* 60 Colorado loop hikes accessible from metro areas including Denver, Colorado Springs, Fort Collins, and Boulder
* Illustrated with topo maps, elevation profiles, and photos for each hike
* Trailfinder chart lists hikes by factors including distance, hiking time, elevation gain, season, and highlights -- quiet wilderness, mountain meadow, great views, wildlife, etc.
* Bonus listing of Colorado hikes that are great for winter snowshoeing
Looking for a short, easy loop stroll, or a challenging loop trek? Do you want loops that offer solitude or loops that are kid-friendly? Best Loop Hikes Colorado includes loop hikes that involve overnight stays and trails that involve fourteeners to consider, too. And did you know that some loops double as great snowshoe trails in winter? You'll find all these and more in Best Loop Hikes Colorado . As you can tell, the operative word here is "loop." That's there's no need to bore yourself by retracing the same path. Your every step is shiny and new, all without tandem driving or dropping off a car at both ends of the trail. It's the holy grail of hiking!
Guidebook regions include the Front Range, Central Mountains, Southwest Mountains, Western Slope and Canyonlands, Northern Mountains, and Rocky Mountain National Park.
Wisconsin native Steve Johnson is a self-propelled recreation junkie and fan of all things outdoors. He grew up roaming the northern lakes and forest regions of Minnesota and Wisconsin and spent his nascent college years exploring up high in the Colorado Rockies. An avid hiker and huge fan of road and mountain biking, Steve can usually be found on a hiking trail in the woods somewhere, or with his bike and a wide open road. With a spare hour or five, he is outdoors and in tune with nature's finest. A regular contributor to Backpacker and other regional magazines across the country, some of Steve’s other work includes Hiking Minnesota Waterfalls, Loop Hikes Colorado, Bicycling Wisconsin, Mountain Biking Minnesota, and spinoff sporting events projects. And don’t miss his first children’s book, The Big Bog. Steve lives and writes in southeastern Minnesota and far north Wisconsin.
In my limited hiking experience, I've determined that I prefer loop hikes and summit hikes. I'm not a fan of going back down the same way I came up (to the point of exploring ways down when I probably should just stick to the trail). Fortunately this book exists and provides loop hikes of various strenousness and locations. Although I've only tried a few of these, the information contained within would be very helpful for hikers of all levels.