True Blue Colorado

Sometimes the best hikes are the ones you do not plan. That happened to us late last year when we wanted to hike to Odessa Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park. The branch-off to the lake hike was surprisingly closed (even though AllTrails said it was open). We decided to continue the path up to Flattop Mountain and we are so glad we did.  Flattop Mountain is an 8.2 mile, 2,870 ft elevation gain hike located in Rocky Mountain National Park. As a disclaimer, we did not make it all the way to the top but I will show pictures from our summit. The trailhead branches off from the loop around Bear Lake if you start the loop counterclockwise. Since Bear Lake is so popular, that parking lot fills up fast, so I'd recommend getting there before 7:30 am on a weekend. When we were walking around the lake to get to the trailhead, we heard a peculiar noise and it ended up being the ice on the lake shifting. How bizarre! The beginning of the hike is a very gradual hill going through beautiful asp

If you are ever in Fort Collins, it is hard to miss the unique rock formation at the top of Horsetooth Reservoir. It's called Horsetooth because of an Arapahoe legend of a giant. The legend says that a giant was protecting the valley's animals from tribes hunting them, but a great drought came, and a tribe chief had to make the decision to slay the giant. They waited until he was asleep to stab his heart. The chief pierced the heart several times turning it to stone. Pioneers in the 1860s and 70s started calling it Horsetooth because of its resemblance.  There are several hikes on Horsetooth Mountain, but my favorite is a branch off the main hike up Horsetooth Rock. I enjoy South Ridge and Audra Culver on  Alltrails . It's a 4.4 mile loop with 1125 feet Revelation gain. The parking lot is shared for all the different routes up to Horsetooth Rock and Horsetooth Falls. I would recommend getting there early because the lot fills up fast. We would always take the main trail

While staying at Ouray, we went hiking on the Sutton/Neosho Mine Trail and it was one of our favorites from our whole road trip (road trip blog coming soon). It is right in town and was only a couple minutes drive from our B&B. It's a 4.5 mile out and back with 1282 ft elevation gain. While it's listed as hard on AllTrails, I'd consider it a medium with all the hard elevation gain in the first 0.5 mile of the hike. Along the hike, you get to see beautiful mountain ranges, meadows, forest, and mine ruins in perfect condition. We started the hike around 7:30 am and did not pass anyone until our hike back.  The Sutton/Neosho Mine site consists of a bunkhouse, a blacksmith shop, and several small outbuildings in addition to the mine entrance itself. The mine entrance is very dark and ominous and there are signs stating all the reasons you should not enter it.  This mine, according to Colorado historian Andrew Gulliford, was also the birthplace of the w orld-famous, haunting

Who would guess in the middle of Colorado there is a desert and it's huge! It is one of the most bizarre things to drive up to. The Great Sand Dunes National Park is located in the San Luis Valley surrounded by the Sangre De Cristo Mountains. I visited the Sand Dunes this past August and would love to share my tips and trick to have the best trip. The Great Sand Dunes National Park is in southern Colorado and can get there from Highway 160 or 285. My  fiancé  and I got there from a less-trafficked route from our road trip, but that story is for another blog. The main town to stay in when visiting the park is Alamosa. We stayed at the Days Inn (which you get for what you pay for) but didn't spend much time there besides sleeping. We ate at the San Luis Valley Brewing Company  which was very good, and I got the buffalo chicken tenders. The other place I would recommend eating at is Calvillo's Mexican Restaurant . It was the absolute best Mexican food I've ever eaten, and

My fiancé and I's favorite hike is called Kruger Rock outside Estes, CO. We have done it several times and the views amaze us every time. It is a 4-mile out-and-back with 977 ft elevation gain.    To get to the trailhead, you can take highway 34 headed towards Estes or take highway 36 into Estes then get onto 34. Take the turn into Hermit Park and it's a dirt/gravel road, however, any vehicle would be fine on this road. The gate can be seen below. The first thing you'll see is a park office and a pay station. It is $9 to get into the park but there is an annual pass available here . You will then follow the road up the hill (with some switchbacks) and follow the signs to Kruger Rock. There is a decent-sized parking lot with about 20 available parking spots, but I would recommend getting there early, anywhere from 6am-8am, no matter the season. You start the hike in a valley and the elevation gain is very gradual. There are a lot of aspen trees around that would look beautif

Hello reader!  Welcome to the brand-new blog, True Blue Colorado. This blog can serve as a resource for all local or touring people for Colorado. There are so many places to visit in this vast state so this blog will touch on all my favorites and recommendations.  I would categorize myself as medium-level adventurous. I have not hiked extreme hikes or eaten at the fanciest fine dining, but I've done what I've considered medium-level things. I hope this helps the reader connect with me in that we are on the same level. A little about me: My parents both grew up in Boulder, CO and we have a lot of family in the area. I grew up a military brat moving every 2-3 years all over the world. However, we still spent most Easters and Christmases back here Colorado. Therefore, if I ever want to avoid the complicated response to "where are you from?" I would default to saying Colorado. I hope this blog will persuade at least one person to try something new and off the beaten path