Peakish Hikers

Name of Hike: Perimeter Trail

Trail(s): Perimeter Trail

Location: Ouray, CO

Wilderness Area: San Juan National Forest

Type of Hike: Loop

Difficulty: Moderate (strenuous if you’re not used to altitude!)

Distance/elevation: 5.8 miles, 1345 ft elevation gain

Estimated Time Commitment: Hiking times can vary for a number of reasons, but we estimate most people would be able to complete this hike in 3-4 hours.

Views: Yes, there are some great views along the Perimeter Trail. There are some spots with panoramic views of the valley and overlooking the town. Additionally, you get right up to the Lower Cascade Falls and traverse Box Canyon.

Popularity: The Perimeter Trail is very popular (especially during the summer months), and you can expect to encounter many other hikers and potentially hikers with canine companions.

Facilities/restrooms: Yes, there are very nice public restrooms at the Ouray Visitor’s Center across the street from the most popularly used trailhead.

Directions: The Perimeter Trail is a loop trail that can be accessed from many different spots in Ouray. The most popular trailhead is across the street from the Ouray Visitor’s Center. The 550 is the main route in and out of town. If you’re coming from Ridgeway, follow the 550 South. Before you enter the downtown area you’ll see the Visitor’s Center and the Hot Springs Park on your right. If you’re coming from Silverton, take the 550 North and travel almost all the way through town. The Visitor’s Center and the Hot Springs Park will be on the left.

Parking: There is plenty of parking in the Visitor’s Center parking area. There is additional parking across the street in a smaller gravel parking area.

The Perimeter Trail in Ouray is located in the San Juan National Forest and is open to hikers and dogs. More detailed and up-to-date information on the San Juan National Forest available here.

The Perimeter Trail is a loop trail and can be accessed from many different points and hiked in both directions. We started the trail from the most popular trailhead across from the Visitor’s Center and hiked in a clockwise direction (also the more popular direction of travel). Be careful crossing the 550 to get from the Visitor’s Center to the trailhead. It is a busy road with fast traveling vehicles (especially during the summer months).

There is a sign at the Visitor’s Center trailhead with a map, distances to various places of interest along the trail and access points for entry and exit. This trail combines many of the different trails around Ouray, so we were afraid of getting confused and/or lost. However, the trail is very well marked throughout with signs indicating your exact location along the way.

The trail starts out between a gravel parking lot and some townhome/condominium type buildings. It gains elevation pretty quickly, starting up a staircase (pictured below), with several more to follow, and proceeding to some switchbacks. It gets your heart pumping in a hurry! It also takes your breath away (for airsick lowlanders like us!).

A little ways up the trail there is a spot to register your hiking group. Registering allows the Forest Service to gauge the amount of traffic on the trail. Additionally, this log provides helpful information in case a search and rescue is needed. Generally, it only asks for the names of the people in the party, zip code, date of entry/exit and hiking destination.

The initial climb from the trailhead is not particularly long in terms of distance traveled, but it affords some spectacular views of the town and surrounding mountains right away.

The elevation along the trail changes frequently with lots of ups and downs. For locals, it is probably only a moderately challenging trail, but for us sea-level-dwellers it was a challenging hike. There’s no one section that is overly tough, though the beginning is a bit of a slog, but the accumulation of ups and downs over roughly 6 miles wears a person out.

After ascending for about three-quarters of a mile, you get a side view of the Lower Cascade Falls. The trail then descends a short distance down to the base of the falls. This is a great place to stop and take a break and allow your dog to drink and cool off.

The Lower Cascade Falls has it’s own separate entry point for those interested in just a short, not very strenuous hike to the falls. You’ll cross a short, sturdy wooden bridge to continue on your way. Be mindful of the signs as you leave the falls to make sure you continue along the Perimeter Trail and don’t end up exiting towards town.

The trail ascends through a relatively lush (especially compared with what we’re used to!) forested section after leaving the falls. After this short ascent, the trail becomes much more gradual in its elevation change – though there are still many ups and downs to come.

