This past Fourth of July weekend, the man and I went for a 5-mile hike at the beautiful Waterton Canyon.

I had never been before, and he’s been talking about how it’s a beautiful site for a long run… perhaps after my crazy performance schedule is over. He was right!

Check out the scenery.

SOME BACKGROUND

While it makes quite the backdrop, Waterton Canyon is more than just a great place to hike.

The trek is the Denver terminus for The Colorado Trail. Denver Water owns and administers Waterton’s trailhead, parking, and 6-mile canyon, which are all open to hike, bike, and horse. It is, sadly, closed to dogs in order to preserve the wildlife habitat.

The hike boasts a wide gravel road alongside the South Platte River, where wildlife is abundant (longhorn sheep, mule deer, and bunnies to boot).

Here, the man enjoys the view (and I enjoy my view of him!).

The water was high and fast-moving.

The further you go, the more majestic the views of the rolling foothills and the canyon rock.

I love the vantage points along with the ease of this terrain… which could be a good way for me to experiment with more trail running and less treadmill and road running.

A couple of happy hikers! After our hike and a bit of rest, the man took me out on the town for drinks at Old Major and a feast at Osaka Ramen. Osaka might just be my new favorite secret-but-not-so-secret place. Everything was delicious!

We were stuffed silly… but managed to top off the evening with a few s’mores, because summer. 🙂

HEY COLORADANS,
HAVE YOU BEEN HERE BEFORE?