The Front Range is a section of the Rocky Mountains that extends down from Wyoming into Central Colorado through cities like Fort Collins in the North, down to Pueblo in more southern Colorado. Being from Missouri, this section of mountains holds a special place in my heart. As a “flatlander” growing up, I never knew what TRUE elevation was. I never got to feel the cold brisk wind and the effects of the thin air as you inch closer and closer towards the sky. Not until visiting the Colorado Rockies.
If you travel directly West from my home in Missouri, after hours and hours of corn or bean fields and cattle ranches, one of the first peaks you’ll see WAYYY in the distance is Pike’s Peak. To truly appreciate the size of this mountain is to see it from the road and then continue to drive HOURS before ever actually getting there. For many of us road-tripping Midwesterners, the Colorado Front Range is the first chance to get a glimpse at these grandiose geological “master-peaks”.
The Colorado front range is one of the most beautiful places to visit any time of year, especially for all the hiking enthusiasts out there. We lived in Longmont, Colorado from January-April 2021, and during that time we got to check off many great Colorado hikes in the surrounding area.
If you’re looking for even more incredible Colorado hikes, check out our blog post THE BEST ALPINE LAKE HIKES TO DO IN COLORADO.
COLORADO/MANITOU SPRINGS & THE SURROUNDING AREAS
THE INCLINE & BARR TRAIL
The infamous Incline trail is a very well-known Colorado hike. If you’re looking for an incredible challenge that won’t take you all day to finish, this is the hike for you. The nearly 2000ft elevation gain is all completed in 1 mile of continuous steps going directly up the side of Pike’s Peak. After completing all 2,744 steps you can choose to continue on to summit Pike’s Peak, hike back down the stairs (which would be rough), or trek down the more friendly switchback Barr Trail.
Although The Incline is a hard trail, it’s a great feat and one I highly recommend if you have the courage.
GARDEN OF THE GODS
You can’t pass through Colorado Springs and not stop by the Garden of the Gods. This iconic location is free to the public and full of incredibly unique red rock formations, easy hikes, fun activities, and lots of wildlife!
This loop trail will take you around the majority of the large formations that everyone wants to see. You will hop on three separate trails that all combine to make one epic and easy trail throughout the park. The 4-mile hike will take about an hour and a half to complete in total, which gives you plenty of time to explore the rest of the park by car or partake in other fun experiences the park offers, such as rock climbing.
PAINT MINES INTERPRETIVE PARK
If you have time, I would highly recommend making the one-hour trip East of Colorado Springs to the Paine Mines Interpretive Park. The Paint Mines are a smaller version of the Badlands, an area of colorful exposed layers of eroded Earth that date back to almost 9,000 years ago! This park is free to public, but does not allow dogs, animals, or drones. I wouldn’t recommend this hike following a heavy rain or snow as it’d likely be very muddy, but otherwise, this is a great spot for some instaworthy pics!
This easy loop trail will guide you along colorful rock formations, slot canyons, and more. It’s the perfect hike if you have kids or are looking for an easy hike away from crowds!
GOLDEN
HUNTSMAN GULCH TRAIL
The Huntsman Gulch Trail is a quick steep hike outside of Golden that will surely get your heart rate up! The hike offers great views of the winding roads weaving through the Colorado Rockies, as well as a chance to spot some mountain terrain wildlife. This is a perfect trail to get away from the crowds, get a great workout in, and enjoy some incredible views!
DENVER
RED ROCKS AMPHITHEATER
Most people have heard of the Red Rocks Amphitheater, an incredibly unique venue for concerts, theatre, and more performances just outside of Denver, CO. This area also offers great hikes to view more red rock formations, similar to Garden of the Gods. The amphitheater seating is free and open to the public when not in use. The stairs themselves make for a great thigh-burning workout or calming place to practice yoga. It also offers a great place to sit down and have a picnic following your hike.
Red Rocks trading post trail is an easy hike that features incredible red rock formations, wildlife, and on a clear day, views for miles. This trail can be easily adjusted to suit your time frame, whether you’re looking for a longer or shorter hike, you can connect/disconnect to the other trails nearby to fit your needs.
BOULDER
CHAUTAUQUA & BLUEBELL TRAIL
This family-friendly trail is great for a quick hike with stunning views of the Flatirons, Boulder’s beautiful backdrop. Parking can be a bit tricky, so get there early if you want a spot at the trailhead. This trail can also be great for sledding following a big snow!
ROYAL ARCH
This trail stems from the Chautauqua-Bluebell loop mentioned above. A moderate/hard hike due to its fairly steep incline for most of the trail, but the effort is worth it as it leads to an incredible natural arch rock formation that opens up to reveal a great panoramic view of Boulder and the expanse of the Great Plains extending for miles at the cusp of the Front Range.
ENCHANTED MESA & MCCLINTOCK NATURE TRAILS
Across a small valley from Chautauqua Park are the connecting Enchanted Mesa and McClintock trails. These trails offer similar, just a bit more distant, views of the Flatirons with less traffic and a section of trail that passes through beautiful large pine trees. Again, a great family-friendly hike or place to get a quick jog in.
