Some thoughts and discussions from me.
Boulder Hiking–Mount Sanitas Trailhead (fun with friends and blends!)
My most recent Colorado hiking adventures have taken me to Mount Sanitas trailhead in north Boulder. Last weekend was an absolutely gorgeous weekend, and on Saturday morning after boot camp, a couple of friends and I headed over to Mount Sanitas for the 3.1 mile moderate to difficult hike.
Notice the coyote activity sign to consider hiking in another area. Hike in another area we did not, however, I’m considering bringing my glock with my on future hikes that warn of predatory animals 
haha No but seriously…
Anyway, it was a gorgeous day for a hike!
Mount Sanitas starts with lots of stairs.
I’m not a huuuge fan of trails that are all stairs – I’d rather hike up rocks, and luckily the steps quickly turned to scrambling up rock. In fact, Mount Sanitas is a very rocky trail. I liked it a lot!
I actually liked it so much that I came back to hike it 3 days later with Lauren 
I will say that it is quite the workout – but not too tough. I was huffing and puffing on the way up, but would consider it a good workout for any day of the week.
We ended up making several stops along the way up. On one particular wall of rock we saw lots of chalk marks – a sign of mountain climbers! So I gave it a try, since I started indoor rock climbing finally.
Fun stuff! Too bad I’m only a few feet off the ground haha
We also went off on a couple random trails to take advantage of the views along the way:
When you hike up Mount Sanitas, you can either go back down the way you came, or continue along on the loop. It took us about an 1 hr 15 minutes to hike up, and we decided keep looping around via East Ridge Trail. Why not?
We quickly learned why we saw so many people heading back down the way they came – East Ridge Trail is STEEP!
I’m glad we did – it wasn’t scary or anything, but I have to admit that I didn’t take advantage of the views much on the way down. I was too busy watching my feet!
But we did stop for a few pictures
The majority of East Ridge trail is rocky switchbacks, but then you get to a gravel trail in Sanitas valley, which is an easy stroll back to the trailhead.
All in all – I loved Mount Sanitas, and plan to add it to my regular hiking trail rotations.
Three things I loved about Mount Sanitas:
- The length – 2 hours is the perfect amount of time for a quick hike. It’d be the perfect trail to head to after a work day, on the weekend, or even on a long lunch hour!
- The terrain. I love the Flat Irons, but those trails can get muddy. Since Mount Sanitas is mostly rock, there’s hardly any mud at all. When I hiked here with Lauren, we went the morning after a rainy day, and we didn’t get muddy at all.
- The way up. The top of Mount Sanitas is cool and all, but I love hikes the provide ample views the entire way up. I feel like Mount Sanitas is gorgeous from bottom to top – and back down.
Word of warnings:
- coyotes. There was a sign warning of coyotes being present. Obviously we didn’t run into this problem, but it’s with saying!
- The day we went (end of March) it was sunny and around 70 degrees, and around noon. This early in the year, we were sweating, and came home with a nice pink sun burn. I’d imagine hiking here in the summer on a hot day would require a hat and definitely some sunscreen.
Mount Sanitas Trailhead
Distance: 3.1 mile loop
Difficulty: moderate-difficult
Starting elevation: 5,520 feet
Elevation gained: 1,300 feet
Duration: approximately 2 hours
Getting there: From Broadway turn went onto Mapleton. Keep driving past the medical center (on right) until you reach the parking lot on your left
Dogs allowed: Yes
I’m curious: Have you ever encountered predatory animals in the wild?
Looks like a fantastic hike!
I’m pretty sure the only time I’ve come even remotely close to a predatory animal was when my family and I were in BC when I was about 11. We were taking the gondola up Whistler mountain when we noticed a bear directly below us. Pretty glad we were at least 100 feet above him :-p
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This doesn’t really answer the question, but whenever I’m out in the wild, I always think of the old version of The Parent Trap when they told her to hit sticks together to scare off mountain lions. Haha
But I did see wolves on a hike in Banff!
