Day hikes near Denver?

I am still often backcountry skiing in early June just outside of Nederland. :)

Your best bet at that time of the year are the foothills outside of Denver, Boulder, Golden and other areas.

Lots of good hiking ideas here:
http://www.protrails.com/area/4/boulder-denver-golden-fort-collins-lyons

One idea is to car camp at Golden Gate Canyon SP listed in the above link and do hikes based out of there. A little pricey IMO for car camping ($20/night)..but cheaper than a motel room! :) Lots of great day hikes. Has a surprisingly remote feel being so close to the Denver metro area. The hikes are right out of the camping areas.

Thanks for the suggestions, anyone have any feelings about hiking in the snow around there? Is it possible to travel with microspikes on well impacted trails anywhere in this area? We have winter hiking gear…

By winter gear, do you mean snowshoes or skis? :) In Denver, on 3/22, it is currently snowing. More so at 10k ft. If I was not taking a class today, i would be skiing.

So, unless you want to posthole next month, you will need skis or snowshoes. Micro spikes will not cut it. Stick
to the foothills next month or bring the appropriate winter transportation. (Say 10k or below)

Yeah we aren't traveling with skis, maybe we can rent snowshoes somewhere? Goal is to check nothing on the plane :)

So you think we're ok below 10K feet?

Thanks for the info.

Last April we had 48 inches of snow in Boulder, meaning 60+ in the mountains. This was above average but by no means freakish. If you want to travel west of the peak to peak highway you will be much better off with snowshoes or skis – they are usually needed well into May. Paul's suggestion to camp at Golden Gate Park is a good one – there are lots of scenic trails there that should be passable. Be prepared for high winds, especially at the Reverends Ridge CG.

Try REI for snowshoe rentals. And keep your eyes on the SNOTEL snowpack reports in the next couple of weeks. That should give you an idea whether we're still accumulating the fresh stuff (which is normal for another 6 weeks or so), or if we've started the melt/runoff cycle early.

I was out just north of Quandary Peak at around 10,000ft this weekend. The established trails were snow packed but as soon as you step off-trail, it's very slow going without snowshoes.

The 10k is a rough rule of thumb. Depends if we get another snow dump between now and next month and even where the hike is located. ~9k or below is probably a safer, overall bet. (In other words, the foothills :) )

For grins, here's a photo at 11300' in Early *JUNE* of last year:

The trailhead to this ski is more or less just up the road from Ned. (Blue Lake area for you locals)

Basically I agree with Mags – late April is still winter in the high country. It usually is possible to do some of the more popular peaks w/o flotation because the trails get packed. These would be Longs Peak or Pikes Peak. I understand that Longs was doable w/o flotation (but with ax & crampons) a few days ago. But, those are serious, long outings at high elevation.

I'd start with Boulder Mtn Parks. Go to Chautauqua and hike up Green Mtn (8100') via Gregory Canyon and the Ranger Trail, then down the same way or via Bear Canyon. Park right where Lehigh St becomes Greenbriar Blvd and ascend Bear Peak (8500') via Fern Canyon, then bop over to South Boulder Peak and down via Shadow Canyon. Any of this might or might not require traction at that time (you'd want it today). These are nice, steep, rocky hikes to excellent summits with fabulous views of the higher peaks to the west. No scrambling, but you can get a look at infinite possibilities for that in the area. Maps at osmp.org . That would get you started.

If you want to get higher, you could try Twin Sisters east of Longs Peak – over 11,000' and fabulous views of Longs. Estes Cone would be another option in the same area, though again you may find some serious snow at that time.

If you take Mags' advice and spend some time in Golden Gate Canyon State Park, see if you can get up Mt Thorodin (see summitpost). It's more or less a bushwhack, but there's an old road & last time I was there there were cairns. It's a lovely summit.

Well thanks again for all these options and the info. I've decided to just stay at the lower altitude areas and wander with my red-eyed friends for the 4/20 weekend somewhere that they won't have any issues with… after all, it will be 4/20 weekend with friends who don't hike the way I do. I think I'll spend my time scouting out some real hikes and return in June or next summer for some real peak-enjoying. If anyone can recommend a good small-trout or tenkara stream that is easily accessible, anywhere between Denver/Boulder and Nederland that would be much appreciated as well. That's something that I presume is better at this time of year?