Hiking in Denver

Mount Falcon Park looks down on Denver and across at Red Rocks. It's amazingly tranquil, laced with meadows and streams, and shaded by conifers. The trails are very well marked. Off Rte. 8, Morrison exit, or U.S. 285, Parmalee exit, Aurora.

Fifteen miles southwest of Denver, Red Rocks Park and Amphitheatre is a breathtaking, 70-million-year-old wonderland of vaulting oxblood-and-cinnamon-color sandstone spires. The outdoor music stage is in a natural 9,000-seat amphitheater (with perfect acoustics, as only nature could have designed). The Trading Post loop hiking trail, at 6,280 feet, is 1.4 mi long and quite narrow with drop-offs and steep grades. Allow about two hours. The trail closes one-half hour before sunset. The park is open from 5 AM to 11 PM daily. I-70 west to Exit 259, turn left to park entrance, Morrison. www.redrocksonline.com.

Roxborough State Park has an easy 2-mi loop trail through rugged rock formations, offering striking vistas and a unique look at metro Denver and the plains. This trail is wheelchair accessible. Littleton, I-25 south to Santa Fe exit, take Santa Fe Blvd. south to Titan Rd., turn right and follow signs.

Green Mountain is the first named foothill as you head west from Denver toward the mountains. Part of Jefferson County Open Space and a piece of William Frederick Hayden Park (City of Lakewood), the easy, mostly exposed trail affords panoramic views of downtown Denver, Table Mesa, Pikes Peak, and the Continental Divide from the top (895 feet in elevation gain). You must share with bikers and dogs, as well as other critters. There are multiple trails from several trailheads, including a 6.4-mi loop and a 3.1-mi loop. Allow one to two hours. Open 5 AM to 10 PM daily. Lakewood, I-70 west to C-470 to W. Alameda Pkwy., turn left to trailhead entrance. www.lakewood.org.