Tanglewood - Rosalie Trail

Distance: 5.6 miles round trip
Elevation: 9,340 ft - 10,405 ft
Elevation Gain: 1,065 ft (net),  1,150 ft (cumulative)
Bathroom at the Trailhead: No
Dogs: Off leash until the wilderness boundary at 2.8 miles
Date hiked: 28 June 2014

Views of the ridge line to the south from the western side of the Rosalie Trail

The Tanglewood to Rosalie Trail near Baily Colorado is a popular backpacking route into the Mount Evans Wilderness. I had no idea of this of course until I showed up at the trailhead to find at least 40 cars in the large dirt parking lot.  It was so crowded in fact that people had started creating three rows of cars, trapping the middle row!

The parking lot

The Tanglewood Trail heads due north into the Mt. Evans Wilderness and climbs to the top of a saddle at 12,000 ft, while the Rosalie Trail cuts left and winds its way between 12,000 ft peaks before finally coming out on Guanella Pass near Mt. Beirstadt.  The junction of these two trails is 1.2 miles and 450 ft up the Tanglewood Trail and is marked by a large and obvious sign.

The log crossing over Tanglewood Creek

Tanglewood Creek is pleasant and there are plenty of places to get close to the water.

The Rosalie Trail is by far the most attractive of the pair. The Tanglewood trail is very rocky and monotonous. It reminded me a lot of North Tenmile Creek near Frisco. The creek itself is pleasant, however, and was raging with the spring runoff. I ran into several groups with very small children, who most likely popped up from the nearby campground. No one was letting their kids play by the water though.

Heading up the Rosalie Trail

While there are several bridges that cross the creek, the first crossing was on a series of logs that were slippery and filled with debris. I ended up getting down on my toosh and crabbing over them rather than try to walk on their round, slick surfaces. When there is less water in the creek, it would be possible to walk across the shallow area nearby. 

Yellow Golden Banner dotted the trail, which became quite serene after an initial steep ascent.

Looking up the hillside to the north. If you scrambled to the top, you could see Mt. Rosalie.

The Rosalie Trail starts out on an old logging road. It is wide, steep, and just as rocky as the Tanglewood Trail. It levels out however, after a half mile or so and becomes a soft dirt track through young Aspens. At other times the trail hugs an open hillside with occasional views of the 12,000 ft ridge to the south. While Mt. Rosalie is just to the other side of the hillside, it is not visible without a scramble to the top.

Another typical segment in Aspens

On this trip, I turned around at the wilderness boundary (at 2.8 miles/10,357 ft) because I had my dog with me who needed to run off leash. Since I had already hiked several miles up the Tanglewood Trail before diverting up the Rosalie Trail, that was fine with me as well. I would like to go further though to see if the views improve. Note, that it seemed to me that the location of the wilderness boundary was a little further beyond what is drawn on the Trails Illustrated map.

A segment in willows. The trail is actually a running stream.

To get to the trailhead, drive west from Denver on US 285 for approximately 28 miles. Turn right onto CO Road 43A (at the Loaf and Jug), which quickly becomes CO Road 43. Travel 6.8 miles to a "Y" in the road. Bear left (downwards) for another drive 2 miles. At the sign for the Deer Creek campground, bear right (there is a tiny sign pointing to the Trailhead. This narrow, rocky road dead ends into the large parking lot.

The Rosalie Trail eventual descends downwards to the wilderness boundary.

With all the Aspens that encroach on the upper portion of the trail, it seems like this hike is better suitable to the fall, when the air is cooler and the colors dominate. As it is, however, there are very few trails close to Denver where dogs can run free, so I suspect I will need to return to the area at some point in the future.

Staunton State Park: Staunton Ranch ... Scout Line Loop

Distance: 7 miles round trip
Elevation: 8,370 ft - 9, 262 ft
Elevation Gain: 892 ft (net) 1,162 ft (cumulative)
Dogs: On leash ... State Park
Bathroom at Trailhead: Yes
Date Hiked: 1 June 2014

The imposing pink cliffs of Staunton State Park near Pine Colorado (~40 miles up highway 285 from Denver).

