Trail: Chief Mountain Length: ~3.0 Miles RT Elevation Gain: ~940FT Where: Rocky Mountain National park Closest Town: Evergreen/Idaho Springs Trail Details:Alltrails Guide
Sometimes you just want to stretch your legs and get a great view, but actually not drive that far… then Chief Mountain is the hike for you. Located outside of Evergreen you spend limited time on i70 and way more time cruising through the mountains.
The hike is around 3 miles round trip but on a steady incline to the top so you still feel like it’s a good workout – my lungs did for sure. The first 2/3rds of the hike is totally shaded till you pop out above the tree line. Once you reach the top scramble up onto the rocks for an incredible 360 view of colorado – from Denver foothills, south to Mt Evans and dead east of Democrat and north to Winter Park. I am sure on a clear day you could see pretty damn far.
Chief Mountain just became my new recommended hike. St Marys is very short with some crazy up-close views of mountains and lakes but this is more of a workout and just really incredible views. You could easily do both in the same day too!
Last weekend we saw some great color around Frisco and Breck so I put together a quick guide to spending a fall weekend in Summit County - Easy hikes with lots of Aspens and restaurant recommendations too!
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