A little less than a mile and a half into the hike the trail meets with the Amphitheater Campground Road – the Amphitheater is a distinctive ridge line on the east side of Ouray pictured later in this post. Turn right on this road and follow it a short distance to the Baby Bathtubs Trailhead.

The Baby Bathtubs are bowled out sections of rock in the creek bed that are the result of erosion from swirling water. There are a few other trails that you’ll encounter along this stretch, but the signs for the Perimeter Trail are still prominent and easy to follow. You’ll cross the creek over a footbridge and eventually come to a gravel road.

Turn left on the gravel road and hike about 50 yards uphill to a trail marker where the Perimeter Trail branches off to the right. You’ll hike through a beautiful, wide-open meadow to a rock hillock above the 550. This is a great spot to stop and have a snack, take a photo, or just enjoy the scenic beauty of Ouray. From this spot you’ll have panoramic views of Mt. Abram, Hayden Mountain and the Uncompahgre Gorge.

We stopped here for a customary selfie and chatted with a couple that visited the Ouray area annually during the summer months for many years. They were hiking the Perimeter Trail on this particular day, but they were avid off-road aficionados – we gather there are lots of great options for this type of adventure in Ouray.

From this hillock, the trail descends steeply down to the 550, famously known as the Million Dollar Highway. This is a windy section of road and though the speed limit is listed at 25 MPH it is right at a speed transition point and many of the cars seemed to be traveling much faster – be very careful when crossing here. Make sure your dog is on-leash or under good voice control; keep a close eye on children as well, if you have them.

The trail meanders through some birch woods until you enter the Ouray Ice Park, which is marked by crossing over a large, black pipeline. The Ouray Ice Park is one of the premier ice climbing destinations in the world and hosts a famous festival in January each year. The park is manmade and takes advantage of the steep sides of the Uncompahgre Gorge.

We found a beautiful small pond along this stretch of trail and went down to let Bean swim. The water was practically glacial! Our dog is an obsessive swimmer, so we had to be careful not to allow her to swim too much. We waded in a short distance, but couldn’t withstand the frigid temperature for very long. It did have a nice cooling (numbing!) effect on our tired feet.

About 4.2 miles into the hike you’ll reach the Box Canyon High Bridge. Box Canyon a popular tourist attraction in the area. The metal grate bridge that crosses the canyon is suspended nearly 100 feet above the rushing water below. It was very impressive! We crossed around 1:00 PM on a Saturday, so we found it to be a little crowded and Bean was very nervous. Once across the bridge the trail goes through a rock tunnel and descends some stairs. The stairs are very steep, so the provided hand rail is reassuring.

The trail continues for another three tenths of a mile before meeting up with Upper Pinecrest Road. You’ll travel on this gravel road for one switch back and then the trail branches off towards Oak Creek. This section of trail is relatively new, as is the bridge that crosses the creek.

Before reaching the Oak Creek Bridge, there is an viewpoint overlooking the town and the surrounding mountains. This spot offered my favorite view of the whole hike – the Amphitheater is a stunning backdrop to this quaint mountain town.

From the bridge it’s just three tenths of a mile to Queen Street and the Twin Peaks Trailhead. To complete the loop you can follow the roads (Queen Street to Oak Street) back to the Visitor’s Center. We elected to head directly into town to grab a burger!

We highly recommend this hike for its scenic beauty – you get a lot of bang for your buck!

Thanks for reading our review of The Ouray Perimeter Trail! Please check out our video trail review of The Perimeter Trail on YouTube.

Name of Hike: Grand Canyon South Rim Trail

Trail(s): South Rim Trail

Location: Grand Canyon, Tusayan, AZ

Wilderness Area: Grand Canyon National Park

Type of Hike: Out-and-back or one way (facilitated by shuttle buses)

Difficulty: Easy

Distance: 12.8 miles one way

Estimated Time Commitment: Hiking times can vary for a number of reasons, including but not limited to hiking distance, shuttle times and photo stops. The section we hiked from Bright Angel Trailhead to Mohave Point (out and back) took around 4.5 hours.

