Six Beautiful Hikes in Boulder

Charles and I went on a hike this weekend and I wanted to share a few of the hikes that we’ve done here in Boulder. Boulder is right in the foothills of the mountains, so there are hundreds of trails practically out our back door. We have mostly stuck with moderate hikes, but there’s really plenty for everyone! So, here are six beautiful hikes in Boulder!

Pines to Peak Loop

We’ll start with an easy one! Pines to Peak Loop is a easy 1.1 mile loop. We stumbled on this hike on a Sunday drive and decided to check it out. It was easy enough that I was able to do the while hike in my good ole Sperrys. It’s a great hike for beginners and views were beautiful. (Don’t be fooled by my picture… I did a bit of off roading to get a fun picture).

Boulder Falls

Boulder Falls is a very short, (0.3 miles) out and back hike, but the terrain is definitely more challenging than the previous hike. While you can’t see the Falls from the road, a short hike will get you a fantastic view of the waterfall. We took my parents when they were visiting and it’s a great spot for pictures.

Hogback Ridge

This hike is a 2.8 mile loop in the foothills of the mountains. Hogback Ridge is a moderate hike that has a moderately steep incline going up followed by a slow decline down the other side. Both my mom and Charles’ mom did this hike in the summer, which is quite impressive, might I add! Charles and I saw 15+ deer while on this hike and apparently rattlesnake sitings are relatively common. It’s not shaded, so that’s definitely something to keep in mind before heading on this hike but the views are definitely worth it.

Green Mountain West

Green Mountain West Trail is a 4 mile, out and back moderate hike with fantastic view of south Boulder. The trail is actually a nice gradual incline until the last quarter mile or so, which is basically a steep incline up rocks. Unlike HogRidge, this trail is mainly covered, so it’s great in the summertime (if you can find parking!). We did this hike with another couple shortly after moving to Boulder and it was very doable in regards to elevation. I only have picture, but when looking one direction, you got a beautiful view of the mountains while the other direction gave an ariel view of Boulder.

Lion’s Lair Spur

Charles and I did Lion’s Lair Spur this past weekend. We originally had plans to do a different hike, but as we got closer, it turns out Charles had already done it mountain biking, so I hopped on All Trails and found this one instead. It was a fantastic hike. Lion’s Lair Spur is a 4.1 mile out and back hike up to Mount Sanitas. It has a moderate incline the entire way up and a steep incline right before the peak. The top gives gorgeous view of North Boulder. It was about 33 degrees on the day we went, but it hadn’t snowed recently so it was a good hike for us to do without needing microspikes.

Canyon Loop

Lastly is Canyon Loop. This is the trail that Charles and I were going to do, but he had already done mountain biking. It’s a moderate, 3.3 mile loop trail in Betasso Preserve. Mountain bikers are allowed on this trail except on Saturday and Wednesday, so it’s important to be on the lookout. While I haven’t done this trail yet, Charles said it was a great biking trail.

Living in Boulder gives easy access to a lot of hikes. While we’ve only done a handful, we can’t wait to keep exploring the beautiful mountains of Colorado. Check out some of my other Colorado reviews, including Estes Park and Vail!