Mountain To Town Hike: Green Mountain
POSTED BY COLIN MURTAGH | DEC, 2 2018
- Where: Boulder Mountain Park
- Trailhead: Green Mountain – West Ridge
- Distance: 3 Miles Round Trip
- Elevation Gain: 800 feet
- Difficulty: Moderate
- Dogs: Allowed On A Leash
- Other: Drive roughly 5 miles west on Flagstaff Road. You will see a sign on the left of the road notifying you that you are “Leaving City of Boulder Open Space & Mountain Parks.” The trailhead begins right behind the sign. There is street parking on the side of the road.
Boulder Mountain Park sits just west of Boulder and has miles of trails. You can opt for a short day hike, or put together some loops for a longer day. A great option for a short day hike, with some amazing 360 degree views, is the West Ridge of Green Mountain.
Green Mountain, at just over 8,000 feet, will certainly get your lungs going if you are not used to the altitude. The West Ridge Route is the easiest and quickest route to the summit. You begin in a meadow surrounded by golden grasses and pines. As you start gaining elevation, you will be treated to amazing views of Boulder to the East.
Once you get to the final stretch just before the summit, you will be treated with quite a few rocky stairs to make it to the top. At the true summit, you will have an amazing view of some of the higher and snowier peaks in the Indian Peaks Wilderness. There is a marker which will help you identify the peaks you are viewing.
This is a perfect hike to plan around sunset, as the views will not disappoint. Once you are finished taking it all in, simply retrace your steps back down to your vehicle.
After taking in a great sunset, you can head right back down to Boulder and enjoy the numerous breweries and restaurants. One of my favorite places to stop is The Post Brewing Co. where you can enjoy a delicious beer and some fried chicken. It’s a great spot for the gluten free eater in your group as well, because you can’t find gluten free chicken in very many spots!
During this hike we were testing Lem’s newly released Trailhead shoe. We were not anticipating as much snow and ice as there was during this hike, so the shoes were really put to the test. We hiked in ice, snow, and mud and I was very pleased with the performance of these shoes. We had no need for microspikes, as the tread on these shoes gave us the traction we needed and kept us from slipping.
Towards the end of the hike, you will have to climb up larger boulders, and the flexible sole of these shoes helped us to navigate this section with ease. The lightweight design kept us quick on our feet throughout the hike. Overall, we were both very pleased with the performance of these shoes!
Colin Murtagh
Colin Murtagh is a portrait, landscape, and lifestyle photographer based in Denver, Colorado. For Colin, “work” really started getting in the way of me following his dreams. So after a 9-year career in business, he decided to leave the corporate world behind and focus on his photography business full time. Follow him on instagram to be a part of the adventure.
Mountain To Town Hike: Green Mountain
BY COLIN MURTAGH | 12.2.2018
- Where: Boulder Mountain Park
- Trailhead: Green Mountain – West Ridge
- Distance: 3 Miles Round Trip
- Elevation Gain: 800 feet
- Difficulty: Moderate
- Dogs: Allowed On A Leash
- Other: Drive roughly 5 miles west on Flagstaff Road. You will see a sign on the left of the road notifying you that you are “Leaving City of Boulder Open Space & Mountain Parks.” The trailhead begins right behind the sign. There is street parking on the side of the road.
Boulder Mountain Park sits just west of Boulder and has miles of trails. You can opt for a short day hike, or put together some loops for a longer day. A great option for a short day hike, with some amazing 360 degree views, is the West Ridge of Green Mountain.
Green Mountain, at just over 8,000 feet, will certainly get your lungs going if you are not used to the altitude. The West Ridge Route is the easiest and quickest route to the summit. You begin in a meadow surrounded by golden grasses and pines. As you start gaining elevation, you will be treated to amazing views of Boulder to the East.
Once you get to the final stretch just before the summit, you will be treated with quite a few rocky stairs to make it to the top. At the true summit, you will have an amazing view of some of the higher and snowier peaks in the Indian Peaks Wilderness. There is a marker which will help you identify the peaks you are viewing.
This is a perfect hike to plan around sunset, as the views will not disappoint. Once you are finished taking it all in, simply retrace your steps back down to your vehicle.
After taking in a great sunset, you can head right back down to Boulder and enjoy the numerous breweries and restaurants. One of my favorite places to stop is The Post Brewing Co. where you can enjoy a delicious beer and some fried chicken. It’s a great spot for the gluten free eater in your group as well, because you can’t find gluten free chicken in very many spots!
During this hike we were testing Lem’s newly released Trailhead shoe. We were not anticipating as much snow and ice as there was during this hike, so the shoes were really put to the test. We hiked in ice, snow, and mud and I was very pleased with the performance of these shoes. We had no need for microspikes, as the tread on these shoes gave us the traction we needed and kept us from slipping.
Towards the end of the hike, you will have to climb up larger boulders, and the flexible sole of these shoes helped us to navigate this section with ease. The lightweight design kept us quick on our feet throughout the hike. Overall, we were both very pleased with the performance of these shoes!
Colin Murtagh
Colin Murtagh is a portrait, landscape, and lifestyle photographer based in Denver, Colorado. For Colin, “work” really started getting in the way of me following his dreams. So after a 9-year career in business, he decided to leave the corporate world behind and focus on his photography business full time. Follow him on instagram to be a part of the adventure.