Eldorado Canyon
Eldorado Canyon, Boulder’s first State Park, is known for its over 1000 technical climbs and attracts so many climbers on the weekend you need a reservation to enter the park. Ash and I took a day trip to see what the fuss was about.
Trip by the numbers…
Itinerary
Day 1: Eldorado Canyon
Destination: Eldorado Canyon
Route: North on CO-93
Activities:
- Eldorado Canyon Hike
- Lunch by South Boulder Creek
Trip Report
Just west of a pool which has been around for over 100 years, a pool which Dwight Eisenhower used to swim in, lies a spring so pure it’s bottled and sold.
The spring runs through cliffs hundreds of feet high, dotted with climbing gear placed during the birth of the sport.
Although Eldorado Canyon is a crowded destination for climbers on the weekend, it’s beautiful hiking and history makes it worth a stop for anyone during the week.
There are numerous trails, including opportunities to explore the ruins of one of the three resorts formerly in the area.
Ash and I chose Eldorado Canyon trail, which climbs out of the inner canyon and to the adjacent meadow.
The geology of the canyon can be seen throughout the hike. The granite formed from lava seeping through the earths crust before the continents emerged, the sandstone made from the bones of the ancestral rockies and the “younger” sandstone formed from an ancient desert millions of years old.
The trail is intermittently shaded and exposed as you hike out of the canyon and leave the state park with views of the continental divide, which splits the American continents in half, visible within the first half mile.
The trail makes its way down into a western section of the canyon which Ash and I opted to skip but features a beautiful old bridge and the soothing sounds of south boulder creek.
During the second half of the hike Denver is visible to the east and is framed perfectly by the canyon walls. From this vantage it’s clear why many call Denver the great city of the plains.
At this point, around noon, most of Eldorado’s parking spots were taken and there were multiple school buses full of kids enjoying the beautiful spring weather.
Even still we hiked over 5 miles, the longest hike of Ash’s 7 month life and enjoyed lunch at one of Eldorado’s stream side picnic areas.
Additional Photos
