My wife and I have done a fair amount of backpacking in Colorado all over the state, but not serious backpacking with our daughter, who is 3 years old (soon to be 4 in July). Last year, when she was 2 (almost 3) years old, we did a short backpack (about 1.5 mi each way) in the Holy Cross Wilderness. Cross Creek trail to be exact. We ended up having to carry her almost half the way. :)
We will be staying in Denver around July 12-26 this year and are looking for a short trip either in or around Rocky Mountain National Park, perhaps in the Indian Peaks Wilderness, which is one of our favorites to dayhike. We are looking to do around 3-4 miles total round trip as an overnight trip, or perhaps a bit longer for 2 nights out. It's really hard to predict with our daughter. We're hoping she can hike a bit longer this year but it's hard to say. Is there a short hike to a high (but not too high) scenic lake, or a short loop? Or perhaps a hike along a river/stream with scenic meadows? We did the Tonahatu trail towards Flattop Mountain in RMNP and the beginning was fairly easy, but now I hear that bear cannisters are required in the park, so that's quite a turnoff for us since we like to travel as lightweight as possible.
I was thinking perhaps Indian Peaks Wilderness? Or NeverSummer Wilderness? Or Holy Cross again? I'd say that if we could do a little fishing it would be a big plus, although not essential. It would be nice to stay close to water, or arrive at a lake. If we could find a trail where it is scenic all along the way, we could stop whenever our daughter gets tired.
