3 Sisters: Evergreen Mountain Loop

Distance: 6.5 mile loop
Elevation: 7,437 ft - 8,592 ft
Elevation Gain: 1,155 ft (net) 1,174 ft (cumulative)
Dogs: On leash only (Jefferson County Open Space)
Date Hiked: 10 June, 2011
Bathroom at the trailhead: Yes

A view of several ranches from the Evergreen Mountain Trail

A hike to the top of Evergreen Mountain in the 3 Sisters Open Space Park is a great shoulder season training hike with some nice views at the top. The terrain traverses open Ponderosa Pine meadows as well as an overly thick Lodgepole Pine forest. Mountain bikers were numerous but the curvaceousness of the trail kept them moving slowly so it was easy to get out of their way.

It is difficult to miss the parking lot for the 3 Sister Open Space Park

The lower park of the route travels through an open Ponderosa forest

This is a loop hike, that I took clockwise. Taken this way the trail starts on the opposite side of the road from the first 3 Sister's parking lot (the one without the barn) on the East Evergreen Mountain Trail. The route heads south through a pleasant stand of open Ponderosa and Aspen forest, which on this trip was spotted with yellow Golden Banner, Wild Iris, and purple Sugarbowls. After a short 0.32 miles is the junction with the Ranch View Trail. We'll take this trail on the way back.

A young Aspen grove at the beginning of the route

Heading across the broad hillside. There were many birds in this area.

After this junction, the Evergreen Mountain East trail continues to head south through small stands of Aspen before turning southwest and heading across a broad hillside. At the far end of this segment the trail reaches the slopes of Evergreen Mountain (at 0.84 miles) and starts a long series of switchbacks through a dense Lodgepole Pine forest. This is admittedly not my most favorite biome in Colorado. I find it monotonous and less fragrant than a Ponderosa forest and less exotic than the Spruce/Fir biome.

An example of one of the many switchbacks

Approaching the junction of the Summit View and Evergreen Mountain West Trails. Note the large signs and dense forest.

The signage in this open space park are National Park quality, so it is impossible to get lost. The junction at 2.4 miles of the Summit Trail and the West Evergreen Mountain Trail is no exception. Take the Summit Trail to continue heading up the hillside. At 3 miles is the junction with a scenic view turn off, which is a short 0.14 miles down to a rocky shelf overlooking Evergreen. I ate my lunch here and had the place to myself.

The turn off to the scenic view

The view of Evergreen from the scenic overlook

I almost turned around at this point rather that complete the journey to the summit because I was confessedly over the Lodgepoles but I slogged onwards for the sake of my fans and I am glad I did. The final summit circle (junction at 3.28 miles) is more open and filled with Douglas Fir trees plus some large rocky mounds (at 3.58 miles) with pleasant views of the Mt. Evans massif. There were a lot more people lounging at the top but with so many nooks and crannies, it was easy to find a private place to sunbath. By this point, I had climbed 1,092 ft. There are a few short ascents on the way back that boosted this total just a bit.

One of the many rock piles on the summit. This is not as steep as it looks.

The view of Mount Evans from the summit. Notice all the ranch land in the distance.

After heading back down, I came to the Evergreen Mountain West trail at 4.55 miles and took this trail to complete my loop. This trail has some nice granite boulders to break up the Lodgepoles. At 5.1 miles is a large sign explaining that this part of the hill is a Lodgepole demonstration forest where they have purposely tried to thin it back to normal. I was surprised to learn that unmanaged, this type of forest can contain as many as 5,000 trees per acre. No wonder it felt closed in to me.

A section of thinned Lodgepole forest

An example of some of the boulders on the Evergreen Mountain West Trail

At 5.57 miles the route leaves the hill and transitions back to open meadows. Here is the junction with the Wild Iris Loop. Across the road is the other trailhead for the 3 Sisters Park. There are lots of great trails there as well (check out my southern trails post). This trail quickly becomes the Ranch View Trail, which will takes us back to the Evergreen Mountain East Trail (at 6.22 miles) that we started on.

Looking across the Wild Iris Loop (which circumnavigates the meadow) to the other side of the Three Sisters Park.

This trail reminds me a lot of Crosier Mountain near Rocky Mountain National Park. It's lower elevation means it will remain clear of snow most of the year, which makes it a useful training hike. Both hikes spend a lot of time in the Lodgepoles.