Are you looking for the best hiking trip near Denver? Red Rocks is a great choice, is about twenty minutes from Denver and filled with some great hiking trails.
This is Olive here sharing her experience hiking the Trading Post Trail at Red Rocks with her boyfriend.
Itinerary – Denver
- Parked at lower south lot two, here is the map for reference
- Headed straight onto the Trading Post trail from the lower south lot two (there is another entrance from lower south lot one)
- Took the Trading Post Trail the entire time – it’s a loop trail
- Jumped off the trail once we got to the road near the amphitheater (this was at the end of the trail)
- Walked up the ramp to the amphitheater to an overlook of the Denver skyline and see the concert venue
- Walked down the ramp to bring us back to the road
- Took the road to lower south lot one and Trading Post + Colorado Music Hall of Fame (museum + gift shop)
Breakfast
To start the day, we enjoyed breakfast in the town of Morrison, CO at Tap on the Rocks. This restaurant was about a five-minute drive to Red Rocks, making it a perfect stop before the morning hike.
Hungrily, we enjoyed a few breakfast burritos while looking out onto the Red Rocks. Something we noticed about Colorado is that they are big on their breakfast burritos.
A plus side to this hike is that my boyfriend and I are not necessarily morning people and had no problem sleeping in a bit, grabbing breakfast, and still finding parking around 11 am on a Sunday.
Parking
After breakfast, we drove up to Red Rocks and parked at the lower south lot two. See the map for reference. It is located very close to the Trading Post (Gift Shop) + the Colorado Hall of Fame and the lower south lot one.
Fortunately, this was the perfect place to park with it’s proximity to the trail entrance. It was also a great spot because we ended our morning hike with a little shopping and history lesson in the Trading Post.
Trading Post Trail: Easy
When beginning the hike, the weather started off beautiful, but we did run into a bit of a hail/rain storm near the end of the trail. Of course, it stopped raining right when we finished up the trail!
Learn from us, be sure to keep an eye on your weather app and the clouds before heading out for a hike near Denver.
Trading Post Trail was a beautiful trail surrounded by the Red Rock sandstone formations. I would say this hike is relatively easy (especially for out of towners like us because there wasn’t a huge gain in elevation).
To start, we took the trail entrance right behind the lower south parking lot and turned left. This trail is a loop so you do have the option to turn left or right to begin the trail. There were hikers going our direction and the other, so I don’t think you can go wrong with your choice.
Important Detail #1: This trail has very little shade. Make sure you pack your sunscreen and hat for sun protection.
Important Detail #2: Rattlesnakes can be seen on this trail. This shouldn’t stop you from going on the hike, just be aware!
More Details of the Trading Post Trail
For the most part, it was an easy terrain with a few bridges and inclined areas on the second half of the trail.
Luckily, we did this hike on our last day visiting Colorado and it was the perfect ending to the trip. The hike was challenging at times but felt like a nice morning walk vs. an intense hike.
This is definitely a family friends trail – we saw a handful of children and parents enjoying the walk and the scenery.
Note: The trail is dog-friendly, but it can be very narrow at times. Not sure I’d bring our dogs on this one due to the narrowness of the trails, but if you have a smaller dog and/or a non-reactive dog, it could be a good option for a dog hike!
Checking out the Amphitheater
It worked out well that we chose to go clockwise on the Trading Post Trail because the last part of our hike lead us to the Amphitheater.
There is a point of the Trading Post Trail that aligns with Trading Post Road. We were able to jump off the hike and cross the street to get to the ramp leading up to the Amphitheater.
After a little over a mile hike on the trail, there was a part of me that was pretty tired and not sure I wanted to walk up the inclined ramp to see the view of Denver and the concert venue.
However, my boyfriend had never seen the venue before so knew we had to do it! (I saw a show there a few years ago and it was AMAZING, highly recommend)!
Once we reached the concert venue, we took in the sight overlooking Denver. If we looked really hard, we could see the skyline through the fog. It was really cool to see, but of course, we made jokes about how small it is compared to Chicago’s amazing skyline.
