2-3 night loop in CO for beginners

So, not high alpine stuff?

Lost Creek Wilderness is close to both Colorado Springs and Denver. It's one of my two "backyard" spots from Colorado Springs. If you're not going very far west it's probably your best bet. Lot's of various loops to string together, there. Not the usual "Rocky Mountain Experience" in that it is forested and not remotely alpine. Dondo and Pmags, both of whom are far better photographers than I, have some outstanding photos in trip reports on their blogs:

http://www.pmags.com/?s=lost+creek&submit=Search

https://dondo1.wordpress.com/2011/07/07/lost-creek-box-canyon/

It helps that even if you decide to bushwhack off of the well-established trails you still CANNOT get lost in Lost Creek. You can get a might confused for a bit, but not lost. All you have to do is go up a nearby hill and look around.

Here's a trip report of mine from a different region- the South San Juans:

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=67107

That would seem to meet your criteria- mostly forested, clear trails. It looks a lot like your pics. But is probably a bit off your route. You'd have to loop way south through Alamosa and the San Luis Valley on Rt.160 to get there.

I keep thinking of great loops that size- like in Indian Peaks- but they're far more rugged than I think you want.

If you go out through Aspen (and the drive through Independence Pass is spectacular) then the Maroon Bells Four Pass Loop is probably considered THE classic Colorado loop hike of that size. It's up high, though- it's more alpine than your pics- but well trod and easy to follow. That time of year it tends to see a lot of traffic, though.

Also lots of potential loops in Flat Tops Wilderness near Glenwood Springs (bonus to have the Glenwood Hot Springs to recover in). And it also looks like your pics, not high alpine per se, though there are of course some trails on a high exposed plateau. But that may be a bit out of your way if you're just hitting Kremmling. Dondo, again:

https://dondo1.wordpress.com/2013/08/17/flat-tops-wilderness/

Bear in mind that he has pics of some extreme stuff- like the Devil's Causeway- but it isn't all like that, especially if you stay on the west side. The trails may not quite be as well-defined as you want, though.

If you are heading west a bit are you going through Buena Vista and Leadville? I'm sure you could find a loop in Collegiate Peaks Wilderness (another bonus for nearby Princeton Hot Springs). I'd need to check my maps when I get home to name anything, though.

I'm a fan of the Sangre de Cristo Mountains and Great Sand Dunes National Park, which is my other "backyard" spot from Colorado Springs. Not many nice loops there, though- certainly not on well-established trails. Most of such loops are on the east side and involve part of the Rainbow Trail, which is open to ATV traffic. The Venable/Comanche Loop is possible and doesn't involve the ATVS but is probably just an over-nighter. I've never done it, though, so I cannot testify to trail conditions. It goes over the ridge and back, including part of North Fork Crestone Trail. (Hmm, maybe I'll scout that for you if the snow melts out soon…) If you aren't hard on loops there are lots of spectacular out-and-back hikes in the Sangres comfortably close to Colorado Springs. And one shuttle I've wanted to try is having a drop off to hike over Music Pass, down Sand Creek, and out through Great Sand Dunes. It's probably 3 days.

If you're in Colorado Springs and claim to be a trail runner… an ambitious dayhike is to the top of Pikes Peak and back via the Barr Trail. 7800 feet of elevation gain in 13 miles, woop! (One-way.) Most folks have to hit the trailhead pretty early to pull it off, though. And to get decent parking. As in 04:00. I got there at 05:00 once, wasted time finding parking, and didn't quite have time to summit. But I'm old and slow. Supposedly someday there will be a Ring-the-Peak Trail around Pikes Peak- sort of a mini-Wonderland Trail- but it does not yet exist except in disjointed and unconnected fragments. There's a way to do it, but it involves an awful lot of road-walking.

Hey, I wonder if there is a way to summit Pikes Peak on the Barr Trail, go down Crags Trail on the back side, and connect it to the northern bit of Ring-the-Peak that's finished to go back to Manitou Springs. Hmm. Does Crags connect? I'll look into it when I get home to my maps.

While I was looking at Dondo links I found another report that piqued my interest, but I don't know much about it:

https://dondo1.wordpress.com/2013/07/14/snowmass-and-willow-lakes-loop/

Thank you Dean! I'll take a look over your suggestions tonight.

Indian Peaks has a nice loop that will take you up to Devils Thumb lake then a short section of the Continental Divide and back down to King lake. You could take your time and spend 3 days doing it. The Hessie Trailhead is near Nederland. It a nice loop that has everything with a small dose above treeline.

The map is #103 (Winter Park,Central City,Rollins Pass).

Scott, Looking at the Boulder county website, "Camping is prohibited in all open space. The Fairgrounds Campground in Longmont is the only exception."

Maybe I'm at the wrong place?

I'm thinking Maroon Bells at the moment. Wondering if we can do it in 3 days.

You will need a permit to camp in Indian Peaks Wilderness depending on the month. I believe the Maroon Bells loop would be more strenous than this route. Indian Peaks is a beautiful place and you could easily do this route in 3 days.

Indian Peaks Wilderness is thankfully not controlled by the bozos who run the city or County of Boulder. Nor is any other US Forest Service or BLM land.

The camping ban on Open Space in and around Boulder is ostensibly to prevent vagrants from taking up residency, but it does make it tricky to test out gear nearby if you don't have a suitable spot. There is a lot of NIMBYism here.

IPW permits can be picked up at the Ranger Station in Boulder. In summer midweek trips are easier to score permits for the best designated campsites, although some parts of IPW also have dispersed camping too.

"ostensibly"–Yeah, well, I know what you do near your foothills house, buddy. But when they catch you, they won't think you are homeless, not with that Hilleberg tent. Myself, I quit doing overnight gear tests in the open space near my place a few years ago–too many skunks and racoons checking me out…

I think the local USFS people here also operate in a bozo manner, Stuart, just in a different way. They don't have enough manpower to patrol the campgrounds and bust the ones that live there all summer. Or control the gun guys that do target practice in their campsites after dark.

Back on topic: I agree with the Devil's Thumb-Divide-Kings Lake loop from the Hessie trailhead. If you can be sure of zero clouds/no rain with a full moon, a night atop the Divide is splendid. But also, the Hessie trailhead gets so busy on weekends that they have begun to run a shuttle bus to the trailhead from the Nederland High School. That would only be a bummer if you had to bail in the middle of the night after the bus stops running. It's best to do that loop in the middle of the week, to avoid the day hikers and the bus.

Constant travel to CA for work, and regular mountain lion sightings have put the kibosh on those plans, Gary.

Are there off trails there to extend the hike to 2-3 nights? Looks like it's a 14-16 mile route, and looking at Paul's comments (http://www.pmags.com/fall-up-high-devils-thumb-king-lake-loop) I think he did it in a single day.

There are always off-trail options…but not sure if the IPW is a good place for off-trail options for beginners. :)

Rocky Mtn Park is, IMO, much more friendly to non-scrambilicious off-trail hiking.

Having said that, if you are new to backpacking and coming from lower elevation, the ~15 miles (with some very good elevation gain) is probably about right for a 2-3 day trip. Running, while helpful for fitness, is not the same as gain 3000' with a light pack. (Assuming these are not your typical runs).

There are other options in the IPW, but I'd be a little more conservative with your mileage if you and your girlfriend are new to backpacking…esp if you are not looking for too much elev gain.

Some other Devils Thumb options (I would not do the off-trail option. It is quite lovely, but not suggested for beginners)

http://www.pmags.com/tag/devils-thumb