cupcakes and the cosmos
Colorado Local LIFE Weekend Recap

Hiking Snowshoe Hare Trail in Golden Gate Canyon Park

After a casual Saturday spent on Pearl Street shopping and eating lots of yummy food, I was up for a new adventure on Sunday!

My best friend Conor’s mom was visiting this past weekend, so they invited me to go on a nice, easy hike with them in Golden Gate Canyon State Park. Golden Gate Canyon State Park is only a 40 minute drive from Boulder, making it the perfect (and beautiful!) getaway that is still relatively close (and quick) to get to!

Snowshoe Hare Trail in Golden Gate Canyon State Park | www.cupcakesandthecosmos.com

Without much of a concrete plan ahead of time, we decided to hike the Snowshoe Hare trail. It’s a ~3 mile loop of moderate difficulty (it’s rated difficult, but we did just fine!) and goes by Dude’s Fishing Hole. It can also be extended to go by Panarama View by taking the Mule Deer trail. (See a full list of trails here.) As it was my first time in the park, I was quite surprised to find how beautiful it was with the changing of fall leaves.

Snowshoe Hare Trail in Golden Gate Canyon State Park | www.cupcakesandthecosmos.com

Snowshoe Hare Trail in Golden Gate Canyon State Park | www.cupcakesandthecosmos.com

Snowshoe Hare Trail in Golden Gate Canyon State Park | www.cupcakesandthecosmos.com

The first major feature you arrive at is a beautiful lake. If I had a dog, it would definitely be at the top of my list of places to come and play with her. The view was gorgeous, the water still and peaceful.

Snowshoe Hare Trail in Golden Gate Canyon State Park | www.cupcakesandthecosmos.com

Snowshoe Hare Trail in Golden Gate Canyon State Park | www.cupcakesandthecosmos.com

What a gorgeous day it was! Bright, blue Colorado skies for miles.

Snowshoe Hare Trail in Golden Gate Canyon State Park | www.cupcakesandthecosmos.com

Snowshoe Hare Trail in Golden Gate Canyon State Park | www.cupcakesandthecosmos.com

Conor and his mom finding pretty views from the top of this rock feature. They are some of the nicest people I’ve met, and we had such a great time together! So glad I got to meet her while she was in town.

Snowshoe Hare Trail in Golden Gate Canyon State Park | www.cupcakesandthecosmos.com

Snowshoe Hare Trail in Golden Gate Canyon State Park | www.cupcakesandthecosmos.com

We hiked up a bit off to the side of the trail to get a better view of the mountains. To make sure we didn’t get lost, Conor’s mom set up sticks periodically for us to follow back down to the trail, like bread crumbs. Naturally, we had to limbo underneath them on the way back down!

Snowshoe Hare Trail in Golden Gate Canyon State Park | www.cupcakesandthecosmos.com

The trail was set up for snowshoeing in the winter, and I’d love to try it again once we get snow. There were also quite a few mountain bikers on the trail, which I was thoroughly impressed by, considering the size of rocks and uphill climbs (seen below). Yikes! I think I’ll stick to walking for now. 😛

Snowshoe Hare Trail in Golden Gate Canyon State Park | www.cupcakesandthecosmos.com
Snowshoe Hare Trail in Golden Gate Canyon State Park | www.cupcakesandthecosmos.com

One of my favorite parts of hiking is exploring the trail off the trail. Now, I’m not saying to go off and trample fragile plant life–trails are there for a reason. But when there is a fun rock feature or other trail that leads to a different (usually higher) perspective, you can bet I’m the first one on it! And from the picture below, Conor feels the same way. The views were just spectacular!

Snowshoe Hare Trail in Golden Gate Canyon State Park | www.cupcakesandthecosmos.com

Snowshoe Hare Trail in Golden Gate Canyon State Park | www.cupcakesandthecosmos.com

Typical “me and Conor”, awkwardly trying to stand to take a picture. Ha! We were meant to be friends. 😛

Snowshoe Hare Trail in Golden Gate Canyon State Park | www.cupcakesandthecosmos.com

The best of friends! 😀 Yay!

Snowshoe Hare Trail in Golden Gate Canyon State Park | www.cupcakesandthecosmos.com

The trails were beautiful and adorned plentifully in the most stunning golden Aspen leaves. (This picture doesn’t do it justice!) Nature at its most beautiful.

Snowshoe Hare Trail in Golden Gate Canyon State Park | www.cupcakesandthecosmos.com

Snowshoe Hare Trail in Golden Gate Canyon State Park | www.cupcakesandthecosmos.com

Snowshoe Hare Trail in Golden Gate Canyon State Park | www.cupcakesandthecosmos.com
Snowshoe Hare Trail in Golden Gate Canyon State Park | www.cupcakesandthecosmos.com

The hike took us about ~2 hours, which was reason enough to make a lunch stop at Southern Sun afterwards. I got the mushroom-onion-swiss burger, Conor got the blackened chicken quesadilla, and Conor’s mom got the black bean burger. We all split a serving of french fries with ranch dressing, and let me tell you…it really hit the spot after a long hike. Everything was delicious and re-energizing after our morning filled with good ol’ Colorado exploring.

After lunch, we parted ways and I went home for a long nap before Allen arrived back in town from his weekend camping adventure. This was my first time in Golden Gate Canyon State Park, and most undoubtedly not my last. For a quick 40 minute drive, it offers some of the prettiest views and outdoor escape at a reasonable distance from Boulder. They even have campgrounds available! So, I’m thinking we need to take advantage of that ASAP before winter hits.

What about you? Have you found any great hikes near you recently?

You might also like…a quick hike up Mt. Sanitas and my favorite hike in Boulder.

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