 |
| Me and Alexa, all smiles |
Overview
The Bluffs
Regional Park is located in Lone Tree, Colorado and is part of the Douglas
County open space program. The main loop trail is 2.7 miles around, and there
are a few lookout points trails that can be added on for additional mileage.
This is a popular area for hiking, running, and mountain biking. I have hiked
this trail many times, but have not reported on it before. I hope you enjoy
this trip report and find it helpful in planning your next adventure in the
hills.
Directions/Trailhead Information
The Bluffs
Regional Park Tailhead is located at—latitude 39.528375°, longitude -104.886555°.
If you enter “Bluffs Regional Park Tailhead” into the Google Maps app,
the location will come up providing you directions. There is a large parking
area that will accommodate approximately 50 vehicles. There is a porta potty at
the TH, as well as a covered picnic table area. The park is a busy place, so
don’t be surprised is parking becomes an issue on nice weekend days. We arrived
around 11 am on a weekend day and there were at least 15 open spots to park.
The Climb
 |
| Hydration is key |
I like to
get my daughter, Alexa, outside on hikes as much as I can. The Bluffs Regional
Park is a good place to do this. Kids can run around on the trail, or sit in
Dad’s pack like this one did, and you don’t have to worry about them too much.
The loop we
took is short and without a kid on your back probably takes about an hour to
complete. But, if you’re willing to lug a kiddo around, it makes for a great training
environment. Alexa is growing up pretty fast, she is going to be 3 in a couple
months, and I can tell I won’t be able to lug her around like this much longer.
Sometimes she likes to get out and hike, but today was not one of those days.
It was pretty warm out, so I was content with her ridding on my back under her “tent”
drinking all the water from my water bladder.
 |
| Hiking by herself |
About half
way around the loop, Alexa was hungry from all the hard work she had been
doing, so we stopped at one of the benches along the trail and had some fruit
leather and some fruit loops. I was starting to get concerned about the amount
of water she had been drinking since we are going through potty training, and I
didn’t really feel like a afternoon shower with her riding on my back. Luckily
that was not an issue.
As we set
back on the trail, she decided it was time to hike, and I was all for it. Hiking
in a toddler’s eyes is much different than in my eyes. About every other step
she would squat to the ground checking out a bug or a rock, which I don’t mind
at all, I like the idea of exploring your surroundings. I would say we progressed
50 feet in about 10 minutes up the trail. At one point she full on plopped down
on the trail to build a sandcastle out of rocks. I laughed, as did all the
others walking by. Oh, to be a kid again and not realize the world going on
around you. In this day and age that is a very good thing indeed.
 |
| Building "sandcastles" |
Eventually I
convinced her that we should start making our way up the trail since we were
only about halfway around the loop. She was moving slow and at one point gave
me her famous line “hold me”. She wasn’t interested in going back in the pack,
so I had to carry her, and I should add this was on the hill part of the hike.
Oh well, you get used to that type of thing after a while. Once we got on the plateau,
I was able to convince her to ride on my shoulders. She still wasn’t “all in”
for getting into the bag, but I took that as a victory anyway. Once we made it
to the east side of the plateau there was another resting bench. We stopped to
have more snacks and water. I was able to convince her to get back in the backpack
at least. I was starting to think about lunch, a pulled pork sandwich in
particular, so I was thankful she was starting to accommodate my suggestions. I’m
sure she was just exhausted and the idea of a tent to get out of the sun was probably
a consideration.
 |
| A good day on the trail |
The hike
down was like twenty questions about anything and everything she was seeing at
the time. This cracks me up every time, and it happens a lot. I didn’t have Mr.
Google to confirm my answers, but I think I did a pretty good job with my
responses. We made it back to the car and nobody had gone potty, so I was
pretty pleased with our hike. Its always great to get out on the trail with
her, but I do look forward to the days where we can climb peaks together and hopefully
she enjoys it as much as I do.
Parting Notes
This is a
great local place to get out and recreate. It’s a good spot to bring the family
and take in views of the Front Range and the Denver metro area. We come to this
park a few times each year and keep coming back, so for parks in the nearby
area, I would give this one of the higher ratings. I have another TR in the
works for a recent climb I did in Colorado, so hopefully I can get that out
soon. In the meantime, happy trails and stay safe in the mountains. Cheers!
 |
| GPX track |
Trailhead
Elevation: 6,050 feet
Total
Ascent: 291 feet
Class: 1
Distance: 2.8
miles
Moving Time:
1 hr 12 min
Stopped
Time: 0 hr 10 min
Climbing
Partners: Alexa
GAIA GPS
Link: Bluffs
Regional Park
No comments:
Post a Comment