What are your favorite spots for iNatting in Colorado?

Nature Talk
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In August I’ll have about a week for solo hiking and iNatting in Colorado, after visiting some national parks and doing some other slightly more touristy things with my daughter the week before.

It would be great to get some suggestions on where to go from locals or people familiar with the area, both for iNatting and just for hiking in general. I live on the east coast, in the Mid Atlantic, so I expect a whole lot of what I’ll see in Colorado will be lifers for me, but if there are any areas with particularly high biodiversity that I shouldn’t miss please let me know. What are your favorite spots?

My general preference is for less popular hikes, since the fewer people there are in an area, the more animals, usually. And, while I enjoy seeing new animals in particular, I am not picky. I’m happy to see interesting plants, fungi, whatever. I don’t want to spend the majority of my time driving around, but I can go pretty much anywhere, though I’m flying in and out of Denver.

Also, if there’s anything not-obvious about staying safe, I’m happy to hear recommendations/precautions. For the most part I know how to behave around snakes, large mammals (including hairless primates), bees/wasps/ticks. In terms of protection I don’t usually bring anything with me beyond a multitool and bug spray.

Thanks in advance for your thoughts!

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Also, if there’s anything not-obvious about staying safe, I’m happy to hear recommendations/precautions. For the most part I know how to behave around snakes, large mammals (including hairless primates), bees/wasps/ticks. In terms of protection I don’t usually bring anything with me beyond a multitool and bug spray.

Based on your recent observations, you’re based somewhere in Maryland?

Altitude is going to be big if you’re transitioning from somewhere near sea level to up high in the mountains. If my brief research is correct, Maryland is an average of 489 feet above sea level - Colorado is on average 6,800 feet above sea level.

Especially if you’re planning in hiking in the mountains, altitude sickness is a concern: there’s a reason you’ll see the altitude displayed in just about every town and city sign in the state(it’s not for bragging). Before you go, you’ll want to familiarize yourself with the symptoms.

Here’s a link to help you get started: https://www.webmd.com/a-to-z-guides/altitude-sickness

(This is coming from a Coloradan who lives at approx. 6,500 feet above sea level)

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I loved my trips to Colorado, but on my first trip I wished I had been better prepared for the nose bleeds, the dry and cracking skin, and the sunburn (from the altitude and the extremely dry air).

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Another Coloradoan here, chiming in with a strong recommentation for good sunscreen and lots of water. There’s much less atmosphere to protect you from the sun and keep water in your body. Staying hydrated also helps you to acclimatize to the altitude. The Doctor’s post-doc at the CU Med School was looking for both genetic markers for and gene expression in altitude adaptation. I can’t nod along with @antimatterbee vehemently enough: get familiar with the symptoms and pay attention to what your bod’s doing. The nausea and dizziness from AMS are bad enough, but cerebral edema is a guaranteed way to mess up a good day.

Now, so far as off the beaten track goes, unless you’re up for some hardcore backcoutry trekking, most places are going to be kind of people-y to one degree or another. However, I can give some recommendations.

If you want to stay close to town, the Highline Canal Trails go through all sorts of terrain, and Segment 12 allows access to the Marjorie Perry Nature Preserve. I also like Sand Creek Park and the Bluff Lake Nature Center (although access is a little weird right now, since they’re building a new campus and visitor center).

Colorado has 22 National Wildlife Refuges, including the Rocky Mountain Arsenal NWR. It’s close to me, so I’m up there a lot.

Denver Mountain Parks: we’ve hiked Corwina, Echo Lake, and Genesee. Echo Lake is fairly flat, but it gives access to the Chicago Lakes Trail up the side of Mt. Blue Sky. The Echo Lake end is at over 10,000’, so I don’t suggest trying that one! :grin: Corwina and Genesee have some nice vertical without being quite so punishing, and all three are lovely.