After the hike –
If it had not started raining on us, we would have loved to grab a post hike beer or coffee in Morrison, CO. This is the town closet to Red Rocks and is such a fun little mountain town. We would have loved to stop into the shops and restaurants, here are some we drove by that looked fun –
- Breakfast or Ice Cream – The Cow an Eatery (has indoor dining and a takeout window)
- Post Beer Hike and/or Lunch – Red Rocks Beer Garden
- Ice Cream or Lunch – Mill Street Eats
ROSE + THORN
ROSE
Olive – the views were fantastic and it was a perfect Sunday morning leisurely hike
THORN
Olive – the trails were narrow which made it tough when people were walking both directions
Overview of the Park
Check out pictures from the day!
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Map of the Park
Looking for more things to do near Denver?
Check out this post for details on our hike in Evergreen, CO, and check back for a post on our favorite Denver neighborhood!
This is an excellent article!
Oh My GOD!!! It’s my dream to go to Red Rocks Ampitheatre for a concert one day. I don’t know why I never realized it was part of an actual area for hiking. Even cooler!
Sounds like a great way to spend your day – an easy trail hike in gorgeous scenery followed by a hearty brunch. My kind of day.
I would like to go hiking in Red Rocks. It looks like perfect place to spend the day, get some exercise and enjoy the views!
Red Rocks looks like a beautiful place for hiking! I’d love to explore the Amphitheater; the scenery looks incredible! I’d love to visit one day! Thanks for the great guide!
Can’t wait to explore Colorado!
We have not been to Colorado yet, but these hiking trails look like a perfect addition to our ‘list’! Your photos are awesome!
Looks like a lovely hiking trip to the red rocks ! Your pictures are amazing. I have not been to Denver yet but look this up when I am in the region. 🙂
You gotta love all of the amazing treasures in Colorado. Attending a concert at the Red Rocks venue is pretty awesome too.
This looks like an amazing hike and worth adding to a trip to Colorado.
Thanks for sharing it
Wow! What an impressive post, love the way it was structured with the map and the picture overview! The pictures look amazing too! Well done
Wow the photos look great! I am not much of a long day hiker but this looks doable!
Yes!!! Colorado is on my bucket list for hiking and this place looks amazing. Saving for when I can visit!
This looks like such a nice, scenic hike! I’d love to try it the next time I’m in Colorado. Thanks for sharing!
I’ve actually done this trail, it’s just been a really long time! I forgot how beautiful it is! You’ve captured it perfectly and it makes me want to go back again!
I usually envision skiing when I think of Denver, but this looks more up my alley! Stunning photos – I really have to get to Denver!
This looks like an amazing hiking trip! I love all of your photos of the different landscapes. Thanks for sharing!
The photos from this hike are truly spectacular! Our family are avid hikers and would love to do this hike one day. Love that you included a breakfast suggestion.
Pleased I found this – visiting my brother in Denver soon, hopefully. I love hiking – he has no clue of any nearby hikes, so thank you for posting this.
This looks like a fun hike, and I like your suggestion to have ice cream afterwards! Denver is an area I would love to explore more.
This hike sounds like a lot of fun and I like the fact that it would be an easy one! At times you just want to relax and enjoy the view. Thanks for sharing!
I went to the amphitheater years ago but would love to go back again and see more of the hike around the area – and maybe catch a show at the end of the day at the amphitheater
The Trading Post Trail sounds like an excellent easy hike, with some amazing scenery! I haven’t spent much time in Denver for decades (with the exception of getting stuck there a few years ago when my connecting flight was canceled). But I’d love to go back again and explore. Pinning this for my next (voluntary!) trip to Denver 😀
Sadly we have only ever driven through Colorado. But one day we plan to visit Denver for a longer stay. The Trading Post Trail in Red Rocks definitely looks like a hike we would try. Thanks for the great directions on how to do this hike. Ice cream after the hike sounds perfect.
This hike sounds amazing! We want to visit the red rocks on our next visit to Colorado. I’ve heard the beer garden there is excellent. Great post!
Red Rocks looks like a fabulous day hike near Denver! Would love this! Beautiful pics!
I’ve never been to Colorado but it is on my “Travel/Bucket List” . It always seems so beautiful there from the photos I’ve viewed.
I`m not very fit so hiking is a challenge but I do love going out there for long relaxing walks