Bluebird Meadow – Homestead Trail Loop (Alderfer Three Sisters Park, CO)

Alderfer/Three Sisters Park has the look and feel of a local park, populated mostly by trail runners, bikers, dog-walkers, and Evergreen residents on their evening strolls. (On the Saturday evening I visited, a gaggle of high-school girls were filming a skit for their Spanish class.) The rolling foothills and pine-lined meadows at Alderfer/Three Sisters are …

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Narrow Gauge Trail – Eastern Section (Pine Valley Ranch Park, CO)

Note: This post is the second of two trail descriptions from a blissful October day at Pine Valley Ranch Park, an hour’s drive from the Denver area and a refreshingly quiet alternative to the crowded Jefferson County parks around Evergreen or Morrison. (The first, the 2.1-mile Buck Gulch – Strawberry Jack – Park View Trail …

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Buck Gulch – Strawberry Jack – Park View Trail Loop (Pine Valley Ranch Park, CO)

Considering the hundreds of thousands of outdoors-lovers in and around Denver, it should come as no surprise that there is an endless array of parks and trails within a 90-minute drive from the state capital. This includes Arapaho, Roosevelt, and Pike National Forests; more than a dozen state parks; the impressive Denver Mountain Parks system; …

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Dariva, Miljacka Canyon, & Kozija Cuprija (Goat’s Bridge) (Sarajevo, Bosnia & Herzegovina)

In Europe’s great cities—from Paris to London to Rome—public parks, though grand and well-manicured, are a dime a dozen. But rushing waters, bounded by colossal canyon walls, indeed a fisher’s or rock climber’s paradise—just a 20-minute walk from the city center? Now that is a rare sight…and a feature that makes Sarajevo—the political and economic …

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Mala Osojnica & Ojstrica (Lake Bled, Slovenia)

Though America remains the focus of Live and Let Hike, why not do a brief write-up on a short hike I completed last month from much further afield? Despite its petite size, the mountainous European nation of Slovenia presents considerable hiking opportunities, boasting access to the southeastern fringe of the world-famous Alps. Arguably the most …

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Rock Spring and Laurel Dell (Marin Municipal Water District, CA)

*The following is a guest post from my friend and old classmate, the lovely Emily Alpert! Perched on the top of Mount Tamalpais, the Rock Spring Trail meanders through meadows, chaparral, and forests. The trailhead offers sweeping views of the white city of San Francisco and the Golden Gate Bridge. In the summer, Mount Tamalpais …

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Prospect Hill Park (Somerville, MA)

- Revolutionary War Series - Though not a hike per sé, I thought it might be fun to include a short note about a hidden gem I discovered today in my own neighborhood outside Boston. Prospect Hill Park is just 1/5 mile northeast from Union Square (follow Stone Ave. 350 yards to the park) and …

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Rock Circuit Trail (Middlesex Fells Reservation, MA)

Boojum Rock, August 2013 For a change of pace, let’s take a break from the Rockies and explore a new favorite trail of mine out East…just minutes from Boston’s Orange Line in the eastern district of Middlesex Fells Reservation. Don’t let this trail’s relative height (just around 300’ at its peak) and proximity to a …

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Ute Trail – Tombstone Ridge & Timberline Pass (Rocky Mountain National Park, CO)

If looking for an easy, yet high elevation, hike in Rocky Mountain National Park, the fairly level trail to Timberline Pass is a safe bet. Skirting the south side of Tombstone Ridge, the views of Forest Canyon, the Continental Divide, and Longs Peak from this route are spectacular. Though the western section of the Ute …

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Marmot Point (Rocky Mountain National Park, CO)

Despite being far less visited than its slightly higher cousin (Alpine Ridge Trail at Alpine VC, 12,005’), Marmot Point (11,909’) is no less spectacular. In fact, because the unpaved, one-way route up Old Fall River Road tends to weed out visitors, the relative solitude of Marmot Point makes this route perhaps a more attractive alternative. …

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