1) Mud Lake, Boulder County Parks & Open Space, Nederland, CO, January 8, 2026 - For our first hike of the new year we met up with our friend Holly and her pup Mikyo. We met up at the back entrance to the Mud Lake Open Space, on County Road 128W, and did both the Kinnickinnick Loop and Tungsteen Loop. We were in the midst of a snow storm with about 4 inches of fresh powder on the ground and more falling while we were hiking which gave us a cold but beautiful snow covered forest to enjoy. The weather also kept other hikers off the trail so we only saw a couple of other people. A nice way to start off our 2026 hikes! A 2.3 mile loop with 250 feet of elevation gain.
2) Eagle Wind Trail, Ron Stewart Preserve at Rabbit Mountain, Boulder County Parks & Open Space, Lyons, CO, January 9, 2026 - We traded the fresh snow in the mountains for the dry hills down below for our second hike of the year. For this one we met up with Todd and Janeth at Rabbit Mountain Open Space to hike the Eagle Wind Loop trail. There were a few patches of snow but the ground was mostly dry. The temperature was hovering just below of freezing but thankfully there wasn't much wind and there was a little sun so the weather wasn't too bad for hiking. The views onto the Front Range was fantastic with the snow-covered mountains peeking in and out of some low lying clouds. We watched a hawk hunting in the grasslands and saw a few other hikers but mainly enjoyed a quiet trail. A 4 mile loop with 350 feet of elevation gain.
3) Canyon Loop, Betasso Preserve, Boulder County Open Space, Boulder, CO, January 15, 2026 - After running errands down in Boulder, Jonna and Alan stopped by Betasso Preserve on the way back up the canyon to hike the main Canyon Loop. It was a beautiful day - warm and sunny - which is usually a good thing but given how little snow we've had this winter and how dry the ground is turned out to be a sad thing. Nonetheless, we had nice views from the high points on the trail looking down onto Boulder and got to see a family of deer nibbling the dry grasses. A nice place for a quick leg stretcher and on Wednesday there it is pedestrian and equestrian only so we didn't have to dodge mountain bikes. A 3.4 mile loop with 400 feet of elevation gain.
4) Homestead, Mesa, Upper Big Bluestem and Big Bluestem West Trails, South Mesa Trailhead, Boulder Open Space & Mountain Parks, Boulder, CO, January 18, 2026 - Our first hike of the year with our friend Desiree was on a beautiful Sunday afternoon with wind-swept clouds floating through a deep blue sky. The trails were, unfortunately, completely dry and hillsides were covered with tinder dry grass. We started at our traditional spot, the South Mesa Trailhead, and did a big loops going out on Homestead and Mesa trails before circling back on Upper Big Bluestem and Big Bluestem trails. The highlight of the hike was seeing an Abert's Squirrel with its big tasseled ears and long fluffy tail. We timed it perfectly so that we ended the hike exactly as the sun set behind the foothills. A 4.8 mile loop with 800 feet of elevation gain.
5) Lookout, Hobbit 4, Hobbit 3 and Observatory Trails, West Magnolia trail system, Nederland, CO, January 30, 2026 - Jonna and Alan took a break from tasks around the house for a quick Friday afternoon. We headed to the nearby West Magnolia trail system where we started from the Lookout Trail trailhead. After hiking up to the lookout we discovered a new trail, named Hobbit 4, had been built that circled around the YMCA camp and then connected to the old Hobbit 3 trail just south of the West Mag campground. Made a loop by connecting the Lookout, Hobbit 4, Hobbit 3 and Observatory trails. Despite a few small snow falls the warm, sunny weather has melted out most of the snow so at most we only had to deal with ankle deep snow in the forests but hiked on dry trail in the more open areas. We did pick up some trash along the way so the lack of snow at least allowed us to do a little clean-up in the campground area. A 3 mile loop with 400 feet of elevation gain.
6) Homestead, Mesa, Upper Big Bluestem and Big Bluestem West Trails, South Mesa Trailhead, Boulder Open Space & Mountain Parks, Boulder, CO, February 1, 2026 - Once again, the unseasonably warm weather gave us a beautiful hike but the lack of snow continues to cause us a lot of concern since a drought now will likely mean high fire risk this summer. Nonetheless, we got together with our friend Desiree at our usual trailhead - the South Mesa Trailhead - for another Sunday afternoon hike. We have been doing a new loop the past couple of times we've hiked with Desiree and did that again today. We start up the Homestead Trail, which we've been doing for many years, but now when we reach the Mesa Trail we continue north to where it meets the Upper Big Bluestem Trail. We then take that in a big loop to the east to where the Big Bluestem West Trail branches off to re-connect with Mesa Trail. This gives us a nice loop with some scenic views of the front range mountains with the evening sun setting behind them. A 4.8 mile loop with 800 feet of elevation gain.
7) Canyon Loop, Betasso Preserve, Boulder County Open Space, Boulder, CO, February 4, 2026 - We get together regularly with our friends Steve and Kristin - often for lunch or to go for a walk around Boulder. However, every now and then, we go on a hike together and we took advantage of the mid-week "No Mountain Bikes" day at Betasso Preserve to hike there. We met up at the eastern overflow parking lot and then did a counter-clock hike around Canyon Loop. The weather was great for hiking (but terrible for our normal winter snow) and the trail was very lightly populated. We didn't see anything in the way of wildlife or unusual scenery or memorable moments but we all still felt lucky to live in such a beautiful place and to have the ability to get out to enjoy it. A 3.4 mile loop with 400 feet of elevation gain.
8) Mt. Sanitas, Boulder City Open Space & Mountain Parks, Boulder, CO, February 5, 2026 - Normally, I start my annual Spring training hikes at the end of February and in early March. But with us having full summer weather right now I decided to get an early start. On February 5th we had 75 degree weather down in Boulder - when historically February is our snowiest and second coldest month. But this year the trails are dry and dusty, and everyone is out hiking in shorts and t-shirts. So despite my deep concerns for what this weather will mean for the summer I headed down to the People's Crossing Trailhead to do the first of my five training hikes. Boulder Open Space has re-routed the Red Rocks Trail so I had to take a slightly different route than in the past to go up and over Red Rocks Park. Then it was the usual Dakota Ridge Trail to go north along the front of Mt. Sanitas. At the end of Dakota Ridge the trail turns into the East Ridge trail and it took that all the way up the east face of the mountain. There is one section near the top that is always icy when I do this hike but it was completely dry this year. Good for hiking but terrible for our moisture levels. Up at the top, I got to watch a group of five paragliders fly past, one down low enough over Dakota Valley that I was looking down onto the top of his paracute! The highlight for me was watching a pair of crows who were playing in a thermal right over the top of the mountain - circling, gliding and squawking in playful flight. Shortly thereafter, the paragliders found the same thermal and climbed a few hundred feet up above Sanitas. I used the South Ridge trail to drop back down to the bottom of the mountain. It was slow going and my knees were telling me how out of shape I am the whole way down. That is why I do these training hikes but clearly I need to do a little extra this winter to get more strength into my legs! I used the Anemone Trail to go part of the way around Red Rocks and then climbed back over on the Red Rocks trail to return to the trailhead. My first training hike of the year is done and I've got an idea of where I stand so I'll increase my hiking this month to try to get back up to where I expect to be. A 4.5 mile loop with 1,500 feet of elevation gain.
9) Ceran St. Vrain Trail, Boulder City Open Space & Mountain Parks, Boulder, CO, February 7, 2026 - On a warm winter Saturday afternoon we got a call from our friend Holly asking if we wanted to go for a hike so we threw on hiking clothes and headed north to the Ceran St. Vrain trailhead to meet up with Holly, her partner Rick and their pup Mikyo. Like so many of our trails all the warm weather has mostly melted out the Ceran St. Vrain trail even though it is deep down in a creek valley. There were a few stream crossings that were iced over and a few spots where residual packed snow was still on the trail but mud was as big a problem as snow. The other thing that was obvious since the last time we've hiked this trail is that the recent windstorms have brought down a lot of trees. In some of the forested areas there were dozens of trees blown down along with many stumps and bare trunks. All that dry wood on the ground was just another reason to have us doing a snow dance... A 4.2 mile out-and-back hike with a mellow 400 feet of elevation gain.
10) Flagstaff Mountain, Boulder City Open Space & Mountain Parks, Boulder, CO, February 8, 2026 - Jonna's brother Jamie came out to visit us in Colorado so shortly after we picked him up from the airport we were strapping on hiking boots and taking him out for a hike - specifically the second of my annual Spring Training Hikes. Our friend Desiree joined us at Eben G. Fine park in Boulder. We started by climbing up the Viewpoint Trail to Panorama Point then changing over to the Flagstaff trail for the ascent all the way to the summit. Along the way, first Desiree and then Jonna turned back leaving just Jamie and Alan to complete the climb. Once on the top, we took the Rangeview trail to the west side of the mountain so we could enjoy the views of the Continental Divide, then took the Ute trail back to the summit to complete a loop on top. Then we backtracked down Flagstaff and Viewpoint trails to the trailhead. The weather was again unseasonably warm and the trail was dry dirt for almost the entire hike...good for hiking but still frightening for our snow levels. On the plus side, this trail is usually a muddy mess but this year it was so dry it was dusty! A 6.6 mile up-and-back hike with 1,800 feet of elevation gain.
11) Lost Lake, Hessie Trailhead, Boulder County Open Space, Eldora, CO, February 9, 2026 - With Jamie visiting we are maximizing our hiking so after doing Flagstaff Mountain the previous day we were up early and back out hiking again the very next morning. This time Jamie, Jonna and Alan drove up to the Hessie Trailhead outside Eldora and did the hike in to Lost Lake. Another sign of just how bad our snow situation is rigth now is the fact that we could even drive to the trailhead. Normally, the Fourth of July road out of Eldora is closed in the winter but right now it is free of snow and ice so we could drive all the way in to the trailhead. It was clear but windy so we bundled up in layers and headed down the trail. Just past the old Hessie townsite the trail started to be covered with packed snow and ice so we put on microspikes and wore those for the rest of the hike. We had some nice views onto the surrounding mountains and this high up (~9,600 feet) there was actually some snow. Lost Lake was frozen over so at least if felt a bit like winter once we were up there. We made good time and were back at the trailhead in time to pick up lunch in Nederland on the drive back home. A 4.2 mile up-and-back hike with 850 feet of elevation gain.
12) Homestead, Mesa and Towhee Trails, South Mesa Trailhead, Boulder Open Space & Mountain Parks, Boulder, CO, February 10, 2026 - For the third day of Jamie's visit we headed out for yet another hike but we were starting to feel the effect of back-to-back hikes so we made this one a shorter one. We've told Jamie about our regular hikes with our friend Desiree so we brought him to hike our "short" loop from the South Mesa Trailhead. There was a big bank of clouds over the front range with rain in the forecast for noon but the morning sun was coming in at a low enough angle to shine on the trails. We started on the Mesa Trail, then turned onto the Homestead Trail for the climb up the hillside, then we turned back on Mesa for a short distance before turning onto the Towhee Trail for the return to the trailhead. As we got back to the car dark clouds blocked out the sun and the temperature dropped to below freezing so we felt we'd timed it perfectly. A 3 mile loop with 500 feet of elevation gain.
If you enjoyed these you may also enjoy checking out some photos from our 2025 hikes.
