Indian Mountain

Indian Mountain (to the right)

Overview

Apex Park is a great all-season area to go hiking, running, and biking. This is my first visit to the park, though I expect more visits with my family in the future. There are many trails that compromise the park area, with the main entrance being on the east side. I will caution you that there may be icy sections of the trail depending on the time of year you are accessing the parks tails, so you may want to pack along some foot traction in the winter months. I hope you enjoy this trip report and find it helpful in planning your next adventure in the hills.

Directions/Trailhead Information

Apex Park Trailhead is located at—latitude 39.716234°, longitude -105.209921°. This is a Jefferson County Open Space Park, where more information such as additional trails and park regulations can be found at—Apex Park. From your location make your way along US-40 W to Heritage Rd near Golden. Head north following Heritage Rd taking the first left into the Apex Park Trailhead Parking Lot. There is a large parking lot with restrooms, and an information booth with printed maps of the park. The parking lot is large, and it may hold a couple dozen vehicles. This appears to be a heavily trafficked area and I would expect the lot to be full on weekend days.

The Climb

Today’s objective was to ascend Indian Mountain from the main trailhead. I took off from the trailhead about 11 AM and was back to the car a litter after 1 PM. I headed up the Apex Trail, from the trailhead this starts as a concrete path, but there is a side trail that cuts over the first bend so you’re not on the concrete too long. After about a quarter mile take the Argos Trail to the right. This will have a few switchbacks leading you to the Pick-n-Sledge Trail. These trails had a little snow/ice on them, but nothing bad since they are on the south and east sides of the mountain. Follow the Pick-n-Sledge Trail to the saddle between point 7,214 and Indian Mountain. There is an unofficial climbers trail leading from just past the saddle to the summit of Indian Mountain.

View of Golden/Denver metro area

Nick on the summit of Indian Mountain

From the summit there is a nice view of the Denver metro area. It took me about an hour to reach the summit. The weather was great at almost 60°, so shorts would have been a bonus over softshell pants today. For the hike down, I decided to make a large loop. I lost the climbers trail off the north side of the mountain, so I traversed cross country till I ran into a trail which I believe was the Grubstake Trail. About the time I met the trail I saw about four deer giving me the stare down. After a couple pictures I headed on my way. This side had significantly more snow of the trail, but not as much ice as it didn’t appear it gets as much use as the southern/eastern trails. There was an option to shortcut across the Bonanza Trail, but I chose to remain on the Grubstake Trail to get some more mileage in. This was a nice trail that offered a diversity in forested scenery as well as open space views of the surrounding metro area. The Grubstake Trail eventually merged back to the Pick-n-Sledge Trail, and from there I backtracked my ascent route back to the trailhead. My roundtrip time was 2 hours and 9 minutes, which I felt pretty good about with gaining over 1,000 vertical feet and traveling over 5 miles. It was another good day of training in the local hills.

Parting Notes

This is a great place to recreate, that offers a diverse group of trails. The parking lot could be an issue during busy times such as the weekends, but this is a park worth coming back to with my family and exploring additional trails. These trip reports are a little out of order, I followed up this climb with the ascent of Mount Galbraith which is located just to the north of this park. Until next time, cheers!

 Date: January 4, 2019

Trailhead Elevation: 6,170 feet

Indian Mountain: 7,280 feet

Total Elevation Gain: 1,104 feet

Class: 1

Distance: 5.3 miles

Moving Time: 2 hr 3 min

Stopped Time: 0 hr 6 min

Climbing Partner: Solo

GAIA GPS Link: Indian Mountain (2019-01-04)

Jefferson County Open Space Map Link: Apex Park