Only a year old at the time of this posting, Stauton State Park near Pine Colorado, is a lovely addition to the Colorado State Park system, and its proximity to Denver means it can't help but grow in popularity. I found the park quite enchanting with its variety of terrain and tantalizing views of towering granite cliffs, rolling green hills, and distant mountains. The only downside of the area is that there is really only one access to the trails so getting to the furthermost reaches of the park really requires some serious walking or a mountain bike.  On this inaugural trip, we cruised up the easy Staunton Ranch Trail from the group picnic grounds to the Scout Line Trail, which climbs steeply up an escarpment. We then took the short Marmot Passage Trail back to the Staunton Ranch Trail for a 7-mile lollypop loop.

The overflow parking lot

Starting out on the Staunton Ranch Trail

Open meadow with Aspens and Douglas Fir

The day we visited was very crowded and we ended up parking in an overflow lot near the group picnic grounds. Fortunately, a ranger was standing in the road pointing the way. Otherwise I am not sure we would have known to park in the large dirt area. It was a short 100 yard walk to the picnic grounds and bathrooms, and the entrance to the Staunton Ranch Trail lay half-way between the dirt lot and the picnic area and was well marked with a sign.

Trails are well marked with names and distances.

On the Scout Line trail we quickly left the crowds behind.

The Scout Line Trail switchbacks up an escarpment.

The Staunton Ranch Trail wanders blissfully through sun dappled glades of Ponderosa Pine and Aspen. You can tell this portion of the park used to be a ranch because the trees are widely spaced and lush green grasses cover the area making for bovine paradise. Because of the ease of this trail, we found it teaming with families and children or small clusters of high schoolers recently released from their pens. Mountain bikers too, cruised quickly up the flat dirt pathway. It was not until we reached the much harder Scout Line Trail (at 1.7 miles and a lazy 334 ft) that we left the crowds behind.

View of the Staunton Rocks from the Scout Line Trail

A rocky segment on the Scout Line Trail

The Scout Line Trail was by far the most interesting part of the route. It climbed sharply up through rocky outcroppings and the trees changed to Lodgepoles and Douglas Fir. The imposing cliffs of jagged Pikes Peak Granite, a metamorphic batholith forged deep with in the Earth, were visible from several angles. The populated hills that border the park seemed less intrusive when viewed from above and the snow capped peaks near Mt. Evans seemed a stones throw away. We saw only two other people on this harder segment and maxed out at 9,262 ft (at 3.2 miles and 976 ft of elevation gain).

Looking southwest from the Scout Line Trail at the many ranches that border the park.

Close up of the mountain range to the west. From this angle I am not sure if this is Rosalie Peak or Mt. Evans.

Heading down the shaded Marmot Passage Trail

At the top of the escarpment, the trees closed in and became a dense stand of Lodgepole Pine. Downed trees littered the slope and still the sunlight barely made it to the forest floor where a bed of decaying pine needles kept all other plants away. The Marmot Passage Trail (junction at 3.5 miles) travels sharply downwards through this forest for only 0.5 miles before dumping out onto the broad and sandy Staunton Ranch Trail (at 4 miles).

On the upper reaches of the Staunton Ranch Trail

The Staunton Rocks from lower down

The upper segment of the Staunton Ranch Trail travels parallel to the imposing cliffs of the Staunton Rocks climbing area. We saw several groups of climbers winding their way upwards, mere gnats clinging precariously to the rocks. The route is a wide dirt road and it did not take long to return to the car.

A final view before we cruised back to the car.

I really enjoyed Staunton State Park and send grateful missives skywards towards the numerous benefactors who left parcels of land for the rest of us to enjoy. This is now part of your Colorado, so get out and enjoy it!