Impromptu Colorado Trip Advice

amberdyan

amberdyan

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So my friends and I decided to pack up thanksgiving weekend and spend 3 days in Idaho Springs, CO. We're basically going to just hike and we've rented a small cabin to stay in. I found a giant mountainous off-leash dog park that I know we're going to explore, but I was wondering if anyone had experience with the area and had any dog friendly hiking recommendations.

Also, I'm terrible and pretty much don't hike when it's snowy outside at home. Hugo has a nice Hurtta coat but it's supposed to get down to 30-40 and snow during the day while we're there. If we're going to be hiking 8-10 hours a day does he need boots for that?

Thanks! I'm excited for this trip : )
 
noludoru

noludoru

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So, I'm 30 minutes from Idaho Springs, and I can tell you that the time for hiking has passed. It's all snow and ice. They've been getting snow for weeks and just got dumped on - should be dealing with even more between now and then. Everything on the north sides of the mountains is going to be ICY and slick, and most hiking trails are narrow with drops. Mount Falcon is close-ish, as is Table Mesa. You might have some safe hiking luck there.

I would worry less about boots and more about survival gear. If you want to be out all day, you need like 2liters for the dog and double it for yourself. Plus food and emergency kits. You need lights, a compass, maps, blankets, hot hand warmers, etc.

Personally, hiking the whole trip seems like a bad idea to me. If you want to, okay, but be careful. I'd hit the park and the hot springs. Good restaurants and pubs and coffee shops there, too.
 
amberdyan

amberdyan

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noludoru said:
So, I'm 30 minutes from Idaho Springs, and I can tell you that the time for hiking has passed. It's all snow and ice. They've been getting snow for weeks and just got dumped on - should be dealing with even more between now and then. Everything on the north sides of the mountains is going to be ICY and slick, and most hiking trails are narrow with drops. Mount Falcon is close-ish, as is Table Mesa. You might have some safe hiking luck there.

I would worry less about boots and more about survival gear. If you want to be out all day, you need like 2liters for the dog and double it for yourself. Plus food and emergency kits. You need lights, a compass, maps, blankets, hot hand warmers, etc.

Personally, hiking the whole trip seems like a bad idea to me. If you want to, okay, but be careful. I'd hit the park and the hot springs. Good restaurants and pubs and coffee shops there, too.
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WHOA. Thanks. The guy whose AirBnB we rented must have totally exaggerated. He said there was a few inches of snow but that most of the trails were totally fine. We definitely aren't wanting survival gear level hiking, lol. We'll probably just hit the park and hot springs like you said. This was a really last minute decision because our friends realized they had a $300 airbnb voucher that had to be used by the end of November.

Thanks for the info! I'll pass it along and we'll nix the hiking. I probably sound like an idiot planning a hike for a place when I had no idea what the weather was... lol. We're just kind of tagging along with them. I've only ever be to CO in the summer.
 
noludoru

noludoru

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They've had like... Over a foot on the ground in the last few weeks. I would not want to hike in that, and it can make it hard to see trails. A lot of it will melt, and anything in full sun will be dry, but those north slopes are COLD.

You can still hike, there will be good hikes... They may not be in Idaho Springs. Table Mesa in Golden is beautiful and FUN.

You don't sound like an idiot, btw. I had no idea about this stuff until I lived here.
 
amberdyan

amberdyan

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noludoru said:
They've had like... Over a foot on the ground in the last few weeks. I would not want to hike in that, and it can make it hard to see trails. A lot of it will melt, and anything in full sun will be dry, but those north slopes are COLD.

You can still hike, there will be good hikes... They may not be in Idaho Springs. Table Mesa in Golden is beautiful and FUN.

You don't sound like an idiot, btw. I had no idea about this stuff until I lived here.
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After looking up info/pictures, I think we're definitely going to try to go to table mesa. It looks awesome and I haven't been in that area before.
 
noludoru

noludoru

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amberdyan said:
After looking up info/pictures, I think we're definitely going to try to go to table mesa. It looks awesome and I haven't been in that area before.
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It's sooo pretty! Amazing views of downtown Denver. You're maybe 30 minutes from Denver and 10 minutes from downtown Golden, which are both great places to eat and hang out. AVOID the cool, western-looking coffee shop in Golden. They spend more on decor than ingredients. It's pretty but that's it.

Bring TONS of water, though. Like 2-3 Nalgene bottles a person. It's a steep, sunny hike.
 
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