Jefferson County near Denver has a wealth of open spaces that are great for day hiking. Last week, everything was closed down due to the Coronavirus. Hayden and I took the opportunity to enjoy the 65-degree spring day to get out and hike.
Deer Creek Canyon Park is a short drive south of Littleton. We got there early and didn’t have any issue finding parking. That wasn’t the case when we left since lots of people had the same idea we did!
The hike was 6.25 miles with a maximum altitude of 7,250′ per my iPhone. We started out at about 6,000′ so only a 1,250 foot elevation change. The views were spectacular and the weather was amazing. We took Plymouth Creek Trail in and out. The creek section of the trail had a fair amount of snow and ice on it so we had some fun sliding around. Several people had micro-spikes. We weren’t as well equipped. 🙂 The cool air in the creek sections were a nice break during the hike up.
The pictures with my iPhone XR were not the best and didn’t capture the feel of the views from the top. The pictures were from the scenic path off the main Plymouth Mountain Trail loop and takes you to a couple of nice overlooks. This extension trail also had good boulders to scramble on for more views.
Overall, this was a nice, short hike although once is probably enough. It isn’t as adventurous as Goat Mountain, one of my local favorites. A better route is probably the Meadowlark Trail, then the loop of Plymouth Mountain Trail finishing up with Plymouth Creek Trail back to the parking lot. That route might be worth a trip back just to try it out.
