I love, love, love Mount Falcon because it’s relatively close to home and an absolutely amazing place to hike with diverse trail levels and amazing views. The park has around 2,250 acres with 12.2 trail miles to explore and is home to the ruins of Walker’s castle, the cornerstone what was supposed to be the summer house for presidents, a lookout area, and a wooden tower you can climb. I’ve gone here solo, with the pups, on bumble dates, and with my son...so whatever your hiking need may be, Mount Falcon has you 100% COVERED ✔️.
Having been to Mount Falcon several times before I was prepared for this to be the case, but it’s worth noting this popular area is close to Denver and because of that it can get pretty crowded. We happened to luck out crowd-wise as it was a little chilly and we went later in the day. Social distancing was just becoming a thing (hi, I’m behind in blogging), so the crowd level was very welcome.
It’s important to note that Mount Falcon has two parking lots where you can access a variety of different trails. The Castle Trail trailhead where we were headed is located at the Mount Falcon West Trailhead at 21074 Mount Falcon Road, Indian Hills, CO 80454. The other lot, Morrison Trailhead, is located at 3852 Vine Street, Morrison, CO 80465.
If you don’t have AllTrails, I’d definitely recommend getting it. Not only does it have great information on trails and current trail conditions, but I’ve found it to be pretty good at accurately directing you to the appropriate trailhead and parking lot for the hike you’re seeking. I’m directionally challenged (this is putting it mildly...🤐), so this feature in a hiking app is MOST welcome.
Mountain Falcon is open from one hour before sunrise to one hour after sunset. There have been multiple times this year when the trail has been closed due to muddy conditions so please make sure to check the website at https://www.jeffco.us/1332/Mount-Falcon-Park prior to heading out for the day. Given the current COVID-19 situation, I‘d strongly encourage you to do this with all hikes you’re considering.
I chose the Castle, Meadow, and Tower trail combination as it‘s listed on AllTrails as moderate, but relatively short (2.4 miles) and has 360 feet of elevation gain. It was later in the day when we set out and taking the whole squad makes for longer hike time, so the length was absolutely perfect as, per usual, we wandered a bit and it ended up being closer to 3 miles.
I would say I’d label this hike as more easy than moderate. As you start off, you’re met with incredible views right off the bat. You do a short out and back on Castle Trail and then follow the Meadow Trail to Tower then back to Meadow then back to Castle for the loop portion. Confused? Same. This is why I make sure to favorite my hikes on AllTrails prior to heading out so I’ll have the map accessible on my phone.
Within a few minutes of setting out we stopped at the Eagle Eye Shelter. The shelter has a great lookout and picnic area, which I have yet to use for that purpose. The shelter was apparently a summer home to the Kirchhof family and there’s an old well next to the shelter which is pretty neat to capture.
The hike continues to a more wooded area until you reach the tower, which I also still have yet to climb. My dogs fear stairs so little, but little man reported for a second time that it was “nice and I feel like I’m very tall.” So, solid review, apparently. The trail became a mixture of snow and mud after this, but we were prepared footwear wise and the hike overall was pretty pleasant.
The final leg of the hike holds the ruins of John Walker’s Castle. The ruins themselves are beautiful, but now roped off due to people damaging them, which is unfortunate (leave now trade, always!). In researching this post (yes, I am super lame and take this kind of seriously) I found that the castle actually has a pretty sad backstory. Long story short, John Walker owned the surrounding area and built this dream house on it in 1909, only to have his wife pass away and it burn down due to a lightning strike shortly less than 10 years later.
Overall, another wonderful hike at Mount Falcon. Again, I am late to the game I’m writing this and have another three posts to catch up on so bare with me. Due to COVID-19, please make sure you are checking our state and your local orders prior to heading out for a hike.
Until next time, happy hiking 🥾❤️✌🏼!
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