Apex Park
From Hiking
| Apex Park | ||
|---|---|---|
| Location: | Golden | |
| Maintained By: | Jefferson County Open Space | |
| Starting Elevation: | 6200' | |
| Elevation Gain: | 1600' | |
| Length: | 5.2-5.8 miles | |
| Difficulty: | moderate to strenuous | |
| Last Hiked: | 6/21/08 | |
[edit] Finding the Trail Head
Southeastern side of the Heritage Square parking lot (just off of US 40).
[edit] Description
The trail starts between the Heritage Square parking lot and the Heritage Dells housing development. It climbs up the canyon west of Heritage Square through chaparral. The upper part of the main trail skirts pine trees all the way to Lookout Mountain Road. The last 0.3 miles is through the backyards of large houses near the road. Up and back on the main trail is 5.2 miles.
The Enchanted Forest trail parallels the upper portion of the main trail. Although a longer hike, it winds through dense pine forest. Unfortunately, the Enchanted Forest was devastated by a late spring storm in March of 2007. The hundreds of uprooted trees made it virtually impassable. Taking the main trail up and the Enchanted Forest trail down makes a 5.8 mile hike.
There are a series of side trails off of the lower part of the Apex trail. By choosing different loops, it is possible to substitute 2.2 miles (Pick 'N Sledge), 2.6 miles (Bonanza), or 3.2 miles (Grubstake Loop) for a 0.7 mile section of the Apex trail. These hikes are mostly through chaparral.
[edit] Experience
The lower part of the trail is pretty in the spring when the creek has water in it, but hot and dry later in the season. The side hikes are quite open and can be very hot. This is a good training hike, despite the large elevation gain, particularly if the top 0.3 miles of the trail (up to Lookout Mountain Road through backyards) are skipped.
