Hiking activities in Front Range
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A
Barr Trail
The main trail to Pikes Peak is a popular 12.8-mile trudge from the trailhead near the Manitou Springs Depot at 6600ft. That makes for an elevation gain of 7510ft to the summit at 14,110ft. Many hikers split the trip into two days, stopping to overnight at Barr Camp at the halfway point (10,200ft).
Although you can't buy one-way tickets on the Cog, you may choose to buy a round-trip and use it to get to Barr Camp. You'll have to ask the engineer to stop for you. You'll be let out onto a spur trail 1.5 miles from Barr Camp where you can join the main trail to the summit. Then you can take the train down. That makes the trip a fun 7.5-mile day hike. Also, many hikers leave…
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B
Boulder Falls Trail
A quick and relatively easy ramble along the upper reaches of boulder creek and into its headwaters. This trail begins approximately ten miles west of downtown Boulder, bends into a cozy but dramatic canyon with soaring granite walls and ends at Boulder Falls which alternates between trickling and gushing depending upon the season. A bit more than a one-mile roundtrip.
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C
Royal Arch Trail
Challenging but not excruciating, this roughly two-hour, 3.6-mile, well-signed trail leads you up along the Flatirons, through a vaguely-red rock canyon, through a keyhole and up to a wonderful natural rock arch where you'll perch on boulders, gaze at the Boulder basin, and, on clear days, glimpse the Denver skyline. Grab a trail map at the park office before hiking.
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Escalante Canyon Outfitters
Cofounder of the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance, Grant Johnson and his Escalante Canyon Outfitters are the best for informative multiday hikes through the region. Don Montoya, curator at the Anasazi State Park Museum, runs the archaeo-hikes to Native American sites and rock art.
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Earth Tours
Founder, and main guide, PhD geologist Keith Watt has an enthusiasm for the area that is catching. Choose from among the numerous half- and full-day area hikes offered or take a 4WD trip into the backcountry.
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