Views: There are unbeatable views along the entire length of the South Rim Trail.

Popularity: The South Rim Trail at the Grand Canyon is exceptionally popular (especially during the summer months), and you can expect to encounter many other people. Though dogs are allowed on leash, we did not encounter many.

Facilities/restrooms: There are many restrooms along the route at the various shuttle stops. They will range from nicely maintained pit toilets to full blown restrooms with sinks/mirrors/running water (luxury!).

Directions: Drive to Williams, AZ (from wherever you are!). From Williams, drive north on AZ-64 for approximately 55 miles. Before you reach Grand Canyon Village, you’ll need to pay the fee to enter the park. The official website for the Grand Canyon National Park has all the information you could possibly need on directions, fees, lodging, activities, weather and traffic alerts, etc. If your first stop is the visitor’s center, stay straight on the South Entrance Road. The road will curve around to the left and the visitor’s center will be on the right. That’s as good a place to start as any!

Parking: There is ample parking at the South Rim of the Grand Canyon, though it is limited at each specific spot. The FREE! shuttle buses make it easy to park anywhere within the park and still easily access all points on the South Rim Trail. If you are traveling with a furry friend, be aware that dogs are unfortunately not allowed on the shuttle buses.

Since we had Bean with us, needed to park at the Bright Angel Lodge to access the section of the South Rim Trail that we wanted to hike. Parking here accommodates roughly 50 cars – which sounds like a lot, but it’s not nearly enough. We lucked out in finding a spot even though we arrived relatively early in the morning for our hike.

We started our section hike of the South Rim Trail at the Bright Angel Trailhead and hiked west towards Hermits Rest.

The incredible views start immediately and they never go away! We stopped often to take pictures and soak in the grandeur of this natural wonder.

Not far along the trail, you start gaining elevation. The elevation change is not significant, but most of the elevation change on this section hike (486 feet gain) occurs between the trailhead and the Trailview Overlook. The trail switchbacks for less than a half a mile and then all elevation change is very gradual.

This section of the trail is not quite as popular as the sections closer to the two visitor’s centers – The Grand Canyon Visitor’s Center and Verkamp’s Visitor’s Center. No private vehicles are allowed on the road to Hermits Rest from March 1 through November 30, so most people experience this section of the South Rim from the shuttle buses.

The majority of the South Rim trail is on a wide paved path where more than four people can comfortably walk abreast. West of the Bright Angel Trailhead, the section that we hiked, the path narrows to a path only wide enough for two people. While the majority of the path is paved, there are sections west of Powell Point that are well packed dirt/rock. The entire length of the trail is very well maintained – there were crews cleaning and making improvements along the trail the day we hiked.

There are no guide rails along the trail until you get the various viewpoints. There are places where the trail gets close to the edge of the canyon, so be careful along those stretches!

The trail is well marked with signs and the various shuttle stops make it easy to determine exactly how far you’ve gone. Along a significant length of the South Rim Trail runs the “Trail of Time.” The Trail of Time educates the public on geologic features of this natural wonder. Each meter you travel represents one million years since Earth’s origin.

Something to keep in mind is that the average elevation of the South Rim of the Grand Canyon is around 7,000 ft. If you are not accustomed to elevation, make sure to take frequent breaks and drink lots of water. There are water stations along the more populated sections of the Rim Trail (near the visitor’s centers), but as you get “further out” towards Hermits Rest there are no refill stations.

We would definitely rate this hike as easy and can confidently recommend it to people of all ages and physical abilities – just be mindful of the possible effects of altitude and the steep drop offs.

We highly encourage you to make the trip to see the Grand Canyon. Pictures (mine especially) do not do it justice! It will be an experience you never forget.

Thanks for reading our review of The South Rim Trail! Please check out our video trail review of The South Rim Trail on YouTube.

