The Sweatiest I've Ever Been in March, aka My First Snowshoeing Trip

After several weekends of hibernating with Netflix on my couch, I decided to be a real Coloradan and embrace winter. I have been cleared to walk as much as I want to, so I taped up my ankle and hit the trail!

I was actually really pleased by how well the basics I learned from REI served me, except for one giant thing I forgot. POLES. Please don't try to snowshoe without them - your legs will thank you.

Thanks to Google, I found Bent Gate Rental in Golden, where my boyfriend and I rented out snowshoes and got powder tails put on them all for $24, which coincidentally is the price of one rental at REI. REI killed it with the basics of snowshoeing class, but their rentals are super pricey, so if you're headed in the direction of Golden, Bent Gate is your best bet. Jax is near Fort Collins, and there's an even cheaper place up in Estes Park if you want to hit RMNP.

Anyways, Bent Gate is right on the way to Golden Gate State Park, where we were headed, and also next door to the one of the best pizza places EVER. If you don't stop at Woody's after a long day on the trail, you are a fool.

Golden Gate is another wonderful state park within an hour from Denver. It took us a little longer since we went to the main entrance of the park for some trail recommendations, and then had to drive all the way around to the trailhead at Rifleman Phillips Campground. Apparently, you can just drive to the campground straight from Denver:

What we did instead was stop at the Visitor's center and then went west, north, and back east to get to the trailhead (yellow circle). Our drive is outlined in blue. Obviously much longer, but the drive was really pretty and stopping at the Visitor's Center was great for us first-timers.

The full version of this map can be found here on CPW's website.

Trail Review: El Dorado Canyon State Park

In the spirit of working off the countless amounts of carbs I (happily) took down on Thanksgiving, I spent my Black Friday hiking with my better half in El Dorado Canyon. Despite the less than encouraging name, the Rattlesnake Gulch trail was a perfect post-Thanksgiving day hike.

The best part about El Dorado Canyon State Park was that (like Staunton State Park) its less than an hour from Denver. The drive is super easy, except for the fact that the last mile of road isn't paved. As long as it's not super muddy or bad weather (why would you be hiking in that situation anyways?) you should be fine, even if you don't have four wheel drive. There was a Camry parked next to us that presumably survived the drive up and back.

Staunton State Park, How Do I Love Thee? Let Me Count The Ways...

I’ve been to Staunton Stake Park twice, and I’m already in love. When my parents visited from Maryland a few weeks ago, I needed an option for hiking that wasn’t too far from Denver. It also had to offer doable trails for people living essentially at sea level. Staunton has all of this (and you don’t have to sacrifice views!). Not only did my parents survive the trip, but our friend Leah who legitimately lives AT sea level (the Florida Keys…lucky lady!) also enjoyed an excursion at Staunton.

Staunton is one of Colorado’s newest parks (like really new – it just opened in May 2013) and it does not disappoint. It's less than an hour from Denver, and the drive is not only gorgeous but easy. Totally manageable for tentative mountain drivers and the park is easy to find.