Mount Morrison Trail

Mount Morrison is the 7,881-foot hogback that stands over Red Rocks Amphitheatre, and the trail up it is a Front Range training climb: 2,000 feet in under 2 miles on a loose, unrelenting ridge with no switchbacks to speak of. The summit looks straight down on the amphitheater and out across Denver, and the trail is busy at dawn with people who treat it as a stair machine.

From the small trailhead lot at the north edge of Red Rocks Park, the trail crosses the road and heads straight up the ridge. It is an unofficial route worn by years of use rather than a built trail, and it shows: loose gravel and rock, a few short scrambles, and a grade that rarely eases. The ridge is open the whole way, with Red Rocks below and the plains behind.

The summit is a rocky point with communication towers on the ridge to the south and a view over the amphitheater, Morrison, and the city. The descent is the hard part; the loose surface has turned many ankles. Return the same way, about 3.7 miles round trip.

The trailhead is at Red Rocks Park's Entrance 4 on Titans Road, off Colorado 74 (Bear Creek Road) about a half mile west of Morrison; most of the trail above it is Jefferson County Open Space, part of Matthews/Winters Park, and the county only sanctions the South Ridge route. The lot holds about 20 cars and fills at dawn on weekends; the Red Rocks lots nearby are an alternative when there is no concert. No fee or permit. There is no toilet.

Dogs are prohibited on this trail, which is why the record shows no dogs; bikes are not allowed either. Not a kid hike. Poles help on the descent more than the ascent. Carry water; there is none. Rattlesnakes live on the lower slope. Morrison has restaurants at the bottom, and the Red Rocks Trading Post trail is the flat alternative. Mount Falcon, across the valley, is the built-trail climb with the same view, and the Denver hikes page lists the rest of the foothills.