Name of Hike: Castle Rock

Trail(s): Castle Rock Trail

Location: Big Bear Lake, CA

Wilderness Area: San Bernardino National Forest

Type of Hike: Out-and-back

Difficulty: Moderate

Distance/elevation: 1.4 miles, 423 ft elevation gain

Estimated Time Commitment: Hiking times can vary for a number of reasons, but we estimate most people would be able to complete this hike in 1-2 hours.

Views: Yes, there are some great views from Castle Rock looking over Big Bear Lake.

Popularity: The Castle Rock Trail is exceptionally popular (especially during the summer months), and you can expect to encounter many other hikers and potentially hikers with furry friends.

Facilities/restrooms: None

Directions: The Castle Rock Trailhead is located 1.1 miles east of Big Bear Lake Dam on the north side of CA-18. It is right next to the city limit sign for Big Bear Lake.

Parking: There is parking scattered along both the left and right shoulders of CA-18 near the trailhead. The largest section to park nearest the trailhead can accommodate about 10 cars.

The Castle Rock Trail is located in the San Bernardino National Forest and is open to hikers and dogs. More detailed and up-to-date information on the San Bernardino National Forest available here.

The trail begins directly off the CA-18 at the city limit of Big Bear Lake. Be careful when walking along the road (or crossing) to get to the trailhead. The road is winding and generally busy with traffic cruising at 40+ mph.

The Castle Rock Trail is well traveled and well marked (with trail signs and light-blue spray paint). It is a single track for the majority of the hike, but occasionally widens out so that two people can comfortably walk side-by-side.

This hike climbs steeply for the first half mile and then transitions to a more gradual climb for the remaining distance to Castle Rock. There are lots of roots and rocks on the trail, so mind your step!

The climb to Castle Rock is a short distance, but it definitely gets your heart pumping! There are a few places to stop along the way, but none quite as comfortable and well placed as these benches.

We arrived at a spot in the trail where the blue trail markers seemed to deviate from the more popularly traveled route. Because of this hike’s tremendous popularity, though, we were able to ask a group of hikers on their decent about which route to take. They let us know that, essentially, all routes lead to the Rock. We elected to follow the markers and successfully arrived at the sign for Castle Rock.

You are not immediately rewarded with views since you’re hiking through a forest of pine trees and boulders, but the view from the top does not disappoint. There is also a great view of the Castle Rock formation from the trail before the final climb.

People braver than I am scale the rocks to see the view from the top. Conner is one of those people and he reported having a relatively unobstructed view of the lake and surrounding area from the top. It is also a very popular rock climbing location. If you’re lucky there will be some scaling the various routes while you’re there – be prepared to be impressed!

After exploring the rock formation for a time, we began our descent back to the car. We followed some of the frequented side-trails around the rocks to get back to the main trail.

This trail is very popular. We hiked it on a Sunday morning and encountered many groups, families, individuals, couples, dogs, you name it! It was a little quieter on the way up, but our descent was at around 9:00 AM when activity was ramping up. Everyone was very friendly, and we enjoyed seeing so many people enjoying the great outdoors!

If you’re looking to avoid the crowds, your best bet is to go early in the morning or late in the evening. You can also try a weekday when school is in session.

This is a short out-and-back trail – our total distance was 1.4 miles. If you’re feeling up for a longer hike, this trail continues beyond Castle Rock to Forest Service road 2N86 and connects to other trails from there. Lots of possibilities!

Thanks for reading our review of The Castle Rock Trail! Please check out our video trail review of Castle Rock on YouTube.

 

Name of Hike: Cozy Dell Trail

Trail(s): Cozy Dell Trail

Location: Meiner’s Oaks, CA

Wilderness Area: Los Padres National Forest

Type of Hike: Out-and-back

Difficulty: Moderate

Distance/elevation: 3.75 miles, 886 ft elevation gain

Estimated Time Commitment: Hiking times can vary for a number of reasons, but we estimate most people would be able to complete this hike in 2-3 hours.

Views: Yes, there are some nice views looking towards Meiner’s Oaks and Ojai.

Popularity: The Cozy Dell Trail is pretty popular, and you can expect to encounter other hikers and potentially bikers and equestrians as well.

