Hiking

Introduction

Hiking is one the activities we enjoy and Colorado is a wonderful place for outdoor activities. Whether you or on your way to the top of one of the 54 fourteeners or a stroll around a lake, it is just great to be outdoors. We have a view of Longs Peak from our bedroom. Longs Peak is 14,255 feet tall and is the 15th highest peak in Colorado. Highest peak in Colorado is Mount ELbert at 14,433 feet. We have climbed two of the fourteeners -  Pikes Peak and Grays Peak. Here we are at the top of Grays Peak. Our 10-year old and 3-year old both love outdoor as well and go on most of the hikes with us. Being just an hour away from Rocky Mountain National Park gives us many opportunities to hike. This is Lake Haiyaha in Rocky Mountain National Park.

A GPS is very useful tool for hiking. We use a Garmin 60CSx handheld GPS receiver which has excellent signal reception and a fairly useful set of functionality.

Hiking trails

Rocky Mountain National Park, Estes Park, Colorado

Rocky Mountain National Park is one of our favorite places to hike. Most lake trails are beautiful and rewarding. Once you get above timberline, scenery is spectacular. You can get more information on trails in the park here. This is a very good place for park information with beautiful pictures and good narrative - explore-rocky.com

Arches National Park, Moab, Utah

If it is the red rock that moves you, Arches National Park has some beautiful hikes. Couple of our favorites are Delicate Arch trail and Landscape Arch trail. Information about the park and other hiking trails is available here.

Olympic National Park, Port Angeles, Washington

Olympic National Park offers hikes through snow coverd mountains and walks through rain forest. We enjoyed the hikes in Elwha River - Hurricane Ridge area with panoramic views of maountains and forest below.

Our Hikes

• Lily Mountain, Rocky Mountain National Park, Sep 2007
• Lake Isabelle, Indian Peaks Wilderness Area, CO, Sep 2007
• Ouzel Lake, Rocky Mountain National Park, CO, July 2009 - Videos: Trail near bridge over North St Vrain River, Ouzel Falls, Calypso Cascades

Resources

• Colorado Hiking
• ProTrails - God hiking trail information for trail in National Parks and surrounding areas in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, North Carolina, South Dakota and Utah.
• trails.com
• gpsinformation.net
• Garmin
  
• Topo maps for Garmin GPS receivers
  
• Magellan GPS