Red Mountain Open Space

Red Mountain has been on my "to do" list for a while. Last night we had started out to get up there, but a storm rolled in just after we left Fort Collins, so we decided to try again later. This morning the skies were clear, so we drove up to see if Red Mountain was worth visiting. The drive to the trailhead goes through a pretty little valley/canyon. Off to one side was the old homestead of a settler long since gone.

We had the parking lot to ourselves, and started out for a hike. The north side of the Bent Rock Trail looked the most intriguing. A small stream ran down the bottom of a small canyon that began to cliff up.


The cliffs rose higher as we got further into the canyon, revealing the layers in the rock. It was really pretty. (sorry about the bad pictures, the sun was not in the most friendly location for pictures)

We weren't the only ones that liked the area. A few swallows had built their homes in nooks of the cliffs.
After the small canyon, the hiking turned into high desert hiking. The rabbitbrush was in bloom, but I found most of the remaining hike uninteresting. We turned north and looped back down the Sunset Trail back to the parking lot.

Nearest City: Waverly, CO

GPS Coordinates (trailhead): N 40° 57.483 W 105° 09.830

Time Needed: A few hours

Difficulty: easy

Kid Friendly: Yes

Additional Info: Red Mountain Open Space No Dogs Allowed. Restrooms are at the trailhead. Bring your own water.