Continental Falls - Near Breckenridge

Rating: 8 (1 being Low, 10 being High)

Where we found this hike:  Summit County Explorer Website - Mohawk Lake Trail

We followed the directions for Mohawk Lake. The falls spills from the lower Mohawk Lake. This was a great Colorado Hike that has a little bit of everything - ruins, mines, views, a lake and then you end up at a waterfall. You couldn't ask for more and the best part is there is more. This was a family hike and 7 miles would be a bit much for a 5 year old. Therefore, we chose not to head up to Mohawk lower and upper lakes (hopefully another trip). This was absolutely a great hike. 

This is a well used trail. We did see quite a few people on the trail, but that was to be expected considering it was the Friday before the 4th of July and this trail is just a couple of miles from Breckenridge.

While I have personally never done it,  a couple of my buddies have done snow shoeing on this trail in the middle of winter and had nothing but good things to say. 

Is this hike for kids?
My rating for hiking this for kids is 8 (1 being Low, 10 being High).

There are many teaching opportunities on these trails with the ruins and many things to see to keep everyone entertained.

There were two challenging spots on this trail for our 5 year old.
1) The first was seasonal and with the amount of snow fall in the area this year (and now run off). One of the "bridges" crossings was challenging because the water was very high and going over it. That being said,  it made me more nervous then my daughter.

2) To get up to the "rebuilt" Cabin and then the falls there was one spot we had to lift my daughter up (and then down on the way back) on the rocks to get her up above them.  This was nothing overly dangerous about this and an older kid of 8 or 9 would have no problem climbing this obstacle.

We enjoyed our picnic up by the old cabin then explored around the waterfall. It was an absolutely wonderful day.

A correction that needs to be made from the direction provided by Summit County Explorer. It says "At about 2.4 miles from the last light as you leave Breckenridge", well a "new" stoplight has been added which makes it about 2.2 miles from the last stop light.

If interested in more pictures from the hike click here.

Clinton Lake (Starting at Lake Henry)

Rating: 6 (1 being Low, 10 being High)

Where we found this hike: Clinton Lake North Shore Trails

The Clinton Lake Blue and White Trails are exercise trails for me since they are just a couple of miles from where I live. For this particular exercise hike I started at the trail head for the Lake Henry Bike Trail and then went 2 miles past Lake Henry and back for a 4 mile round trip hike. This was a fun couple of hours for me. I got to spend some quality time with my daughter and I ran into a friend fishing at Lake Henry.

Anybody looking for a good hike near Lawrence Kansas this good hike and I can recommend it. You hike around a beautiful lake on very well maintained trails. The rating would most likely be much higher for this trail if I didn't use Clinton trails so much for exercise to prepare for other hikes.

While I have never backpacked the whole trail myself, I have had a couple of friends who have and said they thoroughly enjoyed it.

A couple of things to note about this hike, I started out on the blue trail but it turned out to be closed do to high water. Also to start at Lake Henry you have to either pay to get into the state park or you have to have a Start Park Pass. I also carried a stick out in front of me on this hike because the Cobb webs where thick.

Is this hike for kids?
My rating for hiking this for kids is 7 (1 being Low, 10 being High).
This trail has lots of different terrain to keep kids busy and lots to see on the trail and on the lake. The biggest thing you have to watch out for is these trails are shared with Mountain bikers (and I have no problem with this) and at least with my daughter you have to help her get out of the way because she is watching a snail or singing or ...

Best Hikes with Children Colorado

Title: Best Hikes with Children Colorado - Third Edition

Publisher: The Mountaineers Books

Author: Maureen Keilty
Photographs: Dan Peha

Links: http://www.trailresources.com/hgr004.html

My Rating: 8 (1 being Low, 10 being High)

This is a fairly new book for us. We bought it because we like to hike (especially in Colorado) and it definitely is more challenging once you have kids to hike like you use to. The one hike we have done based on this book was very good except there was some creek crossing that were more challenging then we were expecting (I'm sure that was more about time of year, amount of rain, and the amount of snow and melting of that snow). We have several other hikes picked out to try on our next visit.

This book begins with some helpful tips (many you have heard before - but always good to hear again) about hiking with children that is useful.

The Best Hikes of Colorado - an Altitude SuperGuide

Title: The Best Hikes of Colorado - an Altitude SuperGuide

Publisher: Altitude Publishing Ltd.

Author: Christina Williams

Links: Amazon, Open Library

My Rating: 9 (1 being Low, 10 being High)

First this book means a lot to me because my wife gave it to me for an anniversary present several years ago because of how much we enjoy the Colorado Mountains. Also, this book is different from many other Colorado Hiking books (I have many) because it has more in it then just the trail, how to get there, and what you will see. It has the history of the mines and ghost town you will hike to or in some cases you drive to.

Summit County Explorer - Hiking Trails

Title: Summit County Explorer - Hiking Trails

Publisher: Web Based

Link: http://www.summitcountyexplorer.com/summithikingtrails.htm

My Rating: 8 (1 being Low, 10 being High)

I came across this link while searching for Hikes in Summit County. I have done many of the beginner and intermediate hiking trails. I have found the directions to the trail heads are very good and the description of the trails are right on.

Surpise Trail

Rating: 7 (1 being Low, 10 being High)

Where we found this hike: Best Hikes with Children - Colorado

The best part of this hike was a day with the family and the wildflowers. Of course the mountain lake was pretty with it's Lilly Pads in full bloom. Bring your bug repellent the mosquitoes were numerous especially by the lake.

At the trail head there were lots of people but we didn't see very many on the actual trail. I actually was expecting to see more hikers then we did considering it was the week of 4th of July.

This trail head can be used to start and/or end a backpacking trip, it meets up with the Gore Range trail.

Is this hike for kids?
My rating for hiking this for kids is 7 (1 being Low, 10 being High).
My daughter seemed to like the hike. She didn't get to hike as much as she would have liked. On the way down we had a summer storm moving in so we put her in the pack and hustled down the mountain.

There were a couple of places that the trail was steep and rocky and for your younger hikers you might need to hold their hand to make sure they don't skin a knee. The biggest challenge was there are 4 creek crossing you have to do that was tricky for us. With 2 adults (my wife and I) it was not that big of a deal, however if there was just 1 adult I believe one of you (the adult or the kid) would get wet. If it wasn't for these creek crossing this kid rating would be an 8 or a 9.

We enjoyed our picnic lunch by the lake and headed back down the mountain.

Independence Ghost Town

Rating: 9 (1 being Low, 10 being High)
What a great way to spend the day with the family.

Where we found this Day Trip: The Best Hikes of Colorado - an Altitude SuperGuide

It seemed appropriate to me that we went to the Ghost Town of Independence on our Independence vacation. The legend is that prospectors discovered gold in the area on July 4, 1879. In it's hay day the population was 1500 people, 3 post offices, and 47 business. This is really easy to get to it is right off Highway 82 and is only 16 miles from Aspen. The Aspen Historical Society even keeps the "General Store" Staffed (Ghost Interpreters) during the summer. We did not make this a hiking trip but I'm sure you could. There seemed to be plenty of trails around.

Is this hike for kids?
My rating for hiking this for kids is 9 (1 being Low, 10 being High).
Speaking for my daughter she enjoyed walking around the ruins and the restored cabins and she even enjoyed (so did I) listening to the Ghost Interpreters tell about the Ghost Town.