Outdoor Project

Grandeur Peak is one of the most easily-attainable summits in the Salt Lake City area. Forming the western end of the ridge separating Parley’s Canyon from Millcreek Canyon, Grandeur Peak’s summit offers outstanding views in all directions. At 8,299 feet, this mountain is big enough to provide a challenge and a relief from the heat of summer, but not so big that it will take all day or tax your ability to handle elevation. 

Located just outside the town of Nederland, Colorado, West Magnolia is a storied mountain bike ride that is very popular with the locals. Nederland is the Dutch name for the Netherlands, and the town is so named because the Dutch bought the largest mine in the area in the 1870s. Although it is poorly marked and difficult to find, this trail is a marvelous maze of singletrack that snakes through pine forests and recent clearcut areas.

Although almost all of the mountain biking at Buffalo Creek is amazing, there are a few standout trails like Sandy Wash that have an almost cult-like following.

Boca Cave is still a little-known jewel on the edge of the Mount Jefferson Wilderness. Its unique location allows for an excellent view of Mount Jefferson right out the cave entrance. The bonus on this hike is nearby Triangulation Peak, which affords panoramic views of Mount Hood to the north as well as Three Fingered Jack, Mount Washington, and the Three Sisters to the south.

Climbing a Colorado 14er (or many of them) is a goal many people have. Some of these peaks require technical climbing skills and equipment, getting on the trail as early as 2 a.m., and hiking several miles with verticals gains of 4,000 feet or more. For those who would like to bag a 14,000-foot peak with less effort, there are some relatively easy ones. Quandry Peak, Mount Bierstadt, and Mount Democrat are some of the easiest ones to climb.

Standing at a height of 14,065 feet among a cluster of 14ers in the Sawatch Range, Missouri Mountain is as big on scenery as it is in elevation. The 11-mile out-and-back hike along the northwest ridge to the summit gains 4,500 feet and treats hikers to an ascent through aspens and pines, stream crossings, views of other 14ers, a fun traverse on a moderately exposed ridge, and stellar scenery from over 14,000 feet up.

Fossil Falls is a dry waterfall containing smoothed basaltic stone formations in California's volcanic Coso Range. It is easily accessible after a short hike through exposed terrain.

Earning its namesake from one of the original settlers of the Estes Park area, Abner Sprague, this hike along a hard-packed trail is one of the most popular of the area. Just shy of a mile in length, the Sprague Lake Loop circumnavigates the placid waters at a comfortable grade that is doable for the whole family.

The topography of the Rocky Mountain National Park is a smattering of towering and craggy peaks framing expansive valleys and bubbling rivers. The Forest Canyon Overlook is an ideal place to take it all in. 

With uncontested views of the iconic Long's Peak (14,255 feet), Stones Peak (12,922 feet), Hayden Gorge, and the ice-blue Gorge Lakes, this vantage point is second to none with respect to accessibility. A short 0.2-mile walk from the parking lot on a paved walkway provides access to the overlook, and yellow bellied marmot are frequently spotted among the granite boulders. 

A small and quaint hamlet on Orcas Island, Olga is was named after the wife of first postmaster at this location. Being very small, this is a stop that could be added to your adventure itinerary between other day-trip activities.