This past weekend, Allie and I drove a bit. The destination was Meyer Ranch Park (backup link) From the book, 60 Hikes within 60 Miles for Denver and Boulder, this is entry #10. Though the book lists this trail as being in the Foothills of the Rocky Mountains, for all intents and purposes, this is in the Rocky Mountains. The entire park is west of the Legault Mountain Peak (9045ft). The drive here is a bit longer than places I would call "Foothills".
Meyer Ranch Park is worth the longer drive. This is a great place for a hot day. Most of the Lodge Loop Trail (that forms a full circuit at this park) is shaded under tall trees. The trail itself is very well maintained. The uphill portions aren't steep. Overall, Allie and I really enjoyed this location and will definitely consider coming back.
Though Allie and I originally intended to visit this park earlier in the year, we were unable to get out to this beautiful location until the very last day of Spring (or the first day of Summer by a certain reckoning). However, this was the perfect day. With temperatures in the 80's and 90's in Denver, a shady hike in a wind cooled valley exceeded our expectations.
By my information, a visit to this park comes with a likelihood to see wildlife. Unfortunately, on this day, we did not catch any glimpses of mountain critters.
As an unexpected coincidence, we finished our hike at nearly noon. After our hike, we headed back into Denver Metro for lunch. We decided on a famous restaurant that we haven't tried yet,
Cherry Cricket.
The burgers at Cherry Cricket were good. I did something that is surely a sin somewhere to someone; I tried the Impossible Burger (veggie) with bacon strips! Yummy. Also, while we dined, this sucker visited us in the adjacent fish tank:
