Base Camp Denver: 101 Hikes in Colorado's Front Range by KJ Pete;

Author:KJ, Pete;
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: hiking, outdoor activities, Colorado, nature, sports
Publisher: Imbrifex Books
Published: 2019-04-02T00:00:00+00:00

Green Mountain Trail

Much of this land was acquired from the Haydens, a longtime Lakewood family. Platted in 1889, Lakewood was for decades a popular place for wealthy Denverites to build out-of-town estates. As it grew in the 1900s, it acquired a munitions factory. This hill was used for military exercises by the Colorado National Guard from 1935 through the end of World War II, and its north slope was bombarded with artillery. Most—but not all—of the shells exploded. As recently as 2015, searchers combed the area with high-tech metal detectors looking for buried ordnance.

As you approach the top of the trail, check out the grassland to the right to see how it has recovered from a 2016 wildfire. Two rounded summits appear, seemingly equal in height, and the trail heads into a divot between them. The true tippy-top of Green Mountain is on your left.

Summit bagged, it’s time for a detour down the mountain’s flanks. The best meander is via Rooney Valley Trail, which will take you through delightful gullies, meadows, and shrublands. Two trails lead from the summit, one before and one after the divot. Take either one. They will merge into a single path that looks like it is taking you westward and down to CO 470, miles away from your vehicle, but don’t worry. Enjoy views of Red Rocks Amphitheater across the valley before hooking left at a paraglider launching point and descending into canyon lands. Green in spring and summer, these hillsides turn yellow-gold in winter; they are especially beautiful when patches of snow lie among shrubs in the shadier folds. Buffalo once roamed here; today you might see mule deer grazing and maybe a coyote quickly trotting by.

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