After a nice, relaxing solitary hike amongst the doom clouds the day before, I probably shouldn’t have thought I’d be so lucky the next day. I knew the weather was predicted to be pretty nice, so I figure I’d wait again until “off” hours to hike so it would be less crowded. Welp, at least I tried 🤷🏼♀️.
I headed out to Mount Falcon around 1:30 and it wasn’t packed, but definitely busier than I would have liked. This is a pretty popular trail given the length and proximity to Denver, so I wasn’t surprised to see an officer directing traffic in and out of the lot. I WAS surprised that I actually got a space in the parking lot. Every other time I’ve been on this side of the park, it’s been full, so, given this, I hoped the trails wouldn’t be too crowded.
Although a majority of people were doing their best to social distance (I’m excluding you, shirtless pack of trail running bros who I somehow passed three times), the trails here do get pretty narrow so it was tough in certain spots because it was BUSY. I had my buff to pull up every time we crossed paths with someone, but not everyone had a mask. Or even appropriate shoes 😬.
I’m a huge believer in the benefits of getting outdoors, especially right now, but I’ve been trying to stick to closer hikes out of respect for the areas that have asked we keep out for now. Unfortunately, you can definitely tell the restrictions are causing a greater influx at parks near or in the foothills right now, and I’m not sure that’s a good thing for the land in general. But I get it, with nearby popular spots like Red Rocks closed, people are going to their next option on the list, and unsurprisingly it’s leading to packed parks. This is why I’m looking forward to the ease on restrictions soon, so those of us who are usually in the mountains can get back to being further out and away from the crowds.
The trail is listed on AllTrails as 3 miles with 793 feet of elevation gain, so it’s a nice, quick little heart pumper. It’s rated as moderate and with the quick gains, I’d say that’s definitely fair. This one gets HOT, so again, make sure to appropriately prepare and bring your sunscreen and water, even on this short of a trek.
The trailhead does have a restroom, but I’m not sure whether it was open. Turkey Trot Trail is only accessible to hikers, but there was one individual on a mountain bike, so please make sure you’re checking that kind of thing before you head out. Not a concern for me as I can’t bike ride, but, you know, if that’s your thang, doesn’t hurt to peep the website ahead of time 🤷🏼♀️. The trail does connect with Castle Trail which is bike-accessible, so he may have been confused. I’m blonde, so I get it.
You begin your trek on Castle Trail which is completely open and almost immediately challenges you with some solid switchbacks. After you plateau, you’re greeted with a nice, open area with solid views of Red Rocks. I had both dogs and it was warm enough where they were panting, so we took an extended water break and took in the views for a bit.
The trail then starkly transitions to a wooded area, which I really enjoyed. There were somehow less people in this area, which was great as the trail did get pretty narrow at some points. With two dogs, I feel like regardless of direction I’m usually the one who gets out of the way. I’ve found not many people seem to abide by trail etiquette, but that’s likely due to a lack of knowledge. As much as I want to trail Karen, I don’t, but since you’re here: uphill = right of way. And seriously, a big thank you to those of you out there already doing this. It just makes things so much easier, especially now.
After traipsing about the woods for a bit getting our nature calm on, the trail opened up to a scenic area where several groups were hanging out and taking in the views of Denver. Given the amount of people and length of the trail, we began our trek downward. The remainder of the trail is completely open and although it wasn’t exactly warm out, we were definitely warmed up by the end. Again, prepare appropriately. I didn’t expect to, but nearly went through all my water between the three of us.
Another weird COVID-19 side note: a vast majority of the trails in Littleton and Morrison are DUSTY. If you’re like me and have allergies, be prepared for people to look at you like you have the plague if you sneeze, masked or not 😂😅.
Hiking these days has become strange. I really never thought something so uncontroversial and downright healthy could be the source of so much health-related debate. But here we are. I think my biggest pain point with all this is that hiking isn’t a vacation for me and hate that getting outside has been labeled that. It‘s my and most Coloradans normal, and this whole thing has been very un-vacation-like in general given I’m working and attempting to homeschool a five year old. I think a lot of us who regularly choose to spend our time outdoors feel the same, that we’re all pretty capable of hitting trails, climbing areas, campsites, backpacking treks, whatever where we see very few people, could effectively practice social distancing and wouldn’t be stopping in any communities along the way.
I know restrictions are put in place for those among us who can’t be responsible outdoors or with taking precautions in general right now. And that’s honestly been really, really frustrating. This is all going to come down to personal responsibility and with summer tourism season approaching, I’m honestly a little worried about our state and what summer will look like for those of us who have chosen to make this our home.
That said, I really hope we all get to get back out there in an unrestricted way soon. I miss the mountains proper and I know so many others who do as well. We have such a great community here and I am pretty confident that those of us who tend to weekend or weekday warrior will make sure to use appropriate precautions when the time comes. So, as we start to see restrictions ease, my hope is that each one of you commits to (or continues to commit to) getting outdoors responsibly so we can all at least get back to our normal, socially distant outdoor life soon. Until next time, happy hiking 🥾✌🏼🏔.
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