Colorado hiking?

[Dr. Dasypodidae]

Rather than make a new thread, I'll ask here. I'm looking to move to Denver in about 4 or 5 years. Since Denver is a pretty big place and there are mountains not too far away, I'm wondering... can I get from Denver to any great hiking places via bus and/or other public transportation?

Public transport from Denver (and Boulder) to the mountains via bus is possible, although you will not be able get everywhere that you might wish to go. But, the buses are a lot more common than in the Whites by a long shot.

 

[roadtripper]

Rather than make a new thread, I'll ask here. I'm looking to move to Denver in about 4 or 5 years. Since Denver is a pretty big place and there are mountains not too far away, I'm wondering... can I get from Denver to any great hiking places via bus and/or other public transportation?

There are some AMTRAK stations in Colorado if you want to shoot across the state for a multi-day trip (day trips via AMTRAk would be too expensive to do on a regular basis in my opinion):

Denver
Fort Morgan
Fraser
Frisco
Glenwood Springs
Granby
Grand Junction
La Junta
Lamar,
Pueblo
Trinidad
Vail

 

[sierra]

I lived in the springs for a few years, I would start by hiking Waldo canyon, its a 5 mile loop thats well marked and very nice, I used to train on that loop, its up route 24 about 15 minutes from downtown. You can hike up the barr trail on Pikes peak but its long, I used to hike up the barr to the halfway point (barrcamp) its sits at about 10,000ft and it a rewarding hike in itself not to mention a great aclimaization hike for the 14ers. Heres my suggestions for 14ers.1. Mt.Sherman, The easiest good for a first time.2. Mt.Bierstadt not to tough but very nice. The sawatch range is where you want to be for your first trip. Mt.Yale, Mt.Huron, Mt.Princeton, Mt.Elbert and yes next to breckenridge Quandry is one of my favorites. Ive done alot of the 14ers if you pm me, I would gladly talk for hours to give you some beta on the ins and outs of peaks, distances and aclimization. I dont have a computer so if I dont get back right away dont worry i will, feel free to leave a phone number and we can talk colorado.once you set foot on the rockies its over your hooked, hopefully ill be there in the summer as well. P.S. if you want to hike in NH and talk about your trip let me know as well.

 

[erugs]

Mention of snow still on some trails that time of year is note-worthy. My mother and I went out in mid-May a few years ago to attend my son's graduation from his Outdoor Recreation Leadership program at Colorado Mountain College in Leadville and the high passes around there he had hoped to show us were still closed.

Brian and I would "second" the Barr Trail -- not a day trip to the summit, though. Six miles brings you to Barr Camp and some people arrange to take the cog rr as part of that trip. One thing I've learned about the higher peaks is that people don't plan hikes with a summit necessarily in mind, but rather a destination. Garden of the Gods was beautiful, hot when we were there in September.

Have fun. It's an awesome area.

 

[weatherman]

perspectives from a New Englander who moved here 6 months ago...

Anyplace is great to hike, though my first 14er taught me that it's best to be 1) an established hiker and 2) acclimatized for at least 2 weeks, if you want to have fun hiking all the way to the top of a 14er. if not, you can still do it on some, it just won't be as much fun. As others have noted, peakbagging is absolutely not mandatory to have fun.

June has snow above 12,000 feet most anyplace. The farther south the less snow, though not always. Your tolerance for snow may determine where you end up going. Places east of the Divide may get less and melt out quicker.

If late enough in June (say, after the 15th): go see wildflowers!!!!! Anyplace between treeline and, say, 12,500 feet. Treeline is 11 to 11.5K most places.

Take thunderstorms seriously if you're planning to be up high. Rise EARLY and be down below treeline by 1 PM. EVERY day. Exceptions are unusual between late May and Labor Day. In New England, you can scoot down in 20 minutes or less if you need to, but not in CO.

And locally, if you go to "Gahden o' the Gawds" (nobody here understands when I say that!), go at or before sunrise. The light is waaay better!

Enjoy.

 

[RoySwkr]

Rather than make a new thread, I'll ask here. I'm looking to move to Denver in about 4 or 5 years. Since Denver is a pretty big place and there are mountains not too far away, I'm wondering... can I get from Denver to any great hiking places via bus and/or other public transportation?

Denver has Amtrak service, you can take a train to Boston and then the T to the Blue Hills

You can take an RTD bus to places in the foothills like Nederland, better if you bring your bike to get to the actual trailhead
http://www3.rtd-denver.com/schedules/getRouteList.action?routeType=5

Or join the Colorado Mtn Club, they do carpools from Denver on many hikes