Facilities/restrooms: None

Directions: The Cozy Dell Trail starts on the Northbound side of the 33 just before Friend’s Ranch packing house (green/aqua building on the right). If you’re approaching Ojai from the west, take the 33 North towards Ojai. Take a left at the intersection with the Vons to stay on the 33 North. Stay on the 33 North for about 3.5 miles and the Cozy Dell Trailhead will be on the right. There was a sign on the lefthand side of the road indicating the trailhead, but it got scorched in the Thomas Fire and is unreadable (pictured below with Friend’s Ranch packing house in the background). If approaching Ojai from the east, take the 150 West through town and take a right on the 33 North at the intersection with the Vons. Continue according to the above directions to the trailhead. If you cross the bridge over Sheldon Canyon you’ve gone too far.

Parking: There is plenty of parking available in a dirt turnout along the Southbound side of the 33 directly across from the trailhead.

The Cozy Dell Trail is located in the Los Padres National Forest and is open to hikers, bikers, equestrians and dogs. More detailed and up-to-date information on the Los Padres National Forest available here.

Be careful crossing traffic across the 33 to get to the trail – cars go pretty fast along this small highway. The trailhead is pretty discrete and begins behind the guardrail on the northbound side of the highway. You won’t have to walk too far, though, for the sounds of the highway to start to die down in the background.

Not far along the trail, there is a sign posted indicating that this area was affected by the recent Thomas Fire (December, 2017). As a result, the landscape is more fragile and susceptible to the hazards mentioned: loose rock, falling trees and limbs, flash flooding, and debris flows. For some stats on the Thomas Fire visit the Cal Fire website here.

The trail begins its climb almost immediately from the trailhead. You’ll ascend up a series of switchbacks that are not too strenuous, but will definitely get your heart pumping right away. This first climb will last for approximately 0.9 miles and culminate at the top of one of the foothills affording you a nice view towards the Matilija Canyon and Meiner’s Oaks. This is a nice, spacious area with lots of rocks to sit and rest on. We saw several other groups during our hike and a few turned around at this spot.

From here the trail begins a gradual descent and then climbs again for a short stretch to the top of a second foothill. This stretch of trail is easily visible in its entirety from the first foothill and is only 0.25 miles in length.

The trail does not take you directly to a view point at the second foothill, but rather continues past on its way through the foothills behind Ojai. It’s worth a short jaunt up to the top, though, as it affords a slightly different view of the surrounding area.

From here the trail descends gradually deeper into the foothills until it crosses a creek bed and meets up with a Forest Service Road. The sign at this point is also burned and difficult to read. The creek bed, though dry, is a bit wide making it a little bit difficult to see where the road is on the other side. Follow the cairns (small stacks of rocks) across. While there was no water flowing in the larger creek at the time we hiked the Cozy Dell Trail, we did encounter a small creek crossing the trail a short ways before.

This trail is single track for the entire way. The condition of the trail during the time of our hike was remarkably good considering the recent fire. The trail felt solid underfoot and there was little to no erosion from the rain. There was, however, a tremendous amount of regrowth invading the trail. This will likely change with dryer weather since it was mostly grasses and mustard plants (pictured below).

The Cozy Dell is an out-and-back trail, so we turned around at the intersection with the Forest Service Road (about 1.8 miles). Because the Cozy Dell trail connects to a Forest Service road, you do have the option of continuing your hike further.

Thanks for reading our review of The Cozy Dell Trail! Please check out our video trail review of The Cozy Dell Trail on YouTube.

Name of Hike: Twin Peaks

Trail(s): Horn Canyon, L.Moore, Twin Peaks

Location: Ojai, CA

Wilderness Area: Los Padres National Forest

Type of Hike: Out-and-back

Difficulty: Strenuous

Distance/elevation: 4.68 miles, 1,868 ft elevation gain

Estimated Time Commitment: Hiking times can vary for a number of reasons, but we estimate most people would be able to complete this hike in 2-3 hours.

Views: Yes! There are countless photo ops on this hike – the best, of course, being from the summit. On a clear day you can see the Pacific Ocean and Channel Islands.

