Located right off of Highway 285, Meyers Ranch Park is quite easily accessible and is only a short drive up into the foothills just west of Denver, Colorado. It also happens to be a park within the Jefferson County Open Space system. With it being so close to where I live, I could easily hop in the car and get here in no more than 20 minutes.
And that’s exactly what I did once I got done with work on the last day of May. Here’s some more info about my hike:
Date: May 31st, 2019
Miles Hiked: 4.1 Miles
Trails Hiked: Owl Perch, Lodgepole Loop, Sunny Aspen and Old Ski Trails
Trail Conditions: Completely dry
The trail starts in a meadow by the road and continues like that for a short time until you start to get into the woods a little bit further on. At the first junction, I went straight up the Sunny Aspen trail. From there, I went onto the Old Ski Run trail.
Even on a Friday afternoon, only several mountain bikers crossed my path which was actually kind of surprising to me. It’s always nice to enjoy some solitude even when you least expect to be able to! Nonetheless, I continued to get deeper and deeper into the woods. The Aspen trees were looking kind of mesmerizing too. Can’t even imagine the sight during the fall!
So I originally intended to hike to the summit of Legault Mountain but thought better of it with some storm clouds moving in. In the end, I think it was definitely the right decision as the sky started to become more ominous.
On the way back down, it started to lightly rain and would eventually stop shortly before I got back to my car. It was definitely a good easy going hike after I worked all morning.
Something else I should mention is that the noise from the cars on the highway can be heard pretty much the entire time. Although it is somewhat distracting, I think it’s still a great place to get a nice workout in if you happen to be close by. I might check back during the fall just for the Aspen trees alone though.
Until next time!