with no people in Colorado outside the Gores. Specifically go to the Grenadier range (Vestal Trinity Peaks and beyond) and the Needle Range (Silux, The Guardian, Mount Oso, Jagged Mountain etc). You can take the Silverton Durango train to access these areas or hike in from Purgatory. The Gores are also excellent, but don't tell any Coloradoans I said that Lots of great scrambles on the letter peaks (Peak Q, Peak L etc). Eagles nest, Mount Powell and Peak C on the north end of the Gores are a few of my favs too. If you have spent a lot of time climbing and seeing the best that the WA Cascades has to offer like I have, Colorado will disappoint you if you go to the wrong areas. You can skip everything in the Front, Sawatch, Tenmile, and Mosuito ranges if you are looking for rugged remote wilderness. If you're looking for quick easy hikes (albiet at elevation) that you can drive 80% the way up then those ranges are great. I live in both WA and CO so feel free to ask me anything. I have seen nearly all each state has to offer.

[jcocci]

Thanks for the info Matt. I could have been more clear about the 14ers site. Yes its helpful but only with 14ers, which I plan on doing. I definitely plan on checking out the San Juans and some other areas that are a further drive. I am also psyched that I live closer to the Wind Rivers now too. Being so close to RMNP I definitely see myself there a lot.

[gb]

I have 100 Classic Hikes in Colorado and found it pretty well laid out and useful. I have hiked in the San Juan's, near Crested Butte, Aspen, and Eccles Pass. Years ago I climbed Hallett and in Rocky Mountain NP.

[jcocci]

[gb]

[jcocci]

[Joey]

Rocky Mountain NP trails. This trail data is on a NPS GIS server. If you toggle the trail layer on/off then you will see that the GIS data includes some trails that are not shown on the topo map. Open GISsurfer map: https://mappingsupport.com/p2/gissurfer.php?center=40.305561,-105.677490&zoom=13&basemap=ESRI_scanned_topo_USA&overlay=Rocky_Mountain_NP_Trails,ESRI_roads_and_labels&inline=overlay^name=Rocky_Mountain_NP_Trails^url=https://services1.arcgis.com/fBc8EJBxQRMcHlei/ArcGIS/rest/services/RockyMountainNPTrails/FeatureServer/0^layers=0

[80skeys]

I grew up in NM and lived in Colorado on the Western Slope for about 2 years. I've spent a lot of time backpacking and fishing throughout Colorado and I've got a good friend who lives in Boulder. You really can't go wrong anywhere in the Colorado mountains. I have many very fond memories from all over the state: hiking up Brush Creek west of Pueblo in the middle of the night and catching large trout on every third cast; having a beaver slap its tale at me while fly fishing in the middle of the Uncompaghre; sitting in hot springs at Pagosa in the middle of winter watching the snow fall. If you can get right smack in the middle of the San Juans, as deep as you can between Ouray and Pagosa Springs, you can't go wrong. Other favorite areas: - The hiking trails that head out into the mountains from the backside of the NCAR facility in Boulder are quite nice - the trails around the Aspen area are very nice. This is possibly my favorite area of Colorado, it's very beautiful - the San Juan mountains, both the east side (Creede, Wolf Creek areas) and the west side (Ouray) are awesome. - The Grand Mesa on the Western Slope is interesting. These mountains are different in the sense that they are more forested with firs and different kinds of trees, and kinda remind me more of mountains that you might see in the Sierras or Idaho. i've been keen for years to backpack Holy Cross Wilderness, which I have never done. Rocky Mountain National Park is also quite nice but I have only driven through it, I have never backpacked or hiked there. If there's any complaint at all I would have about Colorado hiking - and this isn't enough of a complaint to make me avoid it by any means - but there's many backpacking routes where you're above treeline a lot of the time. I generally prefer forested areas rather than being out and exposed all the time. Just a personal preference.

[BigBrunyon]

Its either a 14ER or a trainer. Have an objective.