Jefferson County Open Space: both the Doctor and I think highly of Lair o’ the Bear, Mount Falcon, and White Ranch. Deer Creek Canyon is re-opening after a fire last year, and it’s a remarkably biodiverse place. I also love the trails at the Lookout Mountain Preserve and Nature Center. Again, not too punishing, and really beautiful.

If you want something a little different, check out Pawnee National Grassland. It’s mostly short-grass prairie, but the area around Pawnee Buttes may be the most interesting, since there are scarp woodlands including relics of an ice-age forest.

State parks are a great alternative to national parks, and I can recommend Golden Gate, Staunton, and Eldorado Canyon. I haven’t been to St. Vrain or Roxborough, but I’ve heard good things about both.

And because I’ve probably forgotten some, check out the Day Hikes Near Denver site.

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A couple places not mentioned by @GothHobbit - I lived in Colorado 7 years ago and have not been back so keep that in mind as you read these few suggestions. Chatfield State Park is/was great for birds, mammals, plants and bugs…Just up 470 is Red Rocks which also has a lot of wildlife. Barr Lake State Park at least use to have the most recorded birds in Colorado and has other wildlife in abundance. Cherry Creek State Park is also a great State Park. Yes on weekends many of these places get busy but if you can go during the week there are fewer people. I highly suggest Mount Blue Sky for Mountain Goats and Big horned Sheep. While I’m sure some people do get altitude sickness most people do just fine. Like they said watch for symptoms for sure but but let them scare you into not trying some of these high country areas. They are breathtakingly beautiful. Brainard Lake beautiful with abundant wildlife. Go at sun up and you might see Moose. Of course, be careful they are wild animals.

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Also Trail Ridge Road which I have heard now requires a reservation (so look into it before you go) also breathtakingly beautiful with abundant wildlife. There are a lot of people so for sure try this one during the week if you can. Bring a jacket as even in August it could be cold. Look for Marmot,
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Elk, Pika, Moose, Big horned Sheep and Mountain Goats. There are some good birds in these areas also.
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If you want more detail PM me and I will tell you I can.

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Yes, be aware of the elevation if you’re going to exert yourself. I live in New Mexico at a mile high elevation — same as Denver, the Mile High City. Even I feel the elevation when I go up to the nearby mountains at 10,000 feet. I’ve known a few folks who were visiting from low elevations and experienced dizziness and fatigue even at a mile high.

That said, Colorado is an amazing state and you can’t go too wrong if you get outside the Front Range development and head up high.

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Thank you everyone for all the recommendations!

As a kid, my family used to go skiing in Colorado fairly frequently, and I’ve lived in the desert southwest before, so I am familiar with the need for water and sunblock. I should have mentioned this in my initial post, but thank you everyone for looking out!

Fingers crossed that altitude sickness isn’t an issue. I’ve only experienced acute altitude sickness once in my life, when I was staying near Quito at about 10,000’. I spent a few days at the Grand Canyon a few months ago, at 7,000’ without issue, and the plan is to stay in the Colorado Springs area for the first ~72 hours, just doing day hikes, in order to acclimate. Hopefully I won’t have any problems with altitude sickness, but I’ll keep it in mind. I wasn’t aware of HAPE and HACE, I though altitude sickness was just headaches and that sort of thing, so again thanks for the heads-up!

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One thing that I forgot to mention (@Clip reminded me, so thank you!) is that the Mt. Blue Sky (formerly Mt. Evans) Scenic Byway is closed through next spring. You can still get to Echo Lake, but SH 5 to the summit is closed down at the junction with SH 103. However, the rest of the Byway (103 over Mestaa’Ehehe Pass to Bergen Park) is still open. The reason is good: the section of road by Summit Lake is badly frost-heaved, to the point that driving over it is kind of like being on one of the old novelty coasters with wavy tracks! :roller_coaster:

It’s kind of a sad for the Doctor and me, since we have a tradition of making the trip to the summit at least once per summer. On the other hand, it’s getting us to explore some new places; so there’s that.

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@GothHobbit - It was badly in need of repair even back when I lived there. I’m glad they are finally getting around to repairing it.

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