Boulder Part 1: Break out your camelbak cause were going hiking!

You guessed it this post is all about hiking! Let me be frank, I am not a big outdoors activity girl myself. The "great outdoors" in my mind is a nice beach with a tropical drink in my hand. Not to say I don't appreciate adventurous activities, but I know who I am and I won't try to pretend I'm Mrs.Wilderness Adventure Queen. However, with that being said,  one does not have to be a rock climbing, rafting outdoorsy type to enjoy what Boulder has to offer. The hikes/walks we did were easy and because of the weather on one day kept our excursions at times short lived. The nice thing about the parks and trails is there is something for all levels of fitness and hiking enthusiasm. Even if your not one to climb a mountain, there are some gorgeous hikes that are short and sweet that everyone can enjoy. Also, if you like to rock climb they have those too! Unfortunately, I will not be posting about those trails so you have clicked on the wrong blog sorry!

Chautauqua Park

Most of our hiking was done in Chautaugua Park. There are so many trails that cross paths you could hike for hours or... take a quick hike and find the closest bar. I'm a fan of the later!

This is the base, but some trails can be accessed from other roads. We stayed down the street so we came here twice! The first day it rained so our hike got cut short, but we went on the Bluebell trails. The second day we also checked out another Bluebell trail route that connected with some other trails... honestly I don't remember. This place has a ton of options and is a hikers paradise. You can get to the Flat Irons from these trails as well. For the more advanced or adventurous check it out! I am only good at climbing into bed, so I opted out of anything more than walking as if on a stair master. Still gotta work them buns!

This is the main starting trail where it links up with a ton of the other routes.

On the Bluebell trail we ran into an rock garden, I think that what it would be called. At this point it had started to snow/rain so we turned around, thank god we did because the pup was not happy. Halfway into our decent the snow turned into cold rain.

This is the cold rain/snow mutant I was telling you about! Our "rain" jackets were tested and they didn't pass. By the time we walked back home, our pockets were filled with water puddles and I now have an idea what it feels like to be in one of those ice champers.  There is a difference between water proof and water resistant, why anyone would make something water resistant is beyond me. Just make the freaking coats water proof and be done.

 This is from the second hike, I decided to build my own rock statue. I am planning on making my sister-in-law go back and check that my masterpiece is still standing.

Crazy hair don't care... maybe a little...

Photo from the bottom.

This is the Bluebell road, there is a bathroom here in case you gotta go!

Can't get enough of this rock garden.

Settlers Park
Another set of trails that you can get to walking distance from the city is Settlers Park. Here you can see the Red Rocks. The climb is short, steep and worth the view. You can follow the trail to a park and cut through the Mount Sanitas trails, which we did.

Pondering where the closest bar is cause hiking makes me thirsty.

Mount Sanitas
The last spot that you can walk to from the Red Rocks and downtown Boulder is Mount Sanitas. There is a great walking trail for those who aren't looking to get too much altitude or if you want to challenge yourself to a run this would be a good trail to start wtih. I tried running with the dog a little bit and well the altitude kicked my ass and I transitioned to the brisk mall walker approach. It maybe a nice hike/walk to start your trip with if your sensitive to altitude sickness. There are some narrow paths that you can take to lookout points and see a lot of the city.

Not an ad, but we def are the new face of LL Bean, just sayin.

View of Chantaugua park in the distance. You can also see from this photo the slight steady incline of the trail!

Food posts coming soon! 

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