An amazing day hike in Evergreen, Colorado

Are you looking for a day hike close to Denver, Colorado with amazing views? Check out the Alderfer-Three Sisters Park in Evergreen, CO. 

Olive here, again! This was the first hike of my boyfriend and Iā€™s weekend trip to Denver, CO and it was challenging, exciting, and a bit tiring. Of course, it’s completely worth it to see the beautiful views!


Itinerary – Three Sisters Park Trailhead Evergreen, CO

  • Parked at Alderfer/Three Sisters East Trailhead, click here for map 
  • Made our way to/up the Brother (didnā€™t really use a trail) 
  • Enjoyed the beautiful views from the Brother 
  • Climb down the Brother and explored the area behind the rock formation 
  • Took Ponderosa Trail back to the parking area

Parking at Three Sisters Park Trailhead Evergreen, CO

We parked at the Alderfer/Three Sisters East Trailhead – there is a parking lot here, but it was full by the time we got there late morning on a Friday. There was lots of parking available on the street though and we parked right by the lot. 
If you scroll down on this page, you will see a web link that provides real-time parking availability. 


The Brother – Scenic Viewpoint

We started off our weekend with this hike and Iā€™m pretty sure we hiked the Brother, but honestly we just kind of took off and created our own adventure not getting onto a true trail until later on.

We werenā€™t too far from the parking lot before we started walking on an incline/climbing up a rock formation (the Brother, I believe) to then look over the Evergreen Mountain Town. Based on the map, the Brother is a scenic part of the park.


Brothers Trail – More Difficult

After we enjoyed the view and took some pictures, we headed down from the Brother rock formation to explore the land behind it. We didnā€™t actually get on a trail from here, just explore the area between the Brothers Trail and the Sisters Trail. 

For us being from Chicago, the elevation hit us a bit hard. We had to take a few breaks while going up the Brother rock formation. Once we hit the Ponderosa Trail, our breathing started to regulate and it handled the elevation gain well.


Ponderosa Trail – More Difficult

Finally after adventuring around, we found the Ponderosa Trail which took us on about a mile hike to the parking lot. 

This trail was beautiful and filled with natureā€™s beauty. While on this trail we saw mountain bikers and a few pups! Iā€™ve never ridden a mountain bike before, but Iā€™d imagine this would be a challenging trail to do so. 

If we traveled with our dog, this would definitely be a trail Iā€™d take the pup on. It wasnā€™t too crowded and had so many things for her to sniff and explore.


Post Hike Lunch + Cocktail

During our two mile (give or take) hike, we worked up an appetite and thirst! So we drove down to the mountain town of Evergreen, CO and grabbed a bite to eat and a cocktail at Murphy’s Mountain Grill that was located right along the creek with both indoor and outdoor dining. 

I ordered one of the salads (delicious and very big) and my boyfriend had the chipotle shrimp tacos which looked delicious. 

There were some cute shops and other restaurants on this main street that we would have loved to check out if time allowed!


ROSE + THORN

ROSE – the amazing views from the Brother scenic viewpoint

THORN – the elevation gain for us out-of-towners was tough, but nothing a quick break couldnā€™t fix!


Check out pictures from the day!


Map of the Park


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38 Replies to “An amazing day hike in Evergreen, Colorado”

  1. This looks like such a gorgeous hike! I have heard wonderful things about Colorado and it isn’t hard to see why!

  2. I have been making a list of places I want to go hiking when I head to Arizona in the spring. After reading this, I think I need to make a trip to Colorado as well! This looks like a gorgeous hike! I think Colorado is an amazing place for hikers and any outdoor enthusiast, and this is definitely a place everyone should visit.

  3. Looks like a beautiful adventure! I always love visiting gorgeous spots like this for a nice hike, so nice to get fresh air and get some physical activity in.

  4. What amazing hiking. I cannot believe I have never visited Colorado but is super high on my bucket list, and this hiking sounds like something I would love to do. Already saved it to my bucket list!

  5. I love hiking and am always looking for hikes with a variety of difficulties so I can take friends who don’t hike as much. Next time I’m near Denver, I’ll check these out!

  6. I need to get back to Colorado and do some more hiking. Love the look of the trails here, so pretty. And a post hike food and drink stop is always worth it. I haven’t been to this part of Colorado before but will have to check it out on my next trip

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