Located only 30 miles from Denver, Golden Gate Canyon’s hiking trails offer something for everyone. We had originally selected the Frazer Meadow /Horseshoe Loop Trails, but after speaking with the ranger at the Visitor’s Center we changed our plans and elected to take give the Burro Trail a try:
Burro Trail
Permitted uses: Foot only
Miles paved: 0
Miles non-paved: 4.5
Total distance: 4.5
Usage: Medium
Degree of difficulty: Difficult
Elevation: 7,800
This trail did not appear in our Denver Day Hikes book, so we (aka I) assumed it was a moderate hike like the others we had reviewed in the book. The first mile and half was treacherous, especially since we were out drinking the night before.
Once we had hiked about one-third of the trail, we made it to my favorite area which was the heavily wooded section. Don’t get me wrong, I like to see the scenic views from the edge of the mountain as much as anyone, but it was warm today and it felt nice to walk through the cool forest.
The entire hike took us about two hours to complete, however I don’t think we saw another hiker until we were about 30 minutes from the end. It was nice to spend a morning in the wilderness.