Mesa Trail, Boulder
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Mesa Trail, Boulder
| type : | hiking |
|---|---|
| state : | colorado |
| city : | boulder |
| country : | united-states |
| difficulty : | moderate |
Adventure Tag Name
The Mesa Trail is a 6 mile point to point trail that runs from [[chautauqua-park-boulder|Chautauqua Park]] south to the South Mesa Trailhead on Eldorado Springs Drive. As you go south, you pass by six major canyons, Bluebell, Skunk, Bear, Fern, Shanahan and Shadow. The trail offers access to a number of great hikes.
Summary
| Distance: | 5.9 miles one way, there is small hike to the north trailhead |
| Elevation: | 6,020 (north) to 5600 (south), The parking lot on the north side is at 5,680 |
| USGS Map: | Eldorado Springs |
| Difficulty: | Easy to Moderate |
| North Directions: | From Chautauqua Park parking area, Walk up the paved old Bluebell Road (closed to traffic) to the outhouse below Bluebell Shelter, 0.6 miles. The Trail begins to the left of the outhouse. |
| South Directions: | To find the South Trailhead of the Mesa Trail take Highway 93 (Broadway) south from Boulder and turn right on Eldorado Springs Drive. The trailhead is 1.7 miles from this intersection on the right side of the road. |
Details
The trail actually has a lot of ups and downs as you walk. Starting at the south trail head, there is an 800 foot climb in the first 2.0 miles of the trail. This section is mostly on a gravel road. The net gain from the south to north is 350 feet, but the total elevation gain for the hike is 1510 vertical feet. The trail walks through the low foothills in south Boulder ending up at [[chautauqua-park-boulder|Chautauqua Park]]. It passes through ponderosa pine forest, grasslands and wetlands. You get wonderful views of the flatirons and other prominent rock formations in Boulder. The rock formations include Seal Rock, Devils Thumb, the Madien and Matron.The trail is made up of both gravel roads and trails. The trail portions are much nicer than the road portions.
This trail is very popular, though most people don't walk it end to end. Both the north end and south end can be crowed with hikers. In addition, the NCAR access point can also be crowded. It is a great trail for joggers. It is also a good trail for families. Due to the number of access points, there are many one way hikes that can be done. The trail is also the primary way to get to Fern Canyon, Shadow Canyon and Bear Canyon
There are parking areas at both ends of the trail. The north access point is at [[chautauqua-park-boulder|Chautauqua Park]]. The south access point is South Mesa Trailhead on Eldorado Springs Drive. There are lot of additional access points. One of the prime access points is from NCAR trailhead and the Shanahan Trailhead.
Access Points
Starting at the south parking lot, these are the hikes that can be access from the mesa trail:
- [[homestead-trail-boulder]]
- [[towhee-trail-boulder]]
- [[shadow-canyon-boulder]]
- [[fern-canyon-boulder]]
- [[bear-canyon-boulder]]
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