Popularity: The Twin Peaks Trail is not frequently traveled, so don’t expect to encounter many other humans (you may see wildlife, though!). The Horn Canyon Trail, however, is reasonably popular. It is entirely possible to encounter other hikers, equestrians and mountain bikers along that early stretch of trail.

Facilities/restrooms: None

Directions: This hike starts at the Horn Canyon Trailhead in Ojai, CA. If you’re approaching Ojai from the west – head east through town on the 150, take a left on Reeves Rd (immediately before Boccali’s restaurant – great food if you’re looking for a post-hike meal, we especially recommend their seasonal strawberry shortcake!), take another left on McAndrew Rd (follow all the way to the top of the hill), then take a right into The Thacher School campus (if the gate is closed there is some space to park along the street and then you’ll walk the rest of the way to the trailhead), take another right around the perimeter road of the campus, then take one last right on the dirt road and the Horn Canyon Trailhead will be on your left. Keep in mind that you are driving through private property to get to the trailhead, so please remember to drive slowly and be courteous. If you’re approaching this hike from the east you won’t actually reach the town of Ojai before the turnoff for Reeves Rd. Follow the 150 west, take a right on Reeves Rd (immediately after Boccali’s restaurant), then proceed according to the directions above.

Parking: There is space for several vehicles to park at the trailhead. There are no delineated spots, but seven cars can easily fit.

The hike to Twin Peaks is located in the Los Padres National Forest and is open to hikers, bikers, equestrians and dogs. More detailed and up-to-date information on the Los Padres National Forest available here.

This hike starts on the Horn Canyon Trail. This is a really nice trail – it starts out quite wide and has a very gradual incline. There are four water crossings on this trail (depending on the time of year and the severity of the drought there may not be water flowing), but you’ll only cross once on your way to Twin Peaks. You’ll hike along the Horn Canyon Trail for less than three quarters of a mile and just a little ways past the first creek crossing is the intersection for the L.Moore Trail. Take a left on the L.Moore Trail and follow it for about a quarter mile until you reach the Twin Peaks Trail marker on the right. The trail is reduced to a single track once you get on the L.Moore and the terrain becomes slightly more challenging.

The Twin Peaks Trail is a challenging single track that rises steeply over the next mile and a half to the summit (elevation: 3,231 ft). The majority of the 1,868 ft of elevation change is gained in this short stretch. As mentioned before, there is no access to water on this trail. Additionally, there are no trees – just native chaparral. Make sure to plan accordingly by bringing lots of water and wearing/applying appropriate sun protection. The condition of the trail is not great, but passable. The Thomas Fire and subsequent rains had a significant impact on the trail condition through erosion and regrowth . The lower half of the trail is deeply rutted in spots and strewn with rocks, while the upper half is shaley and loose in sections. The rains this winter rejuvenated the native flora causing plant life to dominate and overwhelm the trail at the time of our hike. The juxtaposition of the remnants of burned brush and the blooming new growth is beautiful. While the magnitude of the Thomas Fire was truly devastating, fire is a natural part of this type of landscape. The recovery has been fascinating to watch. For some stats on the Thomas Fire visit the Cal Fire website here.

There are two short stretches where the trail levels out, the second coming right before the final push to the peak. The last three tenths of a mile are a series of switchbacks that climb just under 400 feet to the summit. There is not much room at the top and no shade, but the view is a stunning 360° panorama of the Ojai Valley and the Topatopa Mountains. On a clear day you can see as far as the Pacific Ocean and the Channel Islands.

This is an out-and-back trail, so you will proceed back to the Horn Canyon Trailhead the same way you came up.

Fun fact: this is the first hike that Conner and I did together. We started dating soon-there-after and the rest is history! In November 2015, Conner proposed to me at the top of Twin Peaks. We hiked it again with some of our family and friends the day before we tied the knot in 2016. Basically, this is a really special hike!

Thanks for reading our review of Twin Peaks! Please check out our video trail review of Twin Peaks on YouTube.