To return to the trailhead, follow your route back down the valley. And watching the surrounding forest for movement might garner views of pine squirrels, mountain chickadees and snowshoe hares. Hidden Valley Creek gurgles below the snow, periodically revealing itself. Patches of the tundra peek through the forest when looking up the trail. Looking back out to the east offers views of the layers of thick lodgepole forest. While hiking, stop to catch your breath and enjoy the views. Related Articlesĥ serene Colorado lakes to explore with your paddleboard The trail ends at Trail Ridge Road at 10,498 feet. Downloading a map from an outdoor recreation app can help you navigate through the area, especially if falling snow fills in the fresh tracks.Ībout a half mile up the trail, the slope increases in steepness rising from about a 10% grade at this point to 45% in the next half mile.īut there is only 0.1 mile remaining of the trail from this point at the steepest grade so it’s best to keep pushing through the burning in the calf muscles. Old ski runs can be seen to the left and the snow play area, the only place in the park where sleds - plastic only - are permitted, is directly ahead.Ĭontinue up through the snow, following previous tracks as the trail is not marked. The trail gently rises from its start of 9,412 feet through a picnic area. Navigate around the west side of the warming hut and then follow the gulley straight up through the forest.
The other aspect of the resort that remained were the ski runs that cut through the thick subalpine forest of Hidden Valley.įor those willing to feel the burn of the uphill climb that goes straight up Hidden Valley, then start out at the parking lot, which is located 7 miles west of the Beaver Meadows Entrance along Trail Ridge Road.
There was also a small ice-skating pond near the parking lot.Īll of that was removed, however, when the resort closed, leaving just a large parking lot and a warming hut built with some materials from the original ski lodge. Located between Lower and Upper Hidden Valley along Trail Ridge Road, the resort had a ski lodge, ski school, a 500-car parking lot, ski lifts and rope tows. Interstate 70.īut challenges with a lack of snow on the ski runs, changes by park staff to focus on non-developed recreation opportunities, and overall management challenges that prevented competing with the larger Colorado resorts put the demise of Hidden Valley Ski Area into motion. Hidden Valley Ski Area, which closed in 1991 after operating for 36 years, gave Northern Colorado residents a ski destination that might only take 45 minutes to get to rather than the multi-hour drive required to reach the resorts along U.S. Friday, July 21st 2023 Home Page Close MenuĪs time marches on, fewer people remember the ski resort that used to be in Rocky Mountain National Park.
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