Lol- Jen- I think of that too! I watched that movie a million times as a kid. 🙂
The view looks amazing. Lucikly I’ve never run into any animals in the wild. I’m afraid to go camping because of bears!
Ashley @ Life and Fitness recently posted…Why I Need A Rest Day
I think I’m enjoying your hiking recaps most of all!
As backpackers, my husband and I have seen our fair share of evidence of predatory animals on the trail. Fortunately, we’ve never seen anything in person that has been serious cause for alarm. On one of our trips into the backcountry last summer, we did share our campsite the first night with a few moose! That was interesting 🙂
Natalie @ Free Range Human recently posted…Marvelous Celebration
the views are amazing!!
Kaitlin @4loveofcarrots recently posted…Kraft Fresh Take Giveaway
wow, looks like an amazing hike/place.
I did often wonder if you worry about snakes/coyotes/Bears on all these hikes!
Looks like such a fun hike! The closest I’ve come to predatory animals was hearing a bear grunt while hiking in NH in the spring. It sounded like he was just making his presence known, and letting us know that we should get out of there. Needless to say we climbed down the mountain rather quickly and I was singing 99 bottles of beer the whole way just as an added precaution haha
Meghan @ After the Ivy League recently posted…Back to the Grind
We’ve done Sanitas quite a bit. We usually hike up the East Ridge side and go down the stairs.
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I’m not going to lie, I’d probably have been scared going down and climbing rocks without any ropes… I’m such a wuss. Still looks awesome though!
I grew up around coyotes. In Oklahoma, they didn’t really go after humans. They were really skittish. But we had to keep an eye on our pets.
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Love living vicariously through your CO adventures Paige! I did Mount Sanitas last May & loved it. I was in Estes Park last Fall & saw a brown bear while hiking & of course all of the Elk everywhere! So cool 🙂
Katie @ KatieEnPursuit recently posted…1 to 88 and Everything Between
How awesome! Looks like such a fun hike and what awesome views! I don’t think there is any better way to get out in nature than that.
Danielle (@CleanFoodCreativeFitness) recently posted…Do you want to live more and weigh less?
Seriously! You live in the best location. I love sunny Florida, but those mountain views are just too beautiful.
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I love this detailed account of the trail! I will definitely be going back again and again- the stairs are awesome (Greg would LOVE that too).
Ha- I didn’t notice the coyote sign there, but did when I was at Standley Lake in Westminster- and it made me turn around! I haven’t seen coyote warning signs before! I see them for bears and mountain lions all the time, but that doesn’t phase me anymore. It is a little creepy knowing that you COULD encounter something, but I only really ever think about it when I’m hiking alone. I may also worry a bit about hiking with just one of my dogs if there aren’t many people on the trail. I have a really creepy coyote story to share with you sometime that just makes me a little freaked by them.
Oh- and I haven’t had any dangerous encounters. When I was hiking at Chautauqua in November though, I did round the corner and there was a big buck standing right there. He had huge antlers and was not moving, so that was a bit creepy. And Greg has seen a bear while mountain biking (around here)!
Lauren @ Oatmeal after Spinning recently posted…Friends With Beer
What a BEAUTIFUL hike! So much fun. Outdoor workouts can be just awesome. I have only encountered a few snakes walking in SC. We have a good chunk of snakes (shiver), so they’re often on the walking paths in our neighborhoods. They freak me out.
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Wow, what an absolutely breath taking and beautiful hike. The view there is amazing! I can only imagine how much better it would be in person though;)
Being out in nature like that is so awesome, even though I’m not a total nature lover. I can get over that for gorgeous hikes.
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Gorgeous pics!! I’d love to hike in that part of the country. I live in Wisconsin, so mountains are super exotic to me. 🙂
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Beautiful pics! One reason why we would love to live out west!
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