Suggestions for Newbie Trip in Colorado

Hey Chris,

I honestly don't have much experience in the CO area for hiking, but I noticed no one's responded to your post yet. Last August, some friends and I hiked St. Mary's Glacier as part of a larger trip in UT and CO. There's some nice trails, and a small, cold lake at the base of the glacier with some cliffs to jump off of. There's definitely camping in the area, but it was just a day trip for us so I don't know about permits and reservations and such. I feel like it's pretty popular, so I'd look into it soon. It's about an hour from Denver, and you have to pay to park at the trailhead. That's about all I know! There were people bringing their boards up the glacier and snowboarding down if you're into that.

Cheers! Let us know what you decide

there's a couple campsites around Big Meadows that were stunningly beautiful. (near Hallet Peak). No lake, but some really beautiful streams.

Granite falls is another few miles up the trail from the meadow. If your group wants to stretch the legs.

I think the meadow elevation was around 9,000 feet. take some high altitude precautions with the newbies.