FLATIRONS VISTA TRAIL
This trail is unique in that it allows you to traverse through an open to the public cattle ranch, where you have a chance to walk side by side with some friendly bovine beauties while admiring a silhouetted view of the Flatirons and the surrounding peaks. Please be careful if planning to bring a dog on this trail as it may spook some of the cattle and cause harm!!
LONGMONT
MCCINTOSH LAKE
This lakeside trail has minimal elevation gains, offers views of some beautiful Colorado homes, mountains in the distance, and traverses past several prairie dog towns. A well rounded, family-friendly and easy trail.
FOOTHILLS SOUTH TRAIL TO OLD KILN SPUR TRAIL
Just as the name suggests, this trail sits along the foothills of the front range. It can be a great trail to spot some deer or bighorn sheep on the mountainside. Furthermore, it’s got a dog park nearby for all the dog owners or dog lovers out there.
LITTLE THOMPSON OVERLOOK
Tucked into the Rabbit Mountain Open Space, Little Thompson Overlook is a great little trail to feel the transition between the vastness of the Great Plains and the pure magnitude of the Colorado Rockies.
EAGLE WIND TRAIL
The Eagle Wind Trail shares a trailhead with the Little Thompson Overlook trail. Everything that was said for that trail could be said for this one, as well. Depending on how much time you have, this trail gives you the option of a bit longer distance tacked on to your hike.
FORT COLLINS
SOUTH RIDGE & HORSETOOTH ROCK TO HORSETOOTH MOUNTAIN
This is a MUST DO Colorado hike for those in the Fort Collins area. Horsetooth Rock/Mountain was aptly named by the Native Americans for its appearance. Its historic and spirit-filled nature can be felt atop this rocky geological landmark. Be sure to drive down around Horsetooth Reservoir to relax following your hike.
LYONS
BITTERBRUSH SHORT LOOP
If you want to take the EXTRA scenic route to get to Estes Park, I highly recommend taking Highway 7 from Lyons towards Allenspark. We drove this highway countless times just to appreciate the views; however, off this highway is the Hall Ranch, a public open space for hiking. This space is great because it offers many different trail options with varying lengths and difficulties. We only had time for the Bitterbrush short loop, which overlooks many rolling grasslands and sandstone buttes. But if you’re looking for a longer more challenging hike you could continue on to the Nighthawk trail or branch off onto the Antelope and Nelson loop trails.
ESTES PARK
MOUNT OLYMPUS
This hike was one of my favorite Colorado front range hikes. As you are driving into Estes Park on Highway 36 from Lyons, you will run into the Estes Park welcome sign. From there look North beyond the sign and you’ll see Mount Olympus. This hike provides a moderately difficult challenge considering the quick elevation gain. The summit offers views overlooking Estes Park, Lake Estes, Longs Peak, and many of the other peaks packed into Rocky Mountain National Park.
ROCKY MOUNTAIN NATIONAL PARK
DREAM LAKE TRAIL
This trail is likely the highest-trafficked trail in RMNP and for good reason! This trail offers some of the best up-close views of the unique glacier-carved peaks. At the trailhead is Bear Lake for those looking to just relax at a great alpine lakeside location. And along the way to Dream Lake, you will pass Nymph Lake. Because Dream Lake Trail has so much to offer you may have to wait in line just to park, even in the dead of winter. So, either arrive early or be prepared to wait your turn.
THE LOCH VIA GLACIER GORGE TRAIL
As I stated earlier, we lived in the area from January-April, thus many of the high-altitude hikes were closed for the winter OR you had to snowshoe in. Hiking to The Loch was my first snowshoe experience. I expected to feel weighed down when wearing the snowshoes, but it was honestly the opposite. The feeling of walking atop snow that you know is several feet deep, like Legalus on Lord of the Rings, I’ve never felt cooler. I have not done this hike in the Summer, but the views of the surrounding peaks are incredible. If given the chance, I’d recommend attempting a snowshoe hike on this trail if up for the challenge.
*I would consider this trail hard if you are snowshoeing.
COLORADO FRONT RANGE HIKES ON OUR TO-DO LIST
We hope to return to Colorado soon and continue to check many of these trails off our to-do list but for now, I figured I’d at least share the other trails I was interested in throughout the Colorado front range that would likely be worth a visit.
- Longs Peak in RMNP
- Roxborough State Park – South Rim and Willow Creek Loop Trail
- Chair Rocks via Colorado Trail
- Palisade Mountain– near Fort Collins
- Lake Haiyaha in RMNP
- Battle Mountain in RMNP
- Cascade Creek Trail to Mirror Lake and Crater Lake
- Green Mountain– Boulder, CO
- Rattlesnake Gulch Trail as well as Eldorado Canyon Trail in Eldorado Canyon State Park
- Devil’s Backbone Nature Trail– Loveland, CO
This is by no means an all-inclusive list, but rather OUR top hikes that we got to do. If we missed any, please leave a comment below with YOUR favorite hikes in the area. Feel free to contact us for any questions about these Colorado front range hikes or you can email me. Have fun hiking!!