This is one of the 60 Hikes within 60 Miles trails. The park itself was BUSY for a Wednesday and required paid parking. I managed to find a spot for the Great Dale about 1/4 mile away that was free and added some extra mileage for the hike.
I was supposed to go to Flatiron 1, but I was there on one of the days it was closed. Luckily, they didn’t mention the fact until I was 3/4 of a mile up the side of the mountain and got to the trailhead.
The trail to the flatiron was basically a flat dirt road that seemed like it was going straight up. The Flatiron Loop was pretty level, had a couple of nice views, and plenty of opportunities to go scrambling.
Royal Arch was a a bitch. I took a break at a fairly solitary spot less than a mile from the arch, and that was a mistake. Lots of straight up and down on rocks and roots with lots of traffic. The arch was pretty packed and the view wasn’t much better that it was from the trail.
60 Hikes within 60 Miles by Kin Lipker
For first time visitors, as well as the native Boulderite, this is the perfect place to test your hiking mettle, with a serious elevation gain regarded with a glimpse of the beautiful Chautauqua Park surroundings. Chautauqua Park lies on the southwestern edge of Boulder and is comprised of a park, cottages, auditorium, mountain park, and miles of mountain hiking trails.
Here are the Stats:
- Distance: 4.21 miles
- Time: 2:35:01 minutes
- Avg Speed: 1.6 mph
- Elevation Gain: 1,969 ft
Here are the Pics:
Here are the pics that Google altered:
Here is the elevation graph:
