Centennial Trailhead — Attraction in Boulder

I like this trailhead because I can choose from several different trails (depending on how much exercise I want!) There are bathrooms and picnic tables here. It fills up quickly though, so you might be able to find some parking a little further east on Mapleton closer to the Sanitas trails. On the North side of Mapleton you can hike the Mount Sanitas trail, Sanitas Valley, & Dakota Ridge. The Mt. Sanitas trail is about 2 miles to the summit and 1300 ft. in elevation gain. It’s steep and moderate to difficult, but it’s a Boulder classic and definitely worth the hike. From the summit you can take the East Ridge trail to Sanitas Valley or Dakota Ridge, or you can come back the way you came. Most of these trails get heavy dog use and I always see poop on the trail, so if you bring your dog take along some extra bags! The south side you can get to the Red Rocks trails, Anemone Hill, Settler’s Park and the new Sunshine Canyon trail. The Red Rocks trails are short trails that allow you to go in and out of the Red Rocks. My favorite is the new Sunshine Canyon trail which they just finished this summer and was built around the social trail. It’s great now and there aren’t any scary drop offs...

Trail Series, Part 16 Finding a good trail in Boulder, Colorado, is about as hard as finding a beautiful mountain to gaze at while in “The Centennial State.” If you can’t find one then you really aren’t actually trying.

I went for a run on the “Sunshine Canyon Trail” and was impressed with just how convenient it is to enjoy this trail. It has an easy launching point at the Centennial Trailhead located on Sunshine Boulevard just outside of “downtown” and you’ll find a great parking lot that includes restrooms.

The trail itself is great for hiking or running (no bikes allowed) and is well marked. While it only provides a brief workout, you can easily extend your adventure by continuing on the Lion’s Lair Trail (no bikes and no dogs allowed).

The views are nice and the conditions are quite manageable with limited bugginess and an elevation of only around 5,000 feet.

This has to be one of the most accessible runs (or hikes) that I’ve been on while visiting Colorado.

And that’s…Henry’s...

One of the busiest trailhead in Boulder I think, I came there at 9:40 am in the morning, the Park lots were all full, I parked alongside the nearby road. The red rock trial is moderate for hiking while it is hard for running due to narrow trail with many stones or slippery dusts, as well as the elevation, the anemone loop is much harder due to high elevation gains and with 2.1 miles, in fact, if the viewpoints included, it might be around 2.4 miles. I visited both the red rock trial and anemone loop